Why WWE Fans Love Michael Cole Now

5. He's No Longer Viewed As Jim Ross' Replacement

For some, one of the main reasons why they didn't particularly care for Michael Cole and his work was, quite simply, because he was not Jim Ross.

Having been in the role of a full-time commentator as far back as 1977, good ol' JR is viewed by many as the greatest to ever do it. When thinking of favourite wrestling memories of yesteryear, Ross is the voice you so often hear over the action. Not just that, but the Oklahoma native added so much to such moments due to the words he chose and the way in which he delivered them.

So, when Cole was the one to step in and start filling in for Jim at times, that irked those who viewed JR as the voice of their childhood. To those people, Michael Cole could've delivered exemplary commentary during a broadcast, while performing brain surgery at the same time as he was splitting the atom and giving you the winning lottery numbers from the future... and the masses still wouldn't be happy.

The point is, no matter what Cole did or said, the hard truth is that he wasn't Jim Ross.

Of course, it's hugely unfair to compare Cole to Ross, and the former war correspondent should've always been judged on his own merit rather than being unfairly dumped on for being the man to replace the WWE Hall of Famer. That issue only obviously got worse when Michael Cole fully ousted Jim Ross to become the lead announcer on weekly programming and PPVs, but now it appears that fans have finally gotten over the fact that Cole took a spot that was Ross' for the longest time.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

Posted On: 31st Jul 2022

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