"Eddie Guerrero is going to WrestleMania as the WWE Champion! ", "Miracle on Bourbon Street!", "Heist of the century!"... among countless other legendary quotes attributed to one man: Sean Michael Coulthard, better known as Michael Cole on-screen.
The veteran signed with WWE in 1997 and has remained with the company ever since. Aside from commentating, Cole has even stepped into the ring a few times, most notably at WrestleMania 27, against Jerry "The King" Lawler back in 2011.
In an interview on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, Michael Cole touched on a variety of topics, including his longevity in the business. The legendary commentator explained how he managed to survive for 26 years:
"I think one of the reasons that I've survived as long as I have here is, I have never, with the exception of maybe one or two people, I have never become close personal friends with anybody in the ring. I've always kept an arm's length distance," Cole said. "I go to work, and I do my job, and I go home, and we talk about the world and not WWE. I think that's helped me as a performer, and it's helped my longevity here as well." [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]
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Michael Cole then revealed that he has no intentions of still working in old age like some of his peers, stating that he wants to get out "while the going is good." Cole even gave an approximate time period at which he would call it a career:
"People ask me all the time, 'How long are you gonna do this for?' I'll tell you one thing, you know, 30 years would be a really cool goal. That's four years from now." [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]
Michael Cole talks about The Bloodline story in WWE
Michael Cole said in the aforementioned interview that he will be calling both nights at WrestleMania 39. Regarding the company's top angle and the storyline involving all members of The Bloodline, Cole had this to say:
"It's incredible. This story is the best story that I've been involved in for 26 years, bar none, for so many different reasons. You know, when I made that comment about this story should win an Emmy, and I got laughed at by a lot of people, I'll say it again today on your show that this story deserves an Emmy or at least a nomination. Yeah, we're wrestling, right? We're sports entertainment. You know, we're a joke to a lot of people within the Hollywood world, but it's about time that the work that we do in our company is recognized on that level." [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]
What are your predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39? Sound off in the comments section below.