55-year-old WWE star recounts why Vince McMahon respected him

In the wake of Janel Grant's lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment's co-founder Vince McMahon in January 2024, the former WWE Chairman left TKO Group Holdings for good. He had retired from WWE in July 2022 but returned as a TKO board member in 2023. It seems that this time, there is no coming back for McMahon.

One of WWE's veteran commentators, Michael Cole, still performs at an elite level for the company in 2024. He recently shed light on how, under McMahon's regime, lines were often fed to him via headset by the boss.

During an interview with Bryan Curtis, Cole admitted that, at times, Vince McMahon's orders would get out of hand. He would then confront the boss about this, not caring about the repercussions. The veteran commentator revealed that McMahon respected that he stood up for what he believed to be right:

"I’m not going to lie, There have been times where he (Vince McMahon) has said things to me (via headset) that were inappropriate. I would go back to Gorilla after the show and get in his face and tell him, ‘That was bullsh*t.’ He respected that I did that," Michael Cole said.

Former WWE Superstar Matt Hardy, who is currently signed to TNA, recently alleged that Vince McMahon sabotaged his "Ultimate Deletion" match against late wrestler Bray Wyatt. Hardy claimed that McMahon was likely the one who ordered Michael Cole to apologize to fans before the bout was aired on RAW.

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Michael Cole is certain Corey Graves is his heir in WWE

Michael Cole has been signed to WWE since 1997. Cole, 55, revealed last year during an interview that 60 is a good number to slow things down. As for his replacement, he is backing Corey Graves.

After retiring from the ring in 2014, Graves began working as an on-air talent. While conversing on Awful Announcing earlier this year, Cole revealed that he truly believes the former in-ring performer has found his own voice. When the time comes to leave for good, Michael Cole believes Corey Graves will step up:

"[It was] a matter of giving him the opportunity to sit side by side for many years, to watch, learn, study, and see how I do things. And at the end of the day, when we gave him the shot? He’s been killing it. I believe he’s the heir apparent," he said.

Corey Graves serves as the play-by-play commentator on SmackDown today with another retired wrestler, Stu Bennett (formerly Wade Barrett), while Michael Cole does the same for RAW alongside Pat McAfee.