The Pat McAfee Show – Michael Cole
Release Date: 02/07/19
Recap By: Jeff Rush, PWPodcasts.com Assistant Editor
-Cole was doing the interview as part of a deal with McAfee, where he told him he’d come on his show after he signed with the company. He rarely does interviews. McAfee is officially a “contributor” with WWE.
-Cole discusses how McAfee got his new position.
-Did the same thing many of us do where he fell away from wrestling in high school/college, got back into it years later.
-His original goal was always to be an “evening news guy.” He was working in radio and needed TV experience. Todd Pettingil got him in with WWE. He thought he’d be there for a minute and get on with his news dream.
-Cole notes that he grew up with WWE, saying all you need to do is check out shows from 20 years ago on the Network.
-McAfee talks about how family-oriented the vibe at WWE is.
-Cole says in order for your experience with WWE to be what you want it to be, you have to give 100%, suggesting those who had their dreams crushed by having negative experiences with the company we’re not giving it their all.
-Cole says his heel announcer persona was himself with the volume turned up.
-Discusses being there for the “entire ride” with both John Cena and the Rock.
-Notes that there are many “Michael Cole haters” out there.
-Cole is proud of his ability to work with absolutely anyone, specifically mentioning Taz, JBL, and Jonathan Coachman.
-Cole calls Renee Young the most talented person he’s ever worked with.
-McAfee got thrown into calling a football game once and texted Michael Cole for advice.
-McAfee says he grew up a big fan of Triple H.
-Cole says when the company was private “you could pretty much do anything you wanted.” As such, he would expense thousands of dollars worth of bar tabs.
-“I have never said ‘no’ to Mr. McMahon and his company… including Heidenreich.”
-Refers to his WM match against Jerry Lawler as the “worst WrestleMania match ever.”
-While working for a small radio station in Houston, Cole once sailed into a river that was filled with oil and burning in order to report on it. He says this was the most dangerous position he ever put himself in.
-Michael’s real name is Shawn Michael Coulthard. When he started with the WWF, he was told there was only one Shawn, Shawn Michaels. So he went with his middle name and cut his last name in half, thusly Michael Cole.
-Cole says the company rule is always to refer to individuals as their “talent name.”
-Cole names Roman Reigns as the guy who could next become a movie star.
-Regarding the negative fan reaction to wrestlers pushed as top faces in recent years, Cole blames social media, “vocal fans,” who he initially refers to as “marks” and the possibly “false perception” that certain wrestlers (such as Reigns and Ronda Rousey) are being pushed down their throats.
-Cole says 3 Million people watch Halftime Heat.
-Cole is the senior director of on-air talent. As such, he is in the earpiece of guys like McAfee and Sam Roberts during the pre-shows.
-Cole says he values McAfee because he doesn’t speak like a WWE guy.
-Three matches that stand out to Cole over the years:
Mick Foley winning the title on Raw.
Brock ending the Undertaker’s streak at WM. Cole didn’t know the finish and says he stopped dead in his tracks when the ref hit the three count.
Eddie Guerrero over Brock Lesnar in the Cow Place. He calls this his favorite match he’s ever called and the height of his career.
Review: You never hear Michael Cole do an interview, so this was a nice surprise. Obviously, the conversation was extremely pro-WWE, as McAfee just got hired and Cole is a senior member of the company. Cole saying that the perception of Roman Reigns being forced on fans as the face of the company was false was about as corporate as you can get. That said, he was relaxed and seemed to have a good time answering fans questions. They saved the best for last, as it was cool to hear Cole discuss what calling such memorable matches meant to him. His segment begins about 20 minutes into the show and runs around 45. Suggested! Rating: 6/10
About Jeff:
Jeff lives in Brooklyn and raises his two year old son while running a small business and listening to a lot of pro wrestling podcasts. He’s a huge fan of women’s wrestling, independent wrestling and Prime Time Wrestling and is hoping the main event of WrestleMania will be the one-on-one match we all know it should be. You can catch him each week on The Pull Apart: The Pro Wrestling Podcast Podcast and on Twitter @jefflikesstuff.
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