Michael Cole remains one of WWE’s longest-tenured employees, and he shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Cole reunited with his former SmackDown broadcast partner. Pat McAfee has not been a regular commentator since last September, but as they say, absence only makes the heart grow fonder. This statement is especially true in the case of Michael Cole, as McAfee asked him when he might retire.
“Well, I’m going to have to stop [commentating]. I’m going to be married 30 years. So, if I want it to last longer than that, I’m probably going to have to stop at some point. But no, it won’t be any time soon. I still got a lot of work to do with this company, you know? There’s still a lot of stuff to do, still a lot of shows to call. I’m 56 now, so 60 sounds like a pretty good age to maybe slow down a little bit.”
Cole’s life in WWE has spanned over 26 years now as he spends the majority of the year on the road. With his commitment to WWE, Cole has spent much time away from his family, including his children, and now his grandkids as well. While Cole does his best to balance work and family life, his priorities have definitely shifted over time.
“Those little ones come, and they really change a lot of perspective in your life,” Cole said. “I raised two great sons and I was really happy the way they turned out. But in retrospect, I wish I had spent a little bit more time at home with them. So now, the fact that I have some grandkids, I want to be able to spend some time with them, bring them out to the ranch, have a good time with them. I want to be able to do that. And I think now at this point in my life and everything that I’ve accomplished, it’s a little bit easier seeing the end of the road as it might have been when I was in my mid-30s enjoying life. It’s just a different perspective on it and everything.”
As Cole seems to be winding down his commentary duties in the next few years, the window of opportunity to work with Pat McAfee again also closes a little bit. “We got to work together again, though, don’t we?” McAfee asked him.
McAfee, of course, was integral to revitalizing Cole’s career behind the commentary desk. Cole then vowed to hold off his retirement a little longer if they could work together again. “I’ll make a promise to you. I won’t get out of this full-time until you and I can have at least a little bit of a run left. Now, if you’re gonna push that off until I’m 75, well, we’re gonna have to re-talk.”
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