Michael Cole will probably want to forget about this WrestleMania moment, as his mistake nearly spoiled the best moment of the evening on Saturday.
The longtime WWE play-by-play man, who has delivered memorable soundtracks to some of WrestleMania’s greatest moments, completely ruined Bianca Belair’s win over Sasha Banks call to claim the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
When Belair hit her Kiss of Death finisher and rolled up Banks for the 1-2-3, Cole for some reason thought The Boss had been kicked out when the crowd went nuts.
“Kiss of Death, wraps up Banks,” Cole exclaims. “And a kick out! A kick-out by Sasha! “
Luckily, SmackDown broadcast partner Corey Graves quickly came in for the save.
“No! She won!” he shouted when WWE ring announcer Greg Hamilton announced Belair as the new champion.
Cole was silent for about 10 seconds before delivering his championship call.
“Bianca Belair shocked the world!” he said. “Bianca Belair with the win!”
Cole’s first call was a bit behind on the action, so it’s possible he thought Banks had been kicked out because Belair turned on the count of three and let out a scream that sounded more like frustration than party. Either way, it will be interesting to see what WWE and Peacock do with the audio, which might help put Cole’s proper call into place. The first replay contained the commentary as it was heard live.
Cole’s mistake was part of a weird night for WWE around some great in-ring action. Early in the airing, Hamilton announced that the Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan) had been eliminated in the troubled match of the ladies’ tag team when they won the fall before correcting themselves. Mandy Rose also had her Titus O’Neil moment, slid down the wet slope on her butt and headed for the ring for that match. WrestleMania was delayed about 25 minutes due to rain and lighting in Tampa, Florida.
It’s just a reminder that anything can happen on live TV.