Michael Cole Explains His Deliberate Avoidance of Politics in WWE Broadcasts

WWE broadcaster Michael Cole has maintained a strict stance against political commentary during his nearly three-decade career with the company, a position he believes is crucial for his role and for the audience's experience. In an interview with OutKick's Bobby Burack, Cole detailed his philosophy, emphasizing that his job is to entertain and that injecting personal political opinions would be a disservice to the scripted nature of professional wrestling.

Cole stated that upon joining WWE 30 years ago, the company maintained a "total non-political stance," which remains the case today. He pointed to the importance of not getting involved in social media, where comments can easily be misinterpreted. "All I’m going to do is get myself in trouble if I tweet something out because someone is going to take it the wrong way, right? So, I don’t get involved in any type of social media. I don’t have Facebook. I don’t have Instagram. I don’t have any of that type of stuff," Cole explained.

He further elaborated on the distinction between his personal identity and his on-air persona. "When we’re on television, what I try to remember is that I’m not Sean Coulthard – my real name and my real life. I’m Michael Cole. Michael Cole is an actor. That’s my job. My job is to play a role in this weekly episodic television show that is scripted entertainment," he said. "There’s no reason for me to make a political statement on the air. None. My job is to be an actor and play by the rules of what the script tells us to do each and every week."

This approach sets Cole apart from some other figures in sports broadcasting. The article notes that broadcasters like Amazon Prime's Al Michaels, former ESPN commentator Mark Jones, and NBC Sports' Cris Collinsworth have, at times, made political remarks or comments related to societal issues. Cole, however, believes that WWE's audience tunes in for the performers and the scripted drama, not for the announcer's political views.

"No one cares what Michael Cole has to say about anything political. They don’t. Just like I don’t care about any other broadcaster and what they have to say about anything political. It doesn’t matter to me," Cole stated. "People don’t watch WWE for Michael Cole. They watch it for the superstars in the ring and then I hope I do my job, which is to enhance what these people are seeing on their screens."

Cole also highlighted his ability to maintain a clear separation between his professional life and his personal life. He mentioned that his family does not regularly watch WWE programming, which helps him remain grounded. "Listen, I have done a really good job separating my WWE life from my normal life," he said. "My family are not fans of the product. They don’t watch the product. ... I’m able to come home and spend my time at home, living a normal life and not talking about WWE and not talking about the company with my family and I think that has been so important to me. It’s kept me grounded and it just makes life so much better."

Cole is scheduled to call the action for "Friday Night SmackDown" and the upcoming "Money in the Bank" event.