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I don't think it's that Michael Cole has no comebacks, it's just his hands are tied by his generic face role. Michael Cole, in real life, is a quick-witted, smart, sometimes arrogant sounding son of a bitch. I think if he was allowed to submit more wit and edge into his commentary, instead of blindly following the good guys, he would be so much better.
One thing I think Cole has handled horribly is The Hardys' participation in MITB at WrestleMania. JBL makes a point about Hardy jumping off a ladder instead of climbing it. JBL is being perfectly logical there, and Cole shouldn't try so hard to contrast him. Sometimes it is just annoying.
On SmackDown!, this is what went down between JBL and Michael Cole (roughly):
JBL: Jeff Hardy could have chosen to won MITB, but instead he jumped off the ladder, and damn near killed himself.
Michael Cole: The fact is, Jeff Hardy did what he had to do to try and win MITB.
Michael Cole is just arguing with JBL to balance things out, or to blindly support Jeff Hardy as if he were a flawless entity of heroism. As a mark watching, I would have agreed with JBL. Even if I loved Jeff Hardy, he did nearly kill himself, and did kill his chances, at winning MITB. Michael Cole arguing that a near suicide attempt is trying to win makes me dislike Michael Cole. If I am impartial to Jeff Hardy, this could have a negative affect on my liking for him, because Cole is on his side and is so damn irritating.
Perhaps something like this would have been better:
JBL: Jeff Hardy could have chosen to won MITB, but instead he jumped off the ladder, and damn near killed himself.
Michael Cole: I have to agree with you, JBL. Jeff Hardy could have gone for the briefcase, but he saw an opportunity to take out one of his opponents. Pushing the limits is also how Jeff Hardy has earned himself so many fans, which gives him the momentum he needs to be successful.
JBL: You don't need fans to be successful, Michael! On the contrary, it was only when I stopped pretending to be a lovable redneck that I became successful! When Jeff Hardy realises that pandering to these idiots is hurting him rather than helping, he could end up having the very same success as I did.
Doesn't that just seem to flow so much better?
Also, Michael Cole's defending of Matt Hardy is just awful. Matt did encourage Jeff to jump off the ladder and take out himself and Edge. Instead of calling JBL "delusional", when he is clearly right, Cole should have said something like this:
"Matt Hardy did encourage Jeff to take out Edge. However, you could tell that Matt was concerned about his brother's health. He just wanted to take him out for a second, so Matt would have the chance he needed to win the match, and didn't have to go through his own brother in a Ladder Match to do it. It was ambitious of Matt Hardy, yes, but JBL, you've always said Matt Hardy needs to stop showboating to the fans and start winning. That's what he was trying to do."
Michael Cole might even trip JBL up by reflecting it back on his usual "Do whatever it takes," heel mentality. Layfield could of course just agree with Cole and say "Matt Hardy is a main event waiting to happen."
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