Michael Cole Forced To Miss WWE SmackDown

In a very rare instance in WWE, lead announcer Michael Cole has been forced to miss SmackDown.

SmackDown in Columbia, South Carolina saw Jey Uso finally come face-to-face with Solo Sikoa after Uso had been sought out for help by Jimmy Uso on Raw. Uso asked Sikoa not to divide the family but stopped short of wanting to fight his little brother although he didn’t have the same issue with the rest of The Bloodline as he threatened Jacob Fatu.

By the end of the night, Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso’s need for help was even more evident as The Bloodline took them apart once again.

One man not there to see the chaos and carnage was Michael Cole, who had a rare absence from his duties at the announce desk. Corey Graves announced at the start of the show that Cole was on “special assignment” with Wade Barrett filling in for him.

Michael Cole Absent From SmackDown

Michael Cole has only missed a handful of shows in his over 25-year tenure with WWE. Cole was absent for the season premiere of Raw in 2023 due to a personal commitment and before that missed a show in 2017 to attend his son’s wedding.

WWE’s commentary team will be in for a shake-up in early 2025 when Raw makes its huge move to Netflix. Michael Cole and Pat McAfee will become the announce team for the red brand while current Raw announcers Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett are expected to head to SmackDown.