Michael Cole is the play by play announcer for WWE's Monday Night Raw. He went to SMACKDOWN in 1997 and was a backstage interviewer. In 1997 he became one of three announcers for the first hour of Monday Night RAW along with Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly. Eventually Cole was replaced by Jerry Lawler. In 1999 he became the play by play announcer for RAW substituting for Jim Ross. When the new SMACKDOWN debut later that year Michael Cole was chosen to be the regular play by play announcer. In June of 2006 Michael Cole's partner Tazz (color commentator) left SMACKDOWN for ECW shoving the microphone in Michael Cole's chest as he walked off the job. JBL replaced Tazz as the new SMACKDOWN color commentator the following week. JBL would last for a while but would not last to the end of the year announcing that he would return to the ring on RAW. Jonathan Coachman then took over as Smackdown's color commentator but stood only a few months before being replaced by Mick Foley. In the 2008 WWE draft Michael Cole was drafted to Raw and Jim Ross was drafted to Smackdown, sort of a swap. Both WWE play by play announcers were not to happy about the move at first but soon settled on their new positions. It ended a nearly ten year span for Michael Cole as the Smackdown broadcaster.On the July 7, 2008 edition of Raw Cole was attacked by Kane and thrown in the ring. Kane was about to Chokeslam Cole but Cole's partner commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler went in the ring and saved him. Michael Cole was able to escape the ring but Jerry Lawler took punishment for his interference. Kane had turned into a mad man after losing a four way fatal match and started attacking everyone in sight. He approached Michael Cole and started screaming to him and everyone else "Is he alive or dead?" No one knew what he was talking about and when Cole couldn't answer Kane chose him as his main bait. The following week Kane would apologize for what he did but Jerry Lawler said that he could apologize all he wants but he's still a nut.
Cole ended up making his in-ring debut as Lawler's partner against the tag team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase; a match for the World Tag Team Championship.Cole and Lawler lost after Cole inadvertently tagged himself in, and was quickly pinned by Rhodes after a lariat.
Michael Cole Facts:
Birth Name: Michael Sean Coulthard
Birth Date: December 8, 1968
Height: 5' ft 7' in
