Michael Cole will probably want to forget this WrestleMania moment, as his mistake almost spoiled the best moment of the night on Saturday.
The longtime WWE play-for-man, who delivered memorable soundtracks to some of WrestleMania’s greatest moments, has the call of Bianca Belair’s main event over Sasha Banks to claim the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 on Raymond James , completely finished. Stadium in Tampa.
When Belair hit her Kiss of Death finish and rolled Banks up for the 1-2-3, Cole for some reason thought The Boss started when the crowd went crazy.
“Kiss of Death, wrap Banks in,” Cole exclaims. ‘And a kick out! A kick out by Sasha! ‘
Fortunately, SmackDown broadcast partner Corey Graves quickly stepped in for the rescue.
“No! She won!” he shouted when WWE ring announcer Greg Hamilton announced Belair as the new champion.
Cole remained silent for about ten seconds before making his championship call.
“Bianca Belair shocked the world!” he said. “Bianca Belair with the win!”
Cole’s initial call was a bit behind the action, so it’s possible he thought Banks kicked out because Belair knocked over at the count of three and let out a scream that sounded more like frustration than celebration. Either way, it will be interesting to see what WWE and Peacock do with the audio, possibly putting Cole’s right call in its place. The initial replay included the comment as it was heard live.
Cole’s mistake was part of a strange night for WWE around an amazing in-ring action. Early in the broadcast, Hamilton announced that the Riott group (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan) had been eliminated from the unrest match for the women players when they actually won the fall before correcting themselves. Mandy Rose also had her Titus O’Neil moment and slipped on her wet driveway to her butt and walked to the ring for that match. WrestleMania was delayed by about 25 minutes due to rain and lighting in Tampa, Fla.
It’s just a reminder that anything can happen on live TV.