1. He Left Us In The Lurch
10th of September, 2012. A date which will live in wrestling infamy. On air for a live showing of RAW, Jerry "the King" Lawler suffered a near fatal heart attack & collapsed. He actually died while they performed CPR on him. We all knew this was happening and after the announcement by Cole that indeed, Jerry was fighting for his life, the Universe collectively breathed in and prayed to whatever Deity they followed that he would be alright. Then came this shocker, a direct quote, "....out for respect for Jerry tonight there's gonna be no further commentary on this broadcast...." WHAT???? Now don't get me wrong, I totally understand what was going on at that very moment of time but to me, this not only screams unprofessionalism but shows absolutely no respect for the people at home. Our beloved King had just suffered a heart attack and could be dead, yet Michael Cole decides to leave us in the lurch because he could not handle the situation. Isn't he meant to be a former war correspondent? Well, to me it's the equivalent of finding about weapons of mass destruction in Syria but not reporting on it because the cameraman was in a car accident en route. You would not ignore what has happened but you can't ignore the job either. We at home needed reassurances, we needed a friendly voice telling us all will be fine, we needed things to be as normal as possible but he couldn't man up and do what was needed from him. You may think this is a harsh assumption of the situation but let me tell you, I didn't see Jerry Lawler or Jim Ross pack up and go home after their close friend and colleague, Owen Hart, DIED in the ring right in front of their eyes. Or I did not hear that out of respect for Eddie Guerrero, there would be no commentary on his tribute episode of RAW. Why? Because Jim Ross and the King are not only professionals, they know what is needed of them and what is in their job description. Both Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero lost a close and beloved member of their family (metaphorical or actual) but they showed up and wrestled. Why? Because they are professional, because they know that in times of great sadness, they need to show strength in the face of emotional adversity They knew that they needed to show us that although we were collectively all suffering, life must go on. So they did what they knew best. They wrestled in memory of their fallen comrade. And the fact that Michael Cole couldn't even give the people at home, the people for whom he is essentially working for, the same type of respect that these people who had lost so much more and were under so much more stress could show us, just proved without a shadow of a doubt, that he is nothing more than a self absorbed douchebag to the highest degree. So there you have it. As I have mentioned, someone this incompetent could not keep his job if he did not have leverage over the company in which he works. And if that is true I say to Vince, nothing you could have done can't be as embarrassing as keeping this guy on your payroll for 15 years, even if it's a tape of you, Pat Patterson and Mae Young in a Ménage à trois (shudder). So just say those immortal two words, "you're fired" and just go with the repercussions. Michael Cole, you fail!