Michael Cole On How Long He Wants To Keep Working: ‘I’ve Got A Few More Years Left’

Michael Cole says that he has some years left as a broadcaster and revealed how he’ll know when it’s time to hang it up. Cole has been working commentary for WWE for almost 30 years and has become the voice of WWE, calling the action currently on WWE Smackdown and PLEs. Ahead of yesterday’s Money in the Bank, he spoke with OutKick for a new interview and was asked how long he plans to stay on the job.

Cole noted that he signed a new contract a year ago and is here “for a little bit longer.” He added that he’s told his bosses that he wants to know when he starts slipping because he doesn’t want to stay on past his prime. You can see highlights below:

On His Contract Status:

“So, I signed a multi-year contract a year ago, so I’m here for a little bit longer. I know some people will be happy about that; a lot of other people are going to be like, ‘Oh my god, more years of Cole.’ Listen, I’m 59, going to be 60 this week, actually. I want to get to retirement age; I’d like to get to 65 if I can.”

On When He Plans To Retire:

“One of the things that I’ve been very adamant about — and I’ve talked to Paul Levesque about this. I’ve talked to uh my producers, my boss Lee Fitting. And I’ve made sure I want them to know that if they believe that I that I’m slipping at all, I want to know. Because I want to get out at the top of my game. I don’t want to hang on and do this till I’m 75 or 80 years old. There’s a lot of broadcasters out there that do that, not just in wrestling but in sports in general. And they’ve become shells of their self. And I don’t want that, I want to go out and people saying, ‘Hey, he was a damn good commentator.’ I don’t want people to be remembering me for not being able to get through a show and really wearing out my welcome.

“So, I’ve got a few more years left in this. I still enjoy it, I love it. I’m looking forward to this weekend. There’s so many different things I’ll be involved in; I’ll be hosting the countdown show on Saturday. Obviously, I’ll be at ringside calling all the action. When that red light goes on, it is still fun. And when it’s not fun anymore, then it’ll be time to hang things up.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit OutKick with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.