10 Wrestling Heel Turns That Never Should Have Happened

3. Michael Cole (WWE, 2010)

Goldberg Heel with fan.jpg
WWE.com

The main problem with Michael Cole's heel run between 2010-12 lay in the fact that WWE took things further than anybody could tolerate.

Heel announcers have been a fabric of the industry for years. Guys like Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan and Paul Heyman excelled in such a role, but there was one major difference: they weren't the main commentator.

By contrast, Michael Cole was the self-proclaimed 'Voice of WWE', and the same man who fans relied upon to narrate flagship programming and pay-per-views. Thus, turning Cole into an arrogant sort who constantly belittled popular babyfaces began to grate quickly and turned shows like Raw into a slog.

Worse was to come. When Cole and Jerry Lawler were handed a mind-boggling 13 minutes (not including entrances) at WrestleMania XXVII, many were disgusted.

Cole is a unique entry on this list, because he could have had some success as a villain had he not been such a focal point behind the announce desk or been thrust into the ring for lengthy matches.

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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.