Michael Cole life and biography

Michael Sean Coulthard, better known by his stage name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment.

A former news journalist, Cole is the current play-by-play commentator for WWE, appearing on all major programming (Raw, NXT, Smackdown, and pay-per-view broadcasts). On Raw, he also serves as the "Official Spokesman" of the anonymous General Manager.

For nearly a decade, Cole has worked hard to vividly describe all of the action World Wrestling Entertainment has to offer, and has earned him as much praise in WWE as he earned in the news world.

While working for CBS Radio in 1993, Cole covered the entire 51-day standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas that led to tragedy when more than 80 residents of the compound perished in a fire that erupted during a shootout between them and federal agents.

In 1994, he traveled to Sarajevo for what was supposed to be a six-week assignment covering the siege of the city by Serbian forces. The assignment turned into a nine-month life-changing experience that saw him report daily from the war-torn city, ducking snipers and mortar shells at every turn. His documentary, “Voices of Bosnia,” was critically acclaimed and won several major awards.

Experienced in the face of tragedy, Cole was dispatched to Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 to cover the horrific bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, where 168 people were lost their lives. Cole also covered three presidential elections – 1988 with Michael Dukakis, 1992 with Bill Clinton, and 1996 with Steve Forbes and Bob Dole.

In 1997, Cole brought his talents to WWE. In his early days, he hosted the syndicated Livewire show, as well as Shotgun Saturday Night with Jim Cornette. By the end of that year, he was an announcer on Raw. From 1997 to 1999 he held regular stints as a Raw announcer, and when SmackDown made its debut in 1999, Cole was chosen for the lead play-by-play announcing role. Originally teamed up with Jerry Lawler, Cole was paired with Tazz in 2001 and the two were together for five years until his realignment with ECW in June 2006. After that, Cole found himself sitting beside then-retired JBL, Jonathan Coachman and later the Hardcore Legend himself, Mick Foley, until Cole was ultimately drafted to Monday Night Raw in 2008.

In his tenure behind the broadcast booth, Cole has sometimes found himself in the thick of the action. While some of his assignments are enviable (such as emceeing a Divas Bikini Contest, for instance), he has also found himself as the object of several SmackDown Superstars’ ire. Regardless, his talent for calling the turbulent and unpredictable action of WWE has made him one of the top all-time announcers.

Read more