10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Feb 15)

5. Michael Cole Would Expense Bar Tabs To WWE

Michael Cole
WWE.com

It's amazing to think Michael Cole has been a WWE employee since 1997. He's outlasted Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and numerous other announcers, become the "voice" of the promotion and still ties things together every week on Raw. Before the McMahon family took their company public in 1999, he also loved racking up a bar tab.

No joke.

On The Pat McAfee Show, Cole (in a rare interview) said that he'd often expense his tabs back to the WWF during his early years. This means that the announcer would spend freely when out with pals and then get Vince to pick up the cheque. What a bad ass.

Cole put it best by telling McAfee "you could pretty much do anything you wanted" when the company was privately owned. Things only changed once shareholders came in and stock started floating. After that, there were no more four-figure tabs.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.