Many within World Wrestling Entertainment feel that Michael Cole’s ego has gotten out of control in recent months. There have been reports of “The Voice of WWE” having tremendous heat amongst the locker room. In light of Cole’s Twitter miscue over the weekend, one company source gave his opinion on how the lead WWE annnouncer conducts himself behind the scenes.

“Is Cole getting a big head? HELL YES,” the source exclaimed. “Ever since he was reading the GM e-mails he started begging to become GM and walks around like his sh– doesn’t stink. He has an opinion on everything.”

The source also indicated that Cole berates creative writers who hand him scripts, as he feels he can say whatever he wants on television. Many feel Cole’s on-screen persona has gone to his head as how he portrays himself on television reflects his behavior behind the scenes.

The source indicated that incidents such as his flagrant remark on Twitter would be cause for termination if Vince McMahon was looking for an excuse to release a talent. However, the organization has too much invested in the Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole program to abandon it.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

Michael Cole directed a homophobic slur yesterday afternoon on his Twitter account to fellow WWE announcer Josh Mathews before deleting it a short while later.

He then wrote on Twitter, “I apologize to any and all who were offended by my tweet toward young Josh Mathews. It was obviously not meant the way it was taken.

“I was not ordered to apologize I said I am sorry because I am. Now can I get back to being a character again please?”

TMZ.com drew attention to the Twitter post and WWE’s recently announced partnership with GLAAD to end bullying based on sexual orientation after John Cena directed a number of ‘homophobic taunts’ towards Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the February 28 episode of Monday Night Raw. WWE released a statement to TMZ regarding Cole’s conduct.

“WWE has alerted GLAAD to the situation and spoken to Michael Cole about his post. He has removed it and apologized for using hateful language. Michael will be included in the training session being done by GLAAD. WWE takes this very seriously and is against discrimination of any kind based on sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or other.”

— The Poughkeepsie Journal published an article today on Michael Cole. When asked about his match at WrestleMania XXVII, the Amenia, New York native broke character and said, “The dream’s come true. I’m participating in an event against a man who is an absolute legend and Hall of Famer in Jerry Lawler. I’m so honored and privileged just to have the opportunity to participate in a match against this man.

“Plus Stone Cold is our special referee. To be in there with two of the greatest icons, it’s like a reality check. It’s such a great ride.”

He also said that his 24-year-old son Calvin is working for WWE in the television production department and travels with him on the road. The story can be read here.

— Sin Cara beat Primo via submission at last night’s Raw live event in Evansville, Indiana. His finisher is a huracanrana into an armbar. The match went 10 to 15 minutes.

— John Cena and Vickie Guerrero are featured on the cover of the latest issue of The Wrestler.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

Michael Cole posted a homophobic slur this afternoon on his recently launched Twitter account as he called fellow WWE announcer Josh Mathews a ‘faggot’. The tweet was in response to Mathews writing “Chicago!”, the host city of this Monday’s Raw taping.

The one word message was deleted approximately half an hour later and an apology was issued.

“I apologize to any and all who were offended by my tweet toward young Josh Mathews,” Cole wrote. “It was obviously not meant the way it was taken.”

He later added, “I was not ordered to apologize I said I am sorry because I am. Now can I get back to being a character again please?”

World Wrestling Entertainment recently came under fire from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which took issue with the ‘homophobic taunts’ John Cena directed towards Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the February 28 episode of Monday Night Raw. Cena’s unsavory verbiage prompted WWE to issue an apology and form a partnership with the organization on an anti-bullying campaign.

WWE subsequently released the following statement:

“WWE takes this issue very seriously, and has already spoken with our talent about these incidents. We are taking steps and working with GLAAD to ensure that our fans know that WWE is against bullying or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. We strongly value our fans in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and apologize to them for these incidents.”

It was also noted in GLAAD’s press release that WWE has invited the organization to conduct training sessions for their staff of writers and editors.

— Out of action for six months due to an attack by Alberto Del Rio, Christian made his return to SmackDown last night. When Del Rio attacked Edge at their WrestleMania contract signing, “Captain Charisma” came to the aid of his former tag team partner. It was announced earlier that Christian would be returning to SmackDown on next week’s show.

— Michael Cole disclosed on SmackDown that he would announce the special guest referee for his match against Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII this Monday on Raw. He described the person as “flamboyant, simply awesome and one of the all-time greats in WWE.”

— The March 3, 2011 episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America drew a 0.57 cable rating, with 596,000 viewers. The midnight replay did a 0.14, with 128,000 viewers.

source: PWInsider.com

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara in WWE: Is there room for both Rey and Sin Cara in WWE? Absolutely. Why not? Do some feel that because both are Hispanic, masked stars that they cannot both be major assets in WWE at the same time. I think not. WWE is lucky to have both men. Rey is an established main event star and a future Hall of Famer while Sin Cara has a huge upside but has to prove himself to the WWE fans.

Michael Cole: “I agree with many emailers that Michael Cole is the type of antagonist that one legitimately wants to see get beat up and humiliated. He has Cornette-like heat hearkening back to the Mid South days where fans lined up in droves to see somebody, anybody humiliate the manager of the Midnight Express. Same emotion elicited by the late Andy Kaufman in Memphis. BTW most fans don’t realize that the Lawler-Kaufman issue lasted well over a year.”

The Rock Back On WWE TV: “I am personally ecstatic that The Rock is back in WWE for WM27 and no matter Rock’s role he’s going to positively add to the event in multiple areas. Rock is a huge star on several fronts and his promo ability is as good as it gets. People ‘over think’ Rock’s return as in what’s going to happen when he’s not on TV? How does he make Cena/Miz look? What happens if Rock steals the show in Atlanta, etc?”

“All talents throughout the Raw and Smackdown rosters need to step it up to attempt to get on Rock’s level. Competition is great for everyone. If Rock, Austin, etc make the incumbents dig a little deeper to perform at a higher level then everyone wins especially the fans.”

“I have no idea what Rock is going to do at WM27 but I can assure you that it will be impactful. His interactions via Twitter, @The Rock, directed to Cena, etc have been entertaining.”

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Sin Cara’s WWE Debut: “Not sure when he will debut but assume it will be after WM27. I know both Raw and Smackdown brands are keenly interested in the young, masked performer. He’s very talented and will dazzle many with his high flying skills. If you’re not familiar with Sin Cara go on You Tube and check out ‘Mistico.’ It’s amazing that so many experts have it figured out that WWE will not fully maximize Sin Cara’s abilities which at this stage of the process is a joke.”

Returning to WWE: “It’s amazing how many times a day I get Tweets @JRsBBQ or emails to this site asking me when I’m returning to WWE. I’ve been with WWE since 1993 but left the air due to health reasons in October of 2009 but never left the company. Am I coming back to work on a weekly TV show or on a PPV? That’s not my call folks. Would I like to? Of course particularly the PPV side of that equation. Some of you that follow up regularly must be getting tired of this too but apparently we are gaining new followers on Twitter and new visitors to this site daily. BTW I’m feeling great and my health is better than it’s been in a decade I’m blessed to say.”

Michael Cole: “No one in WWE has done a better job of developing a new persona than has Michael Cole over the past few months. His goal was to get people to see another side of him, he does have an outgoing personality, and to dislike him enough to want to see someone kick his butt. Cole has succeeded in that task. Does Cole rub me the wrong way on TV more often than not? Absolutely. He can be a tool.”

– On RAW, it was announced that Michael Cole will wrestle Jerry “The King” Lawler. Michael Cole with be trained by Jack Swagger and there will be a special guest referee announced for the match in the coming weeks. WWE has reportedly decided on who the special referee will be, but the creative team has not yet decided on how they want to introduce the mystery referee.

* Jerry Lawler Dating 21-Year-Old Diva (PICTURES)

– The planned WrestleMania match between rival factions Nexus and The Corre has been reportedly nixed, according to f4wonline.com. It’s now believed that The Corre will wrestle the Big Show on in some kind of match. This is not confirmed, but Kevin Nash has been discussed as a tag team partner for the Big Show.

– Speaking of Diesel, he spoke to the Miami Herald last week at the Miami Comic Con event .. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Leaving TNA for WWE: “I had a good relationship with [TNA President] Dixie [Carter] and enjoyed my time there. I have a lot of friends in TNA. It was just time for me to move on. There are so many more opportunities in a larger organization like WWE, especially outside of the ring, that it was pretty much a no-brainer.”

Whether He’ll Ever Be A Part of WWE’s Hall of Fame: “Not my call. I think everybody would [want to be inducted], especially anybody who’s put 20 years of their life into something, but I’m so happy for Shawn, and I’m looking forward to watching Shawn be inducted.”

We’ve got a major update on what WWE’s got planned for WrestleMania 27, which is now just over 5 weeks away:

Money In The Bank: There’s still no decisive word on whether WWE will be holding a Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania. While the company’s new Money In The Bank pay-per-view that was introduced last year seems to be a reason not to hold the match at WrestleMania, the match is still seen as an effective way of including lots of mid-cart talent (guys like Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, Drew McIntyre and Christian) on the WrestleMania card.

If WWE does not have Money in the Bank at WrestleMania, expect to see another multi-man match (such as a 10-man tag match) on the card.

WM27 Ticket Sales: WWE has already sold over 50,000 tickets for the Georgia Dome and company officials are confident they’ll sell the remainder of seats in time for the show.

Undertaker & Triple H: Triple H and The Undertaker have been given creative freedom with their WrestleMania program, with WWE’s writing team having very little input.

Original plans called for the Undertaker to face Wade Barrett and Triple H to wrestle Sheamus, but Triple H and the Undertaker decided that a “dream match” between the two of them would be most marketable scenario.

HBK’s Involement: Shawn Michaels is still expected to be introduced into the Undertaker vs. Triple H storyline, possibly as a referee or ringside enforcer. The idea behind HBK’s involvement would be that Triple H is going to try to end Undertaker’s stream as payback for ending his best friend’s career.

Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler: Vince McMahon is loving this current storyline and has been feeding Michael Cole much of his on-air insults towards Lawler. It’s said that Vince is using Jerry Lawler’s feud with comedian Andy Kaufman and his inspiration for this angle.

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus: WWE officials are building towards a feud between Sheamus and United States Champion Daniel Bryan. They are expected to have a match for the title at WrestleMania 27.

Announcing Team: With WWE announcers Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole involved in a heated feud that will likely culminate at WrestleMania, it seems unlikely that the two of them will work side by side calling the show. There’s been talk that Jim Ross will be brought in to call the show, which would certainly give the show a “big time” feel.

(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for the information used in this report)

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com.

Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

Ending The PG Era: “Can we stop with the TV14 questions? For some reason, folks think that because Rock and then John Cena got edgy with their in ring promos in recent RAWS that perhaps WWE is going back to a more risque presentation ala a TV14 format. I don’t speak for WWE but going all the way back to TV14 would shock me. I’m not a guy who lives or dies by a TV rating but rather judges a wrestling, TV show by what I see in the ring headlined by high quality, physical wrestling action and not by the use of edgy language even though I do enjoy that too when effectively utilized. I will admit that in the past two weeks that I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the verbiage on MNR. I have grandkids and I would have had no issues with them watching Raw with me. “

Undertaker & Triple H’s Confrontation: “It’s been years since I witnessed a more effective TV segment on any wrestling program where not a word was said as I experienced Monday night between the Undertaker and HHH. Amazing stuff for this old schooler as the two, future WWE Hall of Fame icons sold tickets and PPV’s with their eyes and well earned reputations. This segment was so good that I went back and watched it again and then had to show the ‘moment’ to my wife when she arrived home. ”

Michael Cole’s Comments About Jerry Lawler’s Mother: “Did Michael Cole step over the line Monday night when he spoke of Jerry Lawler’s recently deceased mother? Many of you think that he did. I was very uncomfortable with the remark but my wife gasped when she heard it. It would seem to me that specific subject matter will likely not be revisited in upcoming weeks but if it is it won’t be without controversy. Very touchy subject matter, without question.”

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has responded to Michael Cole’s jab at home from Monday’s RAW. Ross tweeted on Monday afternoon:

“I was very uncomfortable with Cole invoking Jerry’s late mom into Cole’s presentation. He didn’t have to go there.”

“Getting ‘knocked’ by the Raw annoucners monday night was like a junior high kid knocking the varsity. It doesn’t matter.”

“Cole is like a yapping dog. One just tunes it out. Thought the ‘Presidents/THQ’ line was funny…not original but funny.”

Regarding John Cena’s battle rap diss of The Rock, Ross wrote:

“I thought Cena’s response to Rock was one of the best Cena promos in ages. Really enjoyed it.”

VIDEO Of John Cena’s Battle Rap On RAW Dissing The Rock

— Awesome Kong was backstage at last night’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Boston, but was not used. She is set to debut imminently. She is backstage at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence for tonight’s Raw.

— WWE Superstars Superstars Darren Young, David Hart Smith and Primo were advertised on WWE.com for last night’s 40-Man Royal Rumble Match but ultimately excluded. All three were not backstage at the Rumble as they were informed last week that they had been taken off the show. Smith, however, is in Providence for tonight’s Raw.

— Gail Kim took to Twitter to comment on speculation she performed as a heel at Saturday’s live event due to her partnership with Maryse in a tag team match. She wrote, “People I was forced to be Maryse’s tag partner by the GM! She left me high and dry so don’t think I wanted to be her partner.I had no choice.”

— There was much criticism amongst WWE officials regarding the quality of the commentary by Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Matt Striker during last night’s Royal Rumble broadcast.

— “Rowdy” Roddy Piper suffered a black eye at the hands of Terry Funk during a battle royal at WrestleReunion 5 in Los Angeles.

source: f4wonline.com

– In recent weeks, WWE announcer Michael Cole has been the special guest referee for the dark matches that take place after WWE RAW goes off the air. WWE wants to have Cole take bumps during these matches and there are plans for him to start in-ring training.

Some have also speculated that Cole’s in-ring training will be to prepare him for a match at WrestleMania 27, with his rumored opponent being fellow RAW announcer Jerry “The King” Lawler.

In any case, if Cole training means he’s going to be taking more RKO’s and Attitude Adjustments, we fully support this initiative.

– WWE has hired Dr. Mark Unterberg as the company’s new Wellness psychiatrist. Unterberg is currently the team psychiatrist for the Dallas Cowboys and involved in the NFL Players Program of Substance Abuse.

– WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts will be retiring later this month, with his final match taking place on January 29th at the Pro Wrestling Guerilla show in Los Angeles. Roberts will be facing Sinn Bodhi, formerly Kizarny in WWE.

Fellow legend Terry Funk is also having a (yet another) retirement match on that show.

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Joe Anoa’i, who started as a defensive tackle at the University of Georgia Tech and is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika, is receiving high marks for how quickly he’s picking up wrestling in FCW—where he is known as Roman Leakee. He has also received praise for getting his weight down from 320 to 270.

— NXT Season 2 contestant Percy Watson is being touted as the best athlete in WWE’s developmental system.

— Michael Cole made a miscue at the beginning of last week’s episode of SmackDown as he referred to what happened on the previous Raw as “last night.”

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— As we saw on Monday’s RAW and Tuesday’s live SmackDown, WWE has begun a new feud between John Cena and CM Punk. Original creative plans called for the Cena/Punk angle that kicked off on last night’s Raw to begin next month, but was bumped forward because the “Straight Edge” wrestler returns to action this weekend. The current plan is for the feud to continue through the Royal Rumble, with CM Punk getting the best of Cena, with the feud culminating at WrestleMania XXVII in April.

— Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman commented last night during Raw that Michael Cole’s heelish persona isn’t really an act. He wrote on Twitter:

“Cole was such a whiney, smug, aloof person when I was there. I can only imagine how he is now.”

— Former WWE Diva Savannah is accepting appearance bookings and inquiries via angelafongdirect@gmail.com.

(source: f4wonline.com)

— Discussions between Bill Goldberg and WWE officials regarding induction into next year’s Hall of Fame class in Atlanta, Georgia are said to be cold at this point. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Today is WWE play-by-play commentator Michael Cole’s birthday, who turns 42 years old.

— WWE Monday Night Raw on Feb. 28, 2011 will be held at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Tickets go on sale Dec. 18, 2010. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

— WWE officials have discussed modifying the announce team for pay-per-view events, which could begin as soon as TLC.

Internally, Todd Grisham is not getting high marks for his work, which is why Michael Cole was moved to SmackDown. Meanwhile, both Cole and Jerry Lawler reportedly dislike working with Matt Striker. Cole took off his headset during the Survivor Series broadcast to yell at Striker for talking too much.

Punk may end up with the spot for pay-per-view events, but the team would therefore solely consist of Raw announcers and the company doesn’t want SmackDown to come off as a secondary brand.

— NXT season four contestant Conor O’Brian can be reached on Twitter via twitter.com/ConorOBrian.

— A pre-sale is being held tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. for the SmackDown matinee event taking place on Sunday Feb. 6, 2011 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA via www.comcasttix.com. The passcode is EDGEPHILA.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— It’s said to be no secret that Jim Ross wants to return to the announce booth. His appearance on Raw two weeks ago resulted in overwhelming sentiment that he should return, but his fate lies in the hands of Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn, who prefer youth—though Jerry Lawler is three years older than Ross.

Furthermore, Lawler and Cole have pushed for Ross to replace Matt Striker as the third man for pay-per-view broadcasts, whom they dislike. McMahon, however, feels the pay-per-view broadcast team should be limited to those who work television.

— WWE officials were said to be very happy and surprised at the amount of mainstream media attention The Miz’ WWE Championship victory last week on Raw received. His win was covered by TMZ, Access Hollywood, ESPN.com, Entertainment Tonight and MTV, among others.

— WWE returns to the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on Feb. 12, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale Dec. 18, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— Among those hugged by John Cena following the result of the WWE Championship Match at the Survivor Series was Michael Cole, which appears peculiar given the Raw announcer’s heelish persona. The two are close behind the scenes and was done to add realism to the storyline of Cena being fired from WWE.

— It was reported over the weekend that WWE axed the mascot character accompanying Jack Swagger ringside in recent weeks, the Swagger Soaring Eagle. The mascot’s fate will be revealed on this Friday’s episode of SmackDown.

— Tony Smith, a referee in Florida Championship Wrestling, worked this week’s set of WWE televised events.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

— Bret Hart noted on his Facebook account Friday that his ring jacket and sunglasses were stolen at Thursday’s SmackDown live event in Nuremberg, Germany.

“Just a quick update for everyone. The tour’s going well but, unfortunately, somebody stole my ring jacket and sunglasses at the Nurnberg, Germany show last night. Any help would be appreciated. May they wear it in shame knowing they stole it!”

— As of Thursday afternoon, the first four rows on all four sides of the ring for WrestleMania XXVII at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia were sold out, including all of the $1,000 seats.

— During commentary on this week’s episode of WWE Superstars, Michael Cole pondered if “Vince” would be commentating during the “Old School” episode of Raw. Josh Matthews said “the guy’s in a coma,” to which Cole replied, “Oh well then. His commentary won’t be any worse than it was 20 years ago.”

— Today marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of former WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero, who was found dead in a hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

source: f4wonline.com

— The unique manner in which Daniel Bryan is being promoted on television — as a “nerd” character — is the brainchild of Vince McMahon. When Michael Cole chastises the United States Champion over commentary, it’s largely the WWE Chairman feeding Cole lines than Cole developing his own insults.

— Evan Bourne is hopeful to return to the ring in time for WrestleMania after undergoing surgery on his shoulder. He is expected to be sidelined until at least February.

— Jerry Lawler’s flight to Minneapolis for Bragging Rights caught on fire and had to make an emergency landing in Syracuse, New York. The WWE Hall of Famer made mention of it during the pay-per-view broadcast.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

During the main event of WWE NXT last night, announcer Michael Cole went off on a rant against Internet fans and the independent wrestling “universe.”

The main event featured NXT rookie Daniel Bryan against World Heavyweight champion Chris Jericho. Announcer Josh Matthews played up Bryan’s wrestling credentials, putting over the fact that he’s been wrestling on the independent scene for nearly a decade and has established his name across the world. Michael Cole seemed to get pissed off over Matthews comments, repeatedly dismissing Bryan’s accomplishments, saying performing at “high schools” does not impress him in the least.

Cole sided with The Miz’s character, downplaying Bryan’s accomplishments and insisting he show more respect for the WWE Pros. Cole added that he had never really heard anything about Daniel Bryan prior to the debut of NXT and put down smart fans who read the “dirt sheets.”

Some fans reacted with outrage, feeling as if Cole’s comments represented a deliberate disrespect for diehard wrestling fans and what talent like Daniel Bryan have accomplished outside of the WWE ring. But it was apparent to most, however, that Cole was simply trying to stir up some controversy.

The “WWE Universe” Twitter account posted the following Tuesday night:

“Michael Cole has requested his @WWEUniverse profile be removed from our site, not wanting to associate with “online fans” any longer.”

In typical WWE fashion, there’s a real life situation that’s out of their control (smart fans going online and reading wrestling news & learning about other wrestling products) – so they’re turning it into a storyline.

UPDATE: Joey Styles posted the following messaages on Twitter in regards to the on-air exchange between Michael Cole and Josh Matthews:

“So who is the bigger online fan favorite now, Bryan Danielson or Josh Mathews for acknowledging the wrestling world outside WWE?”

“I can assure you that the exchange between Josh Mathews and Michael Cole was very real. Cole lives in the WWE bubble.”

There are now several I hate Michael Cole threads in the NXT forums on wweuniverse.com. Vintage hatred for Michael. Oh My. Josh is a hero.

As always, visit PWTwe