Being an announcer in WWE is unlike any other venue in sports or entertainment because of how involved the announcers get in the action. After succeeding Jim Ross, Michael Cole has been the lead announcer for the WWE going on 20 years. He’s been the main voice of Raw over much of that time and for WWE pay per views. And in those two decades he’s been covered in barbeque sauce in a match with John Cena, RKO’d by Randy Orton, dissed by The Rock, and he even has a WrestleMania victory over broadcast partner Jerry Lawler that was overturned by a disembodied voice speaking through a laptop. Wrestling is weird sometimes. 

Cole has been the voice of the WWE through parts of the Attitude Era, the purchase of WCW, the brand split, the PG era, and now the second brand split. But now his time as the voice of the WWE could be coming to an end as a new report says he’s ready to transition to a backstage role with the company.

From With Spandex via PWInsider Elite:

PWInsider Elite is reporting that while it has always been discussed that Cole would eventually move off television and into an exclusive backstage role, lately that talk has ramped up, especially with the influx of more announcers, like Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, adding Tom Phillips to the now four-man Smackdown booth, Byron Saxton and Austin Aries both working behind the booth on Raw, and Percy Watson now making NXT a three-man booth. 

Cole’s current duties (in addition to his announcing role on Raw and its pay-per-views, and WWE YouTube videos and online interviews) consist of being the senior producer for commentators, and scouting and hiring talent. Michael Cole is the reason that Mauro Ranallo has a job, as Cole hand-picked him to be the lead announcer for Smackdown, and produces the Smackdown and Raw commentary desks for whatever they need beyond what Vince McMahon needs everyone to cover during the shows.

Believe it or not, even though Cole has been with WWE for 20 years he’s still on the south side of 50 and could have a number of years left in him as an announcer. He may not be as popular as Jim Ross was and everybody would rather forget about his domineering bad guy persona from several years ago, but outside of that he’s been a steady hand for Vince McMahon and company for a long period of time. WWE would feel and sound very different without him, but perhaps with so many new faces coming along and the company moving forward with their second brand split, now is the right time. And let’s face it, 20 years is a long, long time to be doing the same thing so it could be time for Cole to try something new.

With Cole helping to bring in former MMA and New Japan Pro Wrestling announcer Mauro Ranallo (currently the lead voice of Smackdown) there’s a natural replacement in WWE already to be the top announcer for pay per views and other major events.

[With Spandex]