Why WWE’s Michael Cole Will Never Disparage Vince McMahon

Michael Cole has been part of WWE for decades and now he thinks things have changed but he’ll never have anything bad to say about Vince McMahon.

Vince McMahon was forced to resign as TKO Executive Chairman in 2024 ending his official association with WWE after forty years. McMahon has been accused of serious sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed by a former WWE employee. While it appears Vince McMahon won’t face federal prosecution related to the allegations, he is still being sued.

Since McMahon’s exit from WWE, lots of changes have been noticed but perhaps none more so than how the announcers approach their job. Michael Cole has seemed like a man reborn alongside Pat McAfee and now he’s opened up about his relationship with his McMahon.

Speaking on the Impaulsive podcast, Michael Cole lifted the lid on his relationship with Vince McMahon over the years and explained why he’ll never have anything bad to say about his old boss:

One of the things about the old regime and I will never, ever disparage Vince McMahon. He’s got his personal issues and whatnot but from a professional standpoint, I’ll never disparage the man. I would not be here today without Vince, he gave me everything. Stuck with me when I was learning to be a wrestling guy, wasn’t a wrestling guy when I came here.

Michael Cole Shocked He Lasted So Long Under Vince McMahon

Paul then asked Cole why he thought Vince McMahon believed in him so much:

I think there were two things. Jim Ross obviously was the man, I still think the greatest ever. I think Vince understood JR was getting older and he needed to bring in somebody younger so I think because of my background, I was a good announcer at the time. JR had come to WWE already a wrestling guy and I think me being new and fresh and not a wrestling guy, Vince was able to mold me how he wanted me to be an announcer.

He stuck with it even when I sucked in the beginning and the fans freaking hated me, Vince stuck with me. I talk to Michael Hayes about this all the time, it’s amazing that I’ve lasted in this company this long because Vince, there were certain things that would set that man off and he would just go ‘Okay you’re done, fired, see ya.’ Sometimes for no reason but he stuck with me 100% of the time.

I’ll never disparage the man but Vince was very heavy-handed, controlled, it was his company, his sandbox, whatever you want so I never was really able to break out and be myself with the exception of a little bit of a heel run I had over a decade ago. When Vince left and when Paul came and was in charge, he really changed things.

However, as much as Paul Levesque wanted to put his own stamp on WWE, Michael Cole noted that things really changed for the announcers when new Executive Producer Lee Fitting arrived from ESPN:

Then we brought in Lee Fitting from ESPN and Lee coming from ESPN where the talent is the announcer, he came here and said I don’t understand why our guys at the desk aren’t bigger and have bigger personas and aren’t as respected as the people in the ring. Being old school, I understand that the guys and girls in the ring are the ones putting their bodies on the line each and every week and people are buying tickets to see Roman Reigns, they’re not buying tickets to see Michael Cole but we’re a very important part of the product.

What Lee and Paul have allowed us to do is to bring our personalities out and you’re seeing the real Michael Cole now. I’m a sarcastic prick at times and I like to have fun.

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