WWE veteran forced to change his name because of Shawn Michaels

Michael Cole is one of WWE's longest-tenured superstars, having joined the company back in 1997. 25 years later, Cole is still one of the most dependable stars behind the announcer's desk.

The promotion was very different back in 1997 and the biggest star at the time was Shawn Michaels, which caused Cole some issues when he signed for the company under his real name.

As part of a recent appearance on The Press Box, the veteran revealed that he was forced to change his name when he debuted because the company didn't want two Shawn's on-screen.

“My real name is Sean Coulthard. I came from CBS News. I walked into sports entertainment as a fan not having any idea what I was getting myself into. I had to come up with a different name because at the time, Shawn Michaels was a major star in the company, and they didn’t want to have two Shawns on the air. So I took my middle name and half my last name. So I have a name that doesn’t belong to me, and I play a broadcaster on television." (H/T Ringsidenews)

Cole has developed quite the on-screen persona over the past two decades and has even been allowed to wrestle several times.

Pat McAfee is Michael Cole's current broadcast partner on WWE SmackDown

Over the past 25 years, Michael Cole has been joined by some famous faces behind the announcer table, including Tazz, JBL, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, and currently Pat McAfee.

After a brief stint on NXT, McAfee was chosen as Cole's partner for SmackDown and is set to wrestle at this year's WrestleMania event. It's unclear who will announce alongside Cole or whether McAfee will still be on commentary for the show ahead of his match.

The former NFL star takes on Austin Theory at WrestleMania 38. The match took form after WWE Chairman Vince McMahon offered McAfee the biggest moment of his career a few weeks ago on the Pat McAfee Show.

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