10 Ways WWE Can Be THE Cool Wrestling Company Again

6. Goodbye, Michael Cole

kenny omega
WWE.com

At his very worst, Michael Cole is an emotionless robot with one primary programmed function: pure, unadulterated insincerity.

His commentary is contagious. That should be the point - a commentator should immerse his audience into the action - but Cole's automaton delivery infects RAW viewers with the viral efficiency of a plague. In his relentless drive to hammer home the more "important" story beats, to sell what we've just seen for ourselves, he simply ignores the action unfolding in front of him. Near-falls become a pause for breath before he witters on about an already heavily-hyped main event with manufactured hysteria. "Hooks the leg and - oh, he almost gets him. Speaking of..."

"Asuka just loves to entertain!" was the most recent rancid call of his, in how fundamentally wrong he was about the performer he is paid to describe. Adding dad jokes to his disastrous oeuvre, Cole, simply, is The Worst. The passionate Jim Ross was synonymous with the rampant Attitude Era; the passionless Cole is synonymous with WWE at its most insignificant, and thus needs to go.

But Cole isn't the problem; he is a symptom of it.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!