Michael Cole

Michael Cole had his debut in World Wrestling Entertainment at SummerSlam in 1997, becoming the new backstage interviewer. He then became one of the three announcers for RAW alongside Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly. In 1999 he replaced Ross as the regular play-by-play announcer when JR suffered from Bell's palsy.

When SmackDown premiered later that year, Michael Cole moved over to become the play-by-play announcer for the show. He was involved very few storylines, but one infamous one involved possibly being raped by Heidenreich in 2004.

At the 2008 WWE Draft in a shocking move, Michael Cole was drafted to RAW while Jim Ross was drafted to SmackDown. He also served as a commentator on NXT when it debuted in 2010. During the first season, he began expressing hatred for rookie Daniel Bryan and admiration for The Miz. This developed into a heel turn and an alliance with The Miz on RAW.

On June 21, 2010 on RAW, Cole became the spokesman for the Anonymous RAW General Manager, reading his emails from a laptop on a special podium. He starts each email with "And I quote..." On October 1st he rejoined the SmackDown announce team, now appearing on both brands and proclaiming himself "The Voice of the WWE."

On November 29, 2010 during a 3-hour RAW in Philadelphia, Cole interfered in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match between The Miz and his broadcast partner Jerry "The King" Lawler, costing Lawler his first ever title opportunity. Their relationship grew worse until Cole agreed to fight Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII. Cole would hire Jack Swagger to help train him and be in his corner. He would go on to win at WrestleMania after the referee's initial decision was reversed. He would win again at Extreme Rules in a Tag Team Country Whipping Match with Swagger against Lawler and Jim Ross.

Michael Cole now performs his commentary duties from within the "Cole Mine", a small plexiglass box he uses to protect himself. It's positioned next to the standard announce table. To avoid having to leave it, he now receives emails from the Anonymous RAW General Manager from his iPad.