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Michael Cole is not horrible. He is really good at calling the Rumble Match, because he goes into full journalistic mode, and researches all the facts and statistics on the guys and their Rumble performances. I know all the moves better than any play-by-play guy will call, and I know the storyline better than any colour guy will flesh out (except maybe JBL), but when Cole spouts off those little facts in the Rumble, it's something I don't know from memory. I really like that about him. It reminds me of Jack Korpela, who is another underrated commentator in the WWE.
What I don't like about Cole, is just how fucking biased his face character is. It would not be so bad if the character was actually right, but the fact is, it's not. Rey Mysterio does three rolling suplexes, it's apparently an amazing tribute. Eddie Guerrero's nephew busts them out in the same match, and apparently it's an insult to his memory. This is completely ignoring the fact that Rey had a death feud with Eddie in storylines over the fate of his son, Chavo is the man's flesh and blood relative, and Chavo just does the moves better.
Most of Cole's shittiness comes from the WWE, though. You know, people in his ear. If the guy was allowed to be himself, he could do a great job. I was watching No Way Out 2004 the other day, and one thing I really appreciated was how just before the main event, they showed Goldberg, and Cole was furious. "How dare this man show up? Who does he think he is?" Goldberg was one of the biggest faces in the WWE at the time, but Cole was pissed off because he had Speared SmackDown!'s General Manager, Paul Heyman. Cole didn't like Heyman as a GM, but he still had this brand loyalty. It's kind of off-topic, but that kind of brand loyalty needs to return for this brand split to work, I think.
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