Tag: Michael Cole

WWE Shakes Up Commentary Teams, Michael Cole To Call Both Raw And SmackDown

WWE has played host to many iconic commentators in its long history, but at this point there may be no announcer more closely tied to WWE than Michael Cole. That’s despite Cole’s work often being divisive among WWE fans over the course of his now 25-plus-year tenure with the company. No matter how one feels about Cole, audiences should get ready to hear a lot more of him as a result of WWE’s latest commentary team shake-up.

As reported by Variety, Cole and current “WWE SmackDown” broadcast partner Wade Barrett are set to make the jump to “WWE Raw,” while current “Raw” announce team Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves are swapped over to “SmackDown.” However, rather than a straight-up trade, Cole will also remain part of the “SmackDown” team, working alongside Graves and Patrick.

The commentary team changes take effect this coming Monday, August 7. For now, it does not appear any changes have been made to the planned announcers for tonight’s SummerSlam premium live event. Most PLEs have been called by Cole and Graves since Triple H became Chief Creative Officer, with few exceptions. According to Variety’s sources, this move is not a sign WWE has lost confidence in Patrick, and they feel working with Cole will be to his benefit.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Corey Graves And Michael Cole Reportedly Will Be Calling WWE SmackDown Action

We’ve noted this week how there are significant changes in the works for the WWE announce teams, which goes with the plans for more brand exclusivity moving forward from October. One of those changes is rumored to be the return of the two-man booth.

It was reported this week, via @Wrestlevotes, that the working idea is to move Michael Cole from RAW to SmackDown, and move Vic Joseph from 205 Live to RAW as the lead man. There was no word on plans for Corey Graves, but multiple sources have reported that he will no longer be working two shows.

In an update, @Wrestlevotes reported today that the plan as of this Tuesday was for Graves to call the SmackDown action with Cole each Friday night on Fox. Graves will no longer pull double duty as he will be exclusive to SmackDown.

The new report does not specify if Graves and Cole will be calling SmackDown with a two-man booth. There had been talk of Renee Young becoming exclusive to SmackDown because she will be hosting the weekly FS1 WWE studio show on Tuesday nights, but if there will be a two-man booth, then we’re not sure where Renee will end up. She could still go to SmackDown to work with Cole and Graves if they keep the three-person team, which is the current RAW crew.

Graves currently calls SmackDown with Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton. We have not heard anything on where Phillips and Saxton will end up, but stay tuned for updates. It’s possible that Saxton and Phillips end up on RAW with Joseph. Joseph is currently calling 205 Live with Aiden English and WWE NXT Superstar Dino Maddin, who made his debut this week. Maddin is replacing Nigel McGuinness, who is headed to NXT full-time to call the live Wednesday night action with Mauro Ranallo and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Michael Cole Possibly Joining The WWE SmackDown Announce Team, Vic Joseph Rumored For RAW

As noted earlier, via @Wrestlevotes, WWE is planning to make significant changes to the announce teams when they make the other changes for the fall following the SmackDown Fox premiere on Friday, October 4. It was also noted that there’s talk of bringing the two-man booth back.

In an update, @Wrestlevotes revealed this afternoon that Michael Cole is scheduled to head to SmackDown from RAW. Vic Joseph would then go to RAW to be the lead announcer there.

It should be noted that these changes with Cole and Joseph are not set in stone, but this is the working idea.

Cole currently calls RAW with Corey Graves and Renee Young. Joseph is calling 205 Live with Aiden English and WWE NXT Superstar Dio Maddin, who made his debut last night to replace Nigel McGuinness, who is headed to NXT full-time to call the Wednesday night USA Network show with Mauro Ranallo and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

There’s no word yet on who will work RAW and SmackDown with Joseph and Cole, but the announce teams are expected to be exclusive to each brand. Tom Phillips currently leads SmackDown with Graves and Byron Saxton. There’s been talk of having Renee be exclusive to SmackDown, because she will be hosting the FS1 WWE studio show on Tuesday nights. Graves could stay on RAW to call the show with Joseph. There’s also no word on if 205 will be called by just Maddin and English each week.

Stay tuned for more updates on the WWE announce teams.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Michael Cole Storyline Update

Michael Cole is expected to be back on RAW tonight and there is speculation that he might be in a neck brace to sell the neck injury angle from last week’s F5 from Brock Lesnar. Cole may also threaten legal action against Lesnar. WWE wrote the following teaser in their RAW 5-Point Preview:

“While The Beast Incarnate has already been suspended indefinitely by Stephanie McMahon, reports are surfacing that Cole is threatening legal action against the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion. As a result, one has to wonder whether there will be additional fallout over the incident? Will The Authority chose, for instance, to take Paul Heyman to task for any instigation that he may have caused as Brock’s advocate? Will extra precautions be taken to assure that this type of carnage will does not happen again? Or, will it just be getting back on track, with Extreme Rules only weeks away?”

Triple H Threatens Sting, Talks Returning Fired Superstars, Lesnar & Rollins, Royal Rumble Match

 

In the latest Michael Cole sitdown interview with Triple H – Triple H said Sting is becoming a problem for him and if Sting wants to make a name for himself by coming after The Game, he’s making the biggest mistake in his life. Triple H says the next time Sting puts his nose in his business will be the last time Sting does anything.

Triple H confirmed that Ryback, Dolph Ziggler and Erick Rowan will be on SmackDown this Thursday and that they will get what they deserve.

Triple H said Brock Lesnar seemed nervous on RAW and believes that Seth Rollins got under Lesnar’s skin. Triple H also talked about the Royal Rumble Match.

Triple H Talks RAW Returns, Giving Reigns Title Shot, Rollins Cashing In & Plan B

 

In Michael Cole’s latest sitdown interview with Triple H, Triple H talked about the big RAW returns of Chris Jericho & AJ Lee. He also talked about putting Roman Reigns in the WWE World Heavyweight Title Fatal 4-Way match. He talked about Seth Rollins attempt cash in the Money In The Bank briefcase & Dean Ambrose promise to stop him from doing so. Triple H also discussed when Plan B might happen.

Triple H Talks To Michael Cole About Batista Quitting, Choosing Seth Rollins & The Shield Being Done

 

In his weekly interview with Michael Cole, Triple H said it wasn’t the first time Batista quit & probably won’t be the last. He said Batista quits things & doesn’t see them through. Triple H said he hopes Batista’s Hollywood career works out because he knows Batista doesn’t have a Plan B.

Triple H told Cole that he chose Seth Rollins because Rollins was the brains of The Shield from day one. Triple H said Rollins will tell the WWE Universe what they need to hear this Friday on SmackDown.

Triple H said he’s not worried about Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose because The Shield doesn’t exist anymore. He said Rollins adapted, while The Shield perished.

 

Triple H Talks With Michael Cole About 2014, Cena VS Orton, Lesnar & Batista

Triple H talks with Michael Cole about 2014 going to be Epic, John Cena VS Randy Orton at Royal Rumble, the return of Brock Lesnar & the return of “The Animal” Batista.

“The King” Talks To The WWE Universe

Michael Cole interviews Jerry “The King” Lawler: Raw, Sept. 24, 2012

Jerry “The King” Lawler speaks about his recent heart attack via satelite on Raw.