4 times Michael Cole threw shade at AEW on live WWE TV
The war between AEW and WWE is most prominent online, with fans often taking to the comment sections of social media to bicker about the best promotion.
While the worst stays on social media, veteran commentator Michael Cole has often taken liberties by referencing AEW and taking jabs at them.
Continue reading as we list four times Michael Cole threw shade at Tony Khan's promotion.
#4. Downplaying Cody Rhodes for achieving the first victory for AEW
All Elite Wrestling was first formed back in 2019, and after the successful first-ever All In pay-per-view, they launched their first weekly show, Dynamite.
In the show opener, Cody Rhodes historically faced Sammy Guevara during the Capital One Arena. The American Nightmare notably picked up the first-ever victory for the promotion, which became a major point in his feud with The Spanish God before exiting AEW.
During the November 14 episode of WWE RAW, the promotion visited the Capital One Arena. During the bout, Michael Cole referenced Rhodes' first match back on SmackDown and made light of the historical AEW moment.
"Cody wrestled his first match back on SmackDown in the Capital One Arena. He did some other stuff in this building as well."
While this could have simply been done in jest, many fans saw the moment as insulting to All Elite Wrestling.
#3. Snubbing Chris Jericho's monumental WWE Intercontinental Championship victories
Jericho's championship reigns in WWE were not what made him into a megastar, but the amount of times he won the Intercontinental Championship remains historical.
Despite this, Michael Cole interestingly glossed over the veteran's name while introducing The Miz during the recent WWE RAW episode.
"The eight-time Intercontinental Champion, and if he can pin Gunther this coming Saturday, he will be tied with... the most Intercontinental Championship reigns in history," Michael Cole said.
Despite this, many have pointed out that this could largely be because of Chris Jericho's status with AEW. Until the veteran is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, he might continue snubbed by the promotion.
#2. Michael Cole seemingly mentioned CM Punk's suspension
The "Brawl Out Incident" was one of the most controversial points in AEW history and resulted in the suspensions of CM Punk, The Elite, and several backstage producers.
While fans were poking fun at the issue online, Cole seemingly mentioned it during a September 2022 episode of WWE RAW.
In reference to Ronda Rousey, Cole infamously said that she "has been disciplined internally, the results of which will not be made public." Additionally, in regards to Adam Pierce, he said the following:
"Sources told me WWE official Adam Pierce has gotten carried away, he's aired the dirty laundry publicly, hence the reason this investigation has been taken behind the scenes."
Unfortunately for fans, AEW has never revealed what really happened between CM Punk and The Elite.
#1. Michael Cole takes a direct shot at Tony Khan during WWE Elimination Chamber
Tony Khan infamously had an interview with Ariel Helwani back in 2022 to try and unearth some information about the "Brawl Out" and how he felt about the situation.
While the interview went off without a hitch, Helwani blasted Khan in a podcast episode. Tony Khan then took to social media to trash him after the journalist made a live appearance during this year's Elimination Chamber.
Live on the event, Michael Cole referred to Helwani as an "unbiased journalist" after Khan called him biased.
In reference to their interview, Cole added that Helwani "asks the hard questions, whether you want to answer them or not." To date, this is one of the most memorable shots the veteran commentator has ever taken at AEW and one where Tony Khan came off the worst.