AEW personality opens up about backstage relationship with Michael Cole during WWE stint
An AEW personality recently opened up about his backstage relationship with legendary commentator Michael Cole during his stint with WWE. The talent in question is Nigel McGuinness.
Cole has been in the pro wrestling business since the late 1990s. He joined WWE in 1997 as a backstage interviewer and went on to become a legendary commentator during the next two decades. The 55-year-old currently serves as the play-by-play commentator on Monday Night RAW.
Meanwhile, McGuinness is currently working as a color commentator on AEW Collision. The 48-year-old was a part of the Sports Entertainment juggernaut between 2016 and 2022. He signed with the company as a commentator in December 2016 after being recommended by Cole. The duo shared the commentary desk at the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament in January 2017.
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, McGuinness said that Michael Cole's guidance during his early days as a commentator set him up for success.
“I've always said, actually, if this is what I know about doing commentary, this is what I learned in WWE about it. And that all goes down to Michael Cole and filtered down through Tom Phillips; both of them are so incredible in taking their time in explaining WWE’s view of commentary and how to do it, and setting me up for success rather than failure," he said. [H/T: CVV]
The AEW personality further praised Michael Cole, stating that the latter was a valuable asset to WWE. McGuinness also recalled the veteran commentator's arduous path to success, adding that Cole was never mean to him and wanted him to succeed.
"And Michael Cole, when he started there, people weren't quite so kind and understanding to him. Not even the fans, not even the people behind the scenes; it was a very different atmosphere backstage when he started. Sometimes people take that forward; I had to endure this; I had to pay my dues. He could have been very mean and [said] you got to be good, or else you're gonna be [fired]. But he didn't want that; he wanted it to be a success. That's why, in my opinion, he is such a valuable asset to that company,” he added. [H/T: CVV]
Triple H chooses Pat McAfee over Michael Cole
During the SummerSlam Kickoff show, RAW commentators Pat McAfee and Michael Cole joined Triple H onstage and did The Game's signature entrance water spit.
Last night on the flagship show, the two commentators analyzed their water spit move, with McAfee claiming that he did it better than Cole.
The King of Kings agreed with McAfee, as he took to his Twitter (X) account and wrote that the latter was ''infinitely better than'' Cole.
Meanwhile, Cole is set to move to SmackDown next month when the Friday Night Show returns to the USA Network on September 13.