On a recent edition of his “Wrestling with Freddie” podcast, former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. commended the work of former NFL athlete Pat McAfee in WWE, and expressed his opinion that McAfee’s association has positively impacted Michael Cole’s work.
Freddie observed that Cole appears to be enjoying his work more since his partnership with McAfee in WWE. He said,
“I have never heard Michael Cole laugh so much. I have never heard him have such a good time. I have never seen him have so much fun on and off camera as I have since they paired him up with this dude. [McAfee]… I didn’t know how he was going to do. It’s a hard job and there have been professional commentators that have come in, and professional hosts of TV shows that have tried to come in and he came in and it took him like one episode to find himself and now he’s friggin’ killing it every single week and he’s really brought a lot… I mean, every time he yeets, Michael Cole is literally saying things like, ‘Please don’t yeet in my face.’“
In a recent interview with “MuscleManMalcolm,” former WWE broadcaster McKenzie Mitchell highlighted the accomplishments of the company’s lead ring announcer Samantha Irvin.
Irvin’s performance has received praise from several notable figures, including Michael Buffer, who holds the distinction of being the highest-paid ring announcer in sports.
Mitchell said, “I love it, I truly do. When Samantha came in, I helped train her on some backstage interviewing skills because when she first came into NXT, she was down in Florida with her, Megan Morant, myself. I was just kind of trying to help them learn then like, here’s the standard interview but make it your own. Here’s the tools, but have the ability to fluctuate and make it yours because when it’s your interview, it’s your time to shine. You may only have, ‘What are your thoughts?’ How do you transcend on television to where people are understanding that that is your personality in a matter of five seconds. I’m loving that Samantha is getting to use her — she’s a singer first and foremost, she’s a musician and she’s getting to use her vocals and really expand who she is on television and I think the world is getting to see that in front of their eyes and go, ‘There’s a reason she’s a musician, there’s a reason she’s writing music and singing and performing.’ At the end of the day, we’re all performers and we’re all playing a role, it’s a television show. So, it’s really awesome to see Samantha do her thing.”
