10 Wrestlers Who Are The Most Overrated At Precisely One Thing

4. Michael Cole: Commentary

Bray Wyatt overrated
WWE

The critical acclaim WWE generated by operating at a better standard than "total dog sh*t" under Triple H was remarkable.

Because he scrapped the 24/7 division, scripted his WWE Superstars to say the word "wrestling" and elongated virtually every match length by five minutes, he was considered the saviour of WWE. That's one thing - snark aside, Vince McMahon would never have promoted anything as outstanding as GUNTHER Vs. Sheamus at Clash At The Castle - but the standard elsewhere was insanely generous.

Michael Cole is still Michael Cole; very polished to an extent that is synthetic, his calls are exposition heavy, he clutches your hand through basic story beats, and he rarely feels like he's holding an organic conversation. And the screaming, holy hell the bloody screaming.

When something ostensibly exciting happens, the man is much too eager to let you know. It is beyond forced, and the generally bleak atmosphere of a WWE TV show brings the desperation into further focus; if something were that exciting, you'd see the fans going apesh*t. Ultimately, Cole still makes it feel that bit more fake.

He is a bit more loose now, and he has devised a cheat code of referencing smaller promotions to put over a wrestler's background, but the only appreciable difference is that he sounds slightly less like there's a weapon poking into his back.

In this post: 
Bray Wyatt
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
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!