WWE’s Michael Cole Reveals He Has 65% Hearing Loss

Few names are as synonymous with WWE these days as Michael Cole, whether you watch his weekly commentary with Pat McAfee on SmackDown every week or simply know him because of the many times Bayley’s yelled at him from the ring. Cole and McAfee’s stellar partnership has been one of the many reasons why SmackDown has become WWE’s A show, and what makes their work together even more impressive is the revelation that Cole has been making it happen with around 65% hearing loss. Cole spoke to McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show, saying “I’m actually 65% hearing loss. They make these special in-ear pieces that go underneath my headset on air, so I can actually hear.”

McAfee said he’ll have to scream things at Cole, and both wondered whether years of doing commentary or explosions led to the hearing loss. Cole then talked about the process of putting together the show before they go live, but once the red light goes on there is no job he’d rather have.

“When the red light goes on, it’s fun. There’s a lot leading up to it and a lot of stuff that happens during the week, but Friday nights at 8 o’clock, when that red light goes on, it’s the best job in the world,” Cole said. “You get to be play-by-play guy, color analyst, but you also get to be a storyteller and a narrator. You get to be an actor, you’re part of the show. It’s the best of every world possible.”

As for his work with McAfee, Cole credits him with revitalizing his career.

“You have completely revitalized my career. I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years and have seen and been part of everything in WWE. You go through different partners and everyone I have worked with has been great and have all brought a different style to the product. JBL, unbelievable partner. Corey Graves, incredible talent. You’re different than all of those guys because you’re a true fan and you bring that enthusiasm to the product and seeing how you’ve been acting over the past couple of months has really revitalized what I do and I realize that I have to step up my game to keep up with what you’re doing from an enthusiastic standpoint and that’s what I’m trying to do. It’s been a lot of fun for me and it’s been really different. Thank you for breathing life into this old man,” Cole said.

H/T Fightful