Every Michael Cole Match, Ranked From Worst To Best

Michael Cole is most known as being WWE’s lead commentator, currently acting as the voice of SmackDown. Whilst he’s received some criticism over his career in terms of commentary style, he is no doubt perfect for what WWE wants in that role. In recent times he has shown some more personality, sitting alongside Pat McAfee.RELATED: The Miz's First 10 WWE PPV Matches, Ranked From Worst To BestThere was a time when Cole acted as the heel commentator, in a role that saw him feud with superstars and fellow announcers, which led to his in-ring career, though calling it a career is a bit of a stretch. He wrestled just 10 televised matches during his in-ring tenure, which hopefully isn't extended. Cole also wrestled two further times in non-televised matches, losing to Jerry Lawler in a dark match Street Fight, and once more losing to Lawler on a SmackDown house show, under the same stipulation. Most of his matches were received terribly, with some being better than others.

10 Vs Jim Ross, April 25, 2011, Raw

Cole was right in the middle of his detestable heel run, coming to the ring being billed as ‘Sir Michael Cole’, and this match acted as a precursor to their Extreme Rules tag match. Cole mocked JR’s weight, stamped on his cowboy hat, and took multiple ‘time-outs’, with the pair wandering around for minutes on end. The occasional ‘boring’ chant could be heard from the crowd.

JR finally got his hands on Cole, following a failed attempt from Michael to slam him in the middle of the ring. The match would end when Jack Swagger, in Cole’s corner, entered the ring to cause a DQ. Post-match shenanigans couldn’t save this from being painful television.

9 Vs Jerry Lawler, July 9, 2012, Raw

In a ‘vote’ amongst fans online, this WrestleMania rematch took place on Raw, when fans thought they were free from this feud. Cole escaped the ring quickly, before being thrown back in by commentator, Booker T. Lawler took Cole onto his shoulders for an airplane spin, before pinning him for the win.

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In a horrific re-enactment from the year prior, the guest host for Raw that week, the former Anonymous Raw General Manager, declared Cole the victor via disqualification. This was a waste of time and an unneeded call back to a feud many wished to forget.

8 Vs John Cena, June 4, 2012, Raw

General Manager at the time, (and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations) John Laurinaitis, gave 16-time world champion John Cena the choice of opponent for the main event of Raw. Cena chose Cole. Beforehand, Cena had to defeat Lord Tensai, which he did, and then proceeded to embarrass the commentator.

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Cena forced Cole to apologize to JR and Lawler, covered him in barbecue sauce, and shot at him with a fire extinguisher. This was long, tedious, and perhaps up there with the worst main events in Raw history. The fans partially enjoyed Cole getting his justice served, but it was all just a big waste of time.

7 w/ Jerry Lawler Vs Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, July 28, 2008, Raw

This was originally supposed to be a World Tag Team Championship match, with Lawler teaming with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Instead, Cole was announced as Lawler’s partner just minutes before the contest. This would be the first and only match Cole worked as a face.

The champions beat down Lawler before Cole inadvertently tagged himself in. To the delight of the crowd, he nailed Rhodes with a big right hand, before being laid out by Cody, and getting pinned. This wasn’t great, but at least it was short.

6 Vs Jerry Lawler, April 3, 2011, WrestleMania 27

Despite being one of the worst WrestleMania matches in history, it's the middle of the road when it comes to Cole’s matches. Special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin managed to salvage some portions of this long, monotonous affair, but it was still very poor.

Cole and Lawler went back and forth, with the occasional fun spot, ending with an extended beatdown of Cole, which was at least satisfying for Lawler. Lawler beat Cole, supposedly ending the feud for good, and getting his first Mania win. Then disaster struck, as the Anonymous Raw GM announced that Cole was victorious via DQ due to interference from Austin. It was terrible booking.

5 w/ Jack Swagger Vs Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross, May 1, 2011, Extreme Rules

This was a ‘Country Whipping Match’, involving some surprisingly brutal lashes during the contest. Swagger helped the match in moments, but it was largely dull. There is simply no excuse as to why this feud stretched further than WrestleMania, but at least this match didn’t drag as long.

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Cole rolled up JR for the victory, with the audience collectively groaning at the extension of the rivalry, with Cole still not yet getting his comeuppance.

4 Vs Jerry Lawler, May 22, 2012, Over The Limit

The stipulation for this one was ‘Kiss My Foot’, calling back Lawler’s history with the gimmick match in his feud with Bret Hart. Cole tried to swerve the affair, claiming to be ‘medical prohibited’, but the referee rang the bell, and Lawler took it to Cole. After brief offense from the heel, Lawler rightfully dominated and scored a quick win.

The post-match involved Cole receiving a moonsault from Eve Torres, a drowning of barbecue sauce by Jim Ross, a sharpshooter from Bret Hart, and a meal courtesy of Lawler’s foot. This was quick, provided some fun moments, and was the best of the series between Cole and Lawler, though that isn’t a tough task to achieve.

3 Vs Zack Ryder, July 25, 2011, Raw

Cole was forced to come to the ring dressed as Triple H, walk to the ring with his music, and perform his entrance, in one of the more surreal moments in Raw history, as he clumsily dribbled water all over himself when trying to mimic HHH.

It was cringeworthy, ugly, but it was short and harmless in the long run, with a pre-Death Match savvy Ryder squashing Cole in under 30 seconds, so at least it was put to bed speedily.

2 w/ Alberto Del Rio Vs John Cena & Jim Ross, October 15, 2011, Raw

This match was announced without much reasoning, but it happened, nonetheless. Cena and Del Rio entered the match after a short opening of Cole being walloped by JR, and they unsurprisingly delivered the goods, wrestling well and possessing strong chemistry.

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Del Rio tagged out. Cole entered and received an AA from Cena, allowing JR to then submit Cole in the middle of the ring. Cena and Del Rio saved this from being a disaster and gave some good, solid action, which can’t be said for most of Cole’s matches.

1 Royal Rumble Match, January 29, 2012

This may have been one of the weaker Rumbles in history, though it's still a Rumble, so it managed to achieve an element of enjoyment regardless. This exposed a thin roster, opening spots for the three commentators sitting ringside. Cole’s portion of the contest saw him take an age to don his ring gear and enter the ring. He then jumped over the top rope after the surprise appearance of future Impact Hall of Famer, Kharma, and then get eliminated by his commentary teammates. Following this, he would proceed to brag about lasting longer in the match than Lawler.

If the match is being judged as a whole, then it's by far the best Michael Cole match of all time, which isn’t the best thing to brag about.