3 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (8 Nov)

Ups...

3. Michael Cole's Storytelling

The New Day
WWE.com

And yet, SmackDown had positives.

For all the criticism that Michael Cole gets for being Vinnie Mac's commentary puppet, he does a damn fine job of spinning sub-stories in the background sometimes. That's what the 'Voice Of WWE' did when Kofi Kingston and Big E were striving for the SmackDown Tag Titles, and it was one of the show's highlights.

Early in the match, Cole pointed out that Kofi's rushed pin attempts on Scott Dawson were the result of post-WWE Title frustration. After skipping through that story (one WWE hasn't done enough with, to be honest), Cole then put over that maybe Kingston needs this win to redeem his own championship demons.

When New Day won, good ol' MC was at it again and pointed out that E seemed more happy for his friend than himself. This wonderful narration was proof positive that Cole, when he's not worrying about ads for Popeyes chicken, is an emotive, switched on lead announcer.

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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.