Tom Hannifan: Michael Cole Is Finally Being Appreciated By Fans, He Never Misses When It Comes To Emotion

Tom Hannifan says Michael Cole is finally getting his flowers.

WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard recently spoke with IMPACT Wrestling’s Tom Hannifan ahead of the company’s upcoming Las Vegas television tapings. Hannifan spoke about how much Pat McAfee has added to the dynamic of pro wrestling commentary, including how he’s allowed Michael Cole to expand his role as well.

Hannifan agreed that Michael Cole played a specific role in WWE for many years, almost to a fault in some fans’ eyes. Now, Cole has shown his more passionate side alongside McAfee and he is finally being appreciated for how good he is.

“It’s like any job. Your boss asks you to do something, you do it to the best of your ability. If you get a chance to ad-lib and do something a little bit different, they’re like, ‘Hey, you know, I don’t know what this is supposed to look like, but you do your best and be creative with it,” Hannifan said. “I think there’s just some different circumstances that have popped up and Cole is finally being appreciated.

“I think we all that were working in WWE saw it up close and personal, so we’ve appreciated it for years internally, but externally it was something that I was trying to model myself after,” Hannifan explained. “[The idea] that, ‘oh, it might take me 10, 20, 25 years, for instance, to get the appreciation of fans or something for just being consistent.’ I’d rather be consistent than have crazy peaks and valleys. So, I think that’s the thing about Cole is that he never misses when it comes to emotion. The thing that I think fans forget about is that he freaking loves wrestling. So, to get to call this week in and week out, he’s ecstatic.”

Read More: Tom Hannifan Says Pat McAfee Created Positive Changes For Commentary, It’s Reverberating Throughout The Business