Surprising Reason Michael Cole Missed WWE SmackDown

Michael Cole had a rare night off from WWE SmackDown recently and now he’s confirmed exactly what his “special assignment” was.

One man not at SmackDown on the 18th of October to see the chaos and carnage Of The Bloodline taking out Roman Reigns once again 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.

Speaking to Sal Licata of WFAN on October 12th, Michael Cole revealed his special assignment turned out to be a family vacation in Mexico but he still intends to be on the call for WWE for many years to come:

I’m taking a vacation next week, it’s the first one I’ve taken in a long while. […] It’s been pretty incredible to miss 3 or 4 television shows in 27 years.

I still feel like I have a lot left in me. I just signed a long-term deal with the company, I’ll be doing this for a few more years. I’ll be back on Netflix doing Monday Night Raw in January.

Michael Cole Heading Back To WWE Raw

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.

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