3 Times Michael Cole took shots at AEW on a live WWE show

In the past five years, AEW has taken countless shots at WWE. While the Jacksonville-based company has refrained from directly acknowledging its competition's existence, WWE has never shied away from giving it back to Tony Khan's promotion.

A color commentator plays a huge role in pro wrestling, as he sets the tone of an ongoing match or promo segment. Interestingly, the commentators also act as the mouthpiece of a wrestling promotion, serving as the medium through which verbal barbs are traded between two companies.

Michael Cole, WWE's lead commentator, has cheekily taken several jabs at All Elite Wrestling in the past few years. While he has never directly mentioned the Tony Khan-led company on television, Cole's subtle references have been intangible enough for the audience to grasp.

In this article, let's look at three times Michael Cole took jabs at All Elite Wrestling.

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#3. Michael Cole calls Ariel Helwani "unbiased"

In October 2022, Tony Khan made an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. The interview took place a few days after the controversial CM Punk-Elite backstage brawl at AEW All Out 2022.

During the infamous exchange, Helwani put up several questions regarding the Brawl Out incident, trying to get Khan to comment on the unfortunate situation. However, despite Helwani's multiple attempts, Tony refused to share any information regarding the incident.

A few days later, the renowned MMA journalist termed his dialogue with Khan one of the "most frustrating interviews" he has ever conducted. In February 2023, the 42-year-old individual appeared on WWE SmackDown, which took place in his hometown of Montreal, Canada.

Tony Khan was quick to take notice of Helwani's appearance on WWE programming, resulting in him calling Ariel a fraud and mocking the latter's claim of being an unbiased journalist.

In a surprising turn of events, Michael Cole came to the defense of the Canadian native. At WWE Elimination Chamber 2023, Ariel Helwani was in the crowd yet again and was acknowledged by Cole on television.

The veteran broadcaster threw shade at Tony Khan by calling Helwani an "unbiased journalist" who only asks the hard questions whether one wants to answer them or not. Fans were taken aback by Cole chipping in with his comments in the Helwani vs. Khan feud, which was a hot topic on social media at the time.

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#2. Michael Cole takes a shot at AEW for airing the All In 2023 footage

In April 2024, CM Punk had his turn to have a dialogue with Ariel Helwani on the latter's podcast. The Voice of The Voiceless went ballistic on AEW during this interview, as The Best in The World chastised Tony Khan for his poor management.

The AEW President was frustrated with Punk criticizing his company on Ariel Helwani's podcast. It was soon announced that the Jacksonville-based promotion would air the footage of the infamous CM Punk-Jack Perry brawl from AEW All In 2023. This immediately resulted in backlash from fans.

During the WrestleMania 40 Kickoff Show, Michael Cole was once again in the news after throwing shade at the Jacksonville-based promotion. The veteran commentator had planned an intriguing introduction for CM Punk, as he introduced the 46-year-old star as "the man who the internet wrestling marks use to make headlines."

Clearly, Michael Cole was not a fan of Tony Khan clinging onto the past by airing the footage of an individual, who was released from the company months ago.

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#1. Michael Cole downplays AEW's success during Penta's WWE debut

The latest episode of WWE RAW witnessed the much-awaited debut of Penta. The dangerous luchador looked like a star in his first WWE appearance, as the creative team nailed his presentation from start to finish.

The former AEW star wrestled Chad Gable in a highly entertaining clash of styles. The leader of the American Made proved to be a great opponent for Penta, as he helped bring the best out of the 39-year-old star.

Ultimately, it was Penta who got the victory by nailing Gable with a Pentagon Driver. As the Mexican star went to cover Master Gable, Michael Cole yelled, "Welcome to the Big Time, Penta!" on the mic.

Interestingly, Cole also omitted AEW from the list of companies the luchador had worked for while introducing him during his entrance. The 58-year-old seemingly did not want to give any credit to All Elite Wrestling, as he indirectly called it a minor company in comparison to WWE.

It will be intriguing to see if AEW strikes back at the Stamford-based promotion for seemingly undermining its rise in the industry.