"I don't know how much longer he's gonna go" - Jim Ross ponders WWE veteran's future
AEW commentator Jim Ross is one of the most iconic voices in all of wrestling. JR recently commented on the future of one of WWE's most famous broadcasters.
The WWE veteran in question is Michael Cole, who has been with the company since 1997. He started his time with the company as a backstage interviewer, but by the end of the decade, he was on hand to call legendary moments like Mankind winning the WWF Championship and a large portion of WrestleMania 15.
After spending over nine years as the main play-by-play announcer on SmackDown, Cole replaced JR on Raw in 2008 during the WWE Draft and has been the main voice of WWE ever since. However, he recently spoke about retiring, saying he doesn't want to be a commentator when he's 80.
Michael Cole appreciation post. He has been our commentator forever. Michael Cole has lived through attitude era, ruthless aggression, HBK retirement, ric flair retirement, the shield, end of an era, takers last match, Covid era, list goes on and on. #wwe #michaelcole https://t.co/zqHr4pkwkK
Jim Ross was asked about Cole's comments on his "Grilling JR" podcast. While the AEW commentator didn't take the comments personally, he said that he doesn't know how much longer Michael will be announcing for:
"I don't know how much longer he's gonna go, but I don't perceive that as a shot at me whatsoever. Look, when I was his age, I would have never thought that good old JR would be doing a weekly show at 71 years old. Not many have done this. I do it for my own mental health and I do it because I love it. This is gonna sound horrible, but I still think I'm pretty damn good at it. At least I try to be. I didn't look at it as a personal thing whatsoever."
JR said that he and Cole exchange texts every now and then:
"I like Michael. He's a good friend. We exchange texts from time to time. When I hear him do something I think is really, really good, I'll let him know because that's what we all should do in our business." (H/T Wrestling Headlines)
You can hear Michael Cole and Jim Ross calling action every Friday for their respective companies, with Cole being the voice of WWE SmackDown and JR working on AEW Rampage.
Jim Ross believes AEW needs to bring CM Punk back
Arguably the most controversial performer on the AEW roster right now is CM Punk, who has created a number of enemies since arriving in the company in August 2021.
During Punk's absence, many have speculated about whether or not he will return to the company due to how many bridges he has already burned backstage. But Jim Ross feels bringing Punk back is the right move.
“Of course, the whole question is gonna center around [will] CM Punk ever be back. I’m one of those guys that believe he will be back.
We’ll see. I think AEW needs CM Punk because of his star power”
- Jim Ross
(via Grilling JR) https://t.co/bWcHWpehIX
Current AEW Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood recently stated that Punk misses wrestling and wants to come back. He has only wrestled two matches since breaking his foot in June 2022.
Do you think CM Punk will return to AEW? Let us know in the comments section down below!