Jim Ross: Michael Cole's WWE Heel Turn Was 'A Philosophical Mistake'

Jim Ross believes WWE made 'a philosophical mistake' in turning Michael Cole heel, saying a play-by-play announcer should be a trustworthy voice for the audience. 

Cole began to display heelish tendencies in his commentary in early 2010 and cemented a full turn later in the year, before returning to his face personality in 2012. 

However Ross, who was WWE's lead announcer prior to Cole, feels the person in that role needs to play it straight so they can be a reliable reference point for the audience, while the heel act would have made it difficult to decipher certain storylines.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Grilling JR Podcast, he said: "I thought it was a philosophical mistake. You have to trust your play-by-play guy. The play-by-play guy is like the point guard of your broadcast team. It’s his job to get talent over, but he’s also to feed lines, scenarios, opportunities to the antagonist on the team. People have got to trust him.

"How can you trust a heel who lies or embellishes or exaggerates? Is he telling me the truth or is this part of his character? I think that’s kind of what that was. I think Michael got put in a very daunting situation, and truth be known, he wasn’t comfortable with it either. But that was the assignment."

H/T 411 Mania