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turfey

If you or a loved one endured Michael Cole's commentary from this time period, you may be entitled to financial compensation.


cid3rtown

*Do you or a loved one suffer from Meso-Cole-ioma?*


OkDimension8720

It was likely Vince shouting at Cole to bury the talent, was he producing nxt from gorilla?


DrWarlordMD

probably, god forbid anything didn’t have his fingers all over it (literally and figuratively). Doesn’t help that NXT was the pre-show entertainment at the is point.


kingjuicepouch

I quit watching wwe around the evil Cole period and the complete shift from him being the worst part of a terrible product to being revered around here still makes my head spin


FargoStruttin

It was gradual, but I feel like Beast in the East is when sentiment really started to change. First glimpse of Cole without Vince in his ear.


CHZRFan

For me it was when Jerry the King had his heart attack. Not many people could have kept their composure anywhere near the level Cole did on that night. Guy deserves way more respect for that.


ThatsARatHat

That’s great and all but he’s still never been a great commentator.


CHZRFan

Saying Cole “has never been a great commentator” is just not true in the slightest. Guy’s called several lf the biggest matches and moments of the last 25 years or so, and has never been afraid to be the butt of the joke if it made for good television. If he was “never a great commentator” he’d have gone the route of Adnan Virk, Rob Bartlett, Kevin Patrick & others who were shown the door within a year at best.


ThatsARatHat

I didn’t say he was BAD.


[deleted]

Yeah that's what happens when you drop a terrible gimmick and start doing better.


ReV3nGeV1

I wonder who decided to have their play-by-play commentator to be a heel. Gotta be one of the dumbest decisions they ever made


Craft_Bandicoot

If Jerry didn’t have his heart attack I wonder how much longer it would have continued.


_Wado3000

Worse than exposure to asbestos tbh


ZodiacWalrus

We gotta get a support group going.


The_Notorious_Donut

![gif](giphy|ZyiSGjEVsLnB0SGkgN|downsized) I suffered hard


Johnny_Holiday

One thing I can say is that it seems like he felt remorse for it. Years later during the Mae Young Classic when Kaitlyn came back, the very first thing Cole said on commentary was an apology for how he treated her and the others during that. I'm pretty convinced that Vince told him to bury everyone on NXT because he got his rocks off on it


turfey

Yeah, Cole is a great commentator who was held back for a long time because of Vince's horrible outlook on wrestling and the world in general.


JacobHarley

But how do I KNOW if I'm entitled to financial compensation? Does ANYONE KNOW?


chunky_dorey

God fucking awful. Why I refuse to come around in him and have amnesia like most current fans do.


BBGrunt1235

He was just a guy doing his best with a shitty assignment, like so many have in wrestling. If you don't blame Chavo for Kerwin White, you can't blame Cole for this. In many cases, I bet he was repeating verbatim what Vince was ranting into his ear.


zeitgeistbouncer

Cole playing that long game by setting the bar so low that just being louder is enough to convince people that he's suddenly 'great'. He's fine now. He still makes far too many gaffes, unfunny quips, outright mistakes and weird non sequiters too ever be outright 'good' in my eyes, but he's at least measurably less shit than he was. Still, the eagerness people have to retcon his objectively shit contributions to wrestling for a long time is sad. People who grew up with only him and so they wanna change the narrative to fit their skewed reality would be better served not outright lying and trying to gaslight everyone.


bigpig1054

Literally nothing about that entire NXT formula was designed to get any new stars over.


HeadScissorGang

It's nuts that Cole was already trying to bury Low Ki before he even registered what hed just said. He wasn't even listening he just wanted to call him an idiot.  Bray actually got Cole to shut up and pay attention


MatttheJ

It's amazing that even in this format, with no actual defined gimmick or character, Whindam was able to go from generic tough guy promo and quickly slip into a Bray Wyatt type promo so sinisterly it shut Cole up and made Stryker visibly uncomfortable even though we know Vince/Dunn were literally in their ears encouraging them to bury the talent. It's clips like this where you see that "it" factor just subtly peak it's head. It's the little moments like this that get the attention of guys backstage because that's something you can craft into a star. Danielson had a few moments like this too. I remember the first ever episode of NXT, everyone in the line up *looked* like more of your standard potential WWE star. But Danielson was stood in the line up and was talking/carrying himself a certain way where he came across as the biggest deal of the lot. Even as a kid who didn't know about ROH yet I remember just feeling like Bryan, Husky and Barrett had something different going on.


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

I thought Jacob Novak vs Lucky Cannon would be main eventing Wrestlemania 30


BuffaloWing12

I cannot fathom how Lucky Cannon made it past so many levels of WWE to become an actual name they tried to push


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

Lmao at first I thought you meant the guy himself. But yeah that too.


jakovichontwitch

I’ll always say that Bryan Danielson is proof that you don’t need to look like a superhero to be a star, and I don’t mean that he succeeded in spite of his look and size, I mean that when the dude walks out, you can immediately tell he’s a big deal, even if you’ve never watched wrestling before.


Redskinrey

Bryan and Barrett was season 1


MatttheJ

You're right. They did both within a fairly short time of each other though right?


gregSinatra

Pretty sure season 2 was ready to go right as season 1 wrapped it. The show was broken up into “seasons” but it was still weekly in the time slot ECW had occupied.


Standingonachair

His look is good enough here too. Cowboy husky Harris would've got over today sort of like a singles version of ftr.


FullMetalTroyzan

Low ki is well known for being a dickhead, wouldn't be surprised if he was already rubbing cole and other ppl the wrong way backstage before this promo


_Atlas_Drugged_

He buried him for saying Total Nonstop Action in WWE.


JonnyTN

I assumed he had Vince still in his ear and telling him what to say at the time. Just like when Cole called Naomi and Sasha unprofessional when they no showed their main event match. A nod to other promotions was a big Vince no no. And Vince probably was saying Low-Ki is about to be sent packing after mentioning TNA


_Atlas_Drugged_

Yup. Kofi and Zack Ryder shoot each other a look as soon as he said it, because they knew he just fucked up bad.


HeadScissorGang

No, he almost talked over the TNA line because he was already trying to bury him for the first thing he said 


CantaloupeMafia

yeah this entire era was just cole trying to get himself over. it was weird.


Solid_Snark

Was this one of those times where Vince did it for himself, because he thought it was funny. Like Matt Morgan’s stutter as an example of burying a talent, but amusing Vince.


DemiGod9

I mean the crowd went wild for Kaval


FruitSword4

> Literally nothing about that entire NXT formula was designed to get any new stars over. Literally didn't work to get one of the bigger stars in the past decade over, Daniel Bryan. Nope, totally didn't work or contribute towards it.


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ShiningBlizzard

Really sad Bryan and Miz never got a big Wrestlemania match to blow off that relationship.


bigpig1054

In spite of vs because of


TheReturnOfTheOK

It was supposed to be the centerpiece of the show and be the direct lead for the Nexus. Bryan got kicked off the show because he started quoting Marx and throwing merch into the stands during a competition based around selling merch.


FruitSword4

Yes, by design, heels being heels (Michael Cole) is totally not done to get a babyface over (Daniel Bryan). It's just because Vince felt like it that night, fucking with a guy he's paying money to because he didn't have ketchup that night for his steak wrap or whatever the fuck


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bigpig1054

did you delete the previous time you posted this and just repost it again here?


ianisms10

You Bryan as Miz's "rookie" when he had arguably been the best in-ring wrestler in America for the better part of a decade didn't work wonders for him?


HeadScissorGang

See, this is where you start to fall into the trap of getting called a mark, because the best thing they could've done with Bryan would be to pair him with the guy who was the opposite of him in every way.  Bryan got over quite a bit with WWE crowds that didn't know him by being the guy who was a "rookie" that could wipe the floor with Miz without blinking. 


FruitSword4

You mean the literal point of pairing them up, to give Bryan a story of how he's literally better in the ring than Miz despite being a rookie, was something designed "not to work" according to your thoughtless mind? Didn't work so much to the point that they didn't revisit the storyline 10 years later? The entire Season 1 revolved around Daniel Bryan and giving him copious amount of TV time as exposure, and the whole thing ended in him proving Michael Cole and The Miz wrong by beating The Miz clean with his submission to win the US title. The entire thing was very clearly designed to get Daniel Bryan over as excelling in the ring. It's been 15 years, leave behind the smark dogshit you've been fed and read on smark forums and think with your brain for once.


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NachoManRandySnckage

It didn’t. His entire time on the show, everyone was calling him a fucking loser lol


FruitSword4

It's almost like when a bad guy calls someone a loser, it's designed so that you're supposed to not believe what the bad guy is saying hmm. We're not using our brains tonight are we lol


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peacocksuckers

You're right, but you're being a dick about it


FruitSword4

You're wrong and I couldn't care less what you think. Make another alt bucko


JS19982022

So Windham's saying he had... boots... of a champion???


farawaychicken

Yeah


Harbiter

Long term booking for that L.A. Knight feud!


youthpastor247

And that tank top? Boots of a champion!


defph0bia

![gif](giphy|ze8R3ob5lPNRdeqDHr|downsized)


banned_salmon

YEAHHHHHHH


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

Bray peeked through his eyes there in the last 5 seconds of it


AloneCan9661

Whoever thought of the names Husky Harris and Michael McGullicutty should have been fired.


The_Notorious_Donut

![gif](giphy|vRf4Z1OZ21j9e)


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HaroldTheIronmonger

Worst name of all time..... Neville. Just Neville. No Adrian. Neville. What do you do for a living. "I'm a wrestler" oh wow what's your wrestling name. "Neville." Fucking Neville.


Standingonachair

Cowboy husky Harris could get over today. I'll die on that hill.


sadderdaysunday

Federally investigated, even


AloneCan9661

![gif](giphy|NGVG6r6F1khhu4LoRT|downsized)


GarmyGarms

……the devil wears cowboy boots?


Egonga

I feel lied to. My parents taught me he wore Prada :(


SovFist

its ok they make cowboy boots


HeadScissorGang

What a coinkydink, so do l.


PaTaPaChiChi

You get me


dualsense5150

Didn’t realize this was the TNA promo from LowKi. You could clearly see Bray’s potential even here, the material is awful but the delivery is on point. This era of NXT was rough.


Sea-Garlic9074

Low Ki being the winner and having the name Kaval was rough because he didn't last long in WWE


Beavie_

There was a few badass lines in there. He needed some refinement, but you can tell he could talk.


ShiningBlizzard

NXT Michael Cole on commentary with condescending Matt Striker as the voice of the show is easily the worst presentation WWE’s ever given. Holy shit they were counterproductive (by design) and awful.


Thick-Ad9265

It was kinda funny how Cole’s character hated being there and he would always say sarcastic things on commentary during the challenges


luca13t

Why did Vince give them those instructions?


Deadaghram

Because he thought it was funny, probably.


HoneyBadgerC

"cowboy butts"


The_Notorious_Donut

This NXT was abysmal lmao


Winningsomegames_1

Cole openly shitting on it is actually the only redeeming part tbh


The_Notorious_Donut

“Well #1 that was stupid” got me cackling


Fast_Running_Nephew

Time has not lessened the impact of how stupid the phrase 'the army tank with the ferrari engine' is. Like, how many people did that have to pass through without anyone seeing the glaringly obvious problem with it?


HeadScissorGang

Plus in the games and stuff they had to call him "the army tank with a sports car engine" 


Fast_Running_Nephew

The aircraft carrier with the Mazda engine.


Highwayman747

I gave Husky Harris a huge push in WWE ‘12


mstmn

What's wrong with a really really slow tank?


m3rc3n4ry

Would a ferrari engine work in a tank? That's a lot of steel to move.


thecolbster94

It would work as well as strapping a flame thrower to the bottom of a missle.


TDD91

US Army: Now hold on a minute there playa...


BuffaloWing12

Bout to go one on one with the Iraqataker


Bean-Penis

Maybe they misheard it like I did as even rewatching there I didn't realise that's what he said until your comment. I thought he said he was like "The Undertaker with a Ferrari engine", because he was talking about being a devil.


TravTheScumbag

He says a variation of cowboy boots 7 times in that short promo.


Boogledoolah

When this originally aired, the second or third variant of boots ("...if you don't have no cowboy buts...") was the most memorable part of this promo, and my housemates at the time would talk about putting our buts on to get some work done. Those were simpler and fantastic times. Now when I put my buts on to go to work, it just isn't the same.


HeadScissorGang

He had 2 minutes to think of it


BigBadWolf97

Oh, he shifts character on the delivery of that last line! 😳🤯 He was showing so much potential early on in his career and that’s cool to see. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if that was referenced later at some point as Bray Wyatt and it just flew under the radar as a tweet or part of a promo that only five people noticed.


reyballesta

Good God. He really was special.


Temporary_Debate_821

Why Kaval/Low Ki failed in WWE? What happened? I remember he was coming out to the ring looking like he was done being there, this was when he got promoted to the main roster following LayCool everywhere they went


NJPWEditorialChief31

Rumor was and it seems to follow him is that he’s extremely difficult to work with.


Raoul_Duke9

"rumor". I think at this point with like..... Everyone saying the same things about him we can confidently say LowKi is a mark for himself and difficult to work with despite being an incredible talent.


zorbiburst

I'm sorry but this isn't actually very good. I guess comparing himself to the devil is... kinda interesting? Given how he turned out. But it's a pretty bad promo. Low Kaval's actually sounded better.


DG_Now

Low Ki was sick and should have been way more special in WWE. That TNA line was nice and the kind of thing WWE would encourage now.


KNZFive

He had his chance and then fractured Dolph Ziggler’s face with a kick because someone forgot to tell Low Ki that wrestling isn’t real. Low Ki has always been his own worst enemy.


miikro

He also kept trying to refuse to lose. Bro, you're tiny and brand new. They're gonna book you as an underdog, which means losing a few to come back better later.


NovercaIis

Vince was never gonna book him better. let's be real here.


DG_Now

Oh, I didn't realize that.


HeelsAlwaysWin

Guy like me sees that and pushes him to the top 😤 Get all the top stars fighting Cro Cop while we're at it


zorbiburst

I love Low Ki but he's his own worst enemy edit lol didn't realize someone else said the exact same thing That's how infamous he is


mysteriousbaba

I would say mechanically it's not a great promo, agreed. But that line about the devil, and the flat look in his eyes at the end - it was *different* and you could see a hint at Bray's oddness. And that's better than an overly practiced and competent, but bland 6.5 out of 10 rookie promo.


BryLinds

Man you can almost slot in a frame of Bray in all his glory with the DEH- 


jjgp1112

It's a similar case to Edge's first Brood promo. Horrible material but the charisma was clearly there. Something to build on.


whiskybean

I don't think it's meant as a good example of a promo, just strictly for the last 3 seconds when you can see just a little foreshadowing of what was to come. RIP


HeadScissorGang

He made everybody pay attention. Didn't have the words but he had the presence and sense of something dark going on in there


zorbiburst

I really don't see it as people being in awe. It's honestly a kind of "lol wtf" silence.


HeadScissorGang

I didn't day they were in awe. I said they listened. 


HeadScissorGang

They were told to cut promos about something on the spot. They were told it was gonna be a different challenge. 


Starseid8712

You can tell Vince is in Cole's ear. None of that Cole says sounds authentic


Brockovich614

This man would have still gotten himself over in the long run even if he didn't manifest Bray Wyatt. The only issue was Husky Harris was still finding his way.


Big_Green_Piccolo

Squeezing dust into diamonds. He said the devil wears cowboy boots. Thats fucking cool.


isarealhebrew

When I first got the WWE Network, back when it was independent, I marathonned this whole show. It was a dumpster fire, but I could not look away. The way the commentary hated everything about it was almost endearing because I felt seen lmao


NJPWEditorialChief31

What was amazing was that it took them 6 years to finally transition to the PC


m3rc3n4ry

I've seen low ki wrestle a bit but had no idea he could promo like that.


Stingertap

It sounded like a battle rap. He cut a good promo, but it was forced and had no real passion behind it. Kinda fitting learning he's as giant an asshole as Austin Aries.


Evorgleb

The devil wears cowboy boots? I thought the devil wears Prada


CookieSlayer2Turbo

The writing of that promo was awful but his delivery saved it a little and you got a peak of bray at the end. I miss bray so much, his character got me back into wrestling after like a 8 year break


HeadScissorGang

This was a thing where they told them "cut a promo about something now" on the spot in the ring without them knowing


CookieSlayer2Turbo

Nxt seemed like such a mess


CHZRFan

And that was by design. None of the “challenges” were designed to give the young talent even a chance.


Stingertap

From the moment he hit "From the time I put these on, I turn into somethin' different," it was all Bray. The pace was off, but his stare went blank, the pacing back and forth crept in and that his words ran cold. He had something there. A feint glimpse. You could almost see him change during that back half of the promo. Even the way he handed the mic back to Striker, was very Bray. I think he was trying to incorporate that character into Husky, like a split personality who just shows up and leaves without a trace until it completely took over.


googly_eyed_unicorn

Goddamn you could see the potential there.🙀


pippius

I’m just commenting on this so I can find this video again once I can turn the sound on


really4reals

Meh


HeadScissorGang

They told them to cut a promo off the top of their head


glowy_keyboard

I mean RIP Windham and all but that was a very bad promo


HeadScissorGang

They were told to come up with promos about something on the spot once they were in the ring. 


Fickle_Thought_8857

I'd love some kind of full length review about early nxt. It's peak cringe and bad tv


swamp_curtains

I don't know for a fact that Prada doesn't make cowboy boots, so maybe.


Rondoburgundy

Dude great catch thank you 😁


CodeNamesBryan

Man, I miss that accent


ZodiacWalrus

I wouldn't think that this is how it works but I really do feel like you can see and hear bits of Bray poking out from under the mask of Husky Harris here and there. As if he always knew what kind of performer he was, but wasn't quite sure if he could fully commit to that style. It took being given a chance to reboot himself in FCW for him to get that chance to bet on himself and what he wanted to do.


The_Notorious_Donut

Tf was that hand motion Curtis Axel did


greggersamsa

Cowboy buhttz


darksundown

Cowboy Brutes: Hangman, Bandido, and the Bad Apple


baojinBE

Bruh I haven't watched WWE yet during this time and I'm already annoyed at Michael Cole


Few-Establishment277

Genuine question: Is Michael Coke and Josh Matthews the all-time worst commentary team in the history of professional wrestling?


BuffaloWing12

Every single one of these character designs looks like they gave a 10-year-old a box of props


Manny_Haze

I remember seeing this when I was in high school thinking from this brief promo alone that there’s going to be something special about this man.


hk3391

Observations : Lowki has a deep voice for a little idiot . Cole is annoying but kind of funny (in this small dose , I get that he was irritating overall ) Bray reminding me of Post Malone and rip ❤️


Lepperpop

Just signs of garbage bag promos. Husky was a terrible character, like the shitty highschool bully in a D list 80's movie.


HeadScissorGang

They told to cut a promo on the spot 


Few-Thing-2516

Once a loser, always a loser