10 Storylines WWE ENJOYED Ruining
4. Michael Cole Vs Jerry Lawler
Commentator feuds are theoretically rotten for business.
The announcers are there for three key purposes; maintaining the veneer of bonafide sporting competition, verbally aiding the story being told in the ring and providing any other marketing, promotional or storyline information the company wants the audience to have a handle on.
They can't do any of the above when they're fighting each other. It's why Jim Ross despises some of his own angles despite the quality of some of his promos and why Randy Savage considered it a life sentence away from the ring when Vince McMahon wanted to place him there permanently in 1994.
But Cole and Lawler's aggro was a perfect storm. It was at long last the opportunity for fans to get a cathartic release at Michael Cole's expense all while 'The King' got to enjoy his first ever match on the 'Grandest Stage'. Cole had been a pr*ck, Lawler was the actual wrestler - the piledriver/fist drop combo could be spotted from the very start of the Road To WrestleMania.
Not by WWE.
They saw months of rematches and the opportunity to humble and humiliate Jim Ross. Who the hell are we to just want a bit of closure and the announcers to go back to announcing? Cole screwed Lawler out of the WWE Championship in November to formally trigger their unease. He lost, at last, in May.