Michael Cole to Miss RAW for the 2nd Time in 20 Years

The next episode of RAW won't just be missing John Cena and Brock Lesnar, but the voice of their WWE Era.

Michael Cole will not be working the October 2nd RAW due to his son's wedding. WWE released a statement on the matter earlier today.

From WWE.com

Michael Cole will miss this Monday's Raw in Denver to attend his son's wedding, WWE.com can confirm. Instead, the night's action — including Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman and an Intercontinental Championship Match pitting Roman Reigns against The Miz — will be called by SmackDown LIVE's Tom Phillips.

This marks only the second time in 20 years that Cole — considered "The Voice of WWE" — has missed a week of WWE television broadcasts.

Don't miss Phillips and the rest of the Team Red broadcast team this Monday on Raw, kicking off at 8/7 C on USA Network!

Two times in 20 years! Cole's consistency is to be commended, even if he is bothersome to chunks of WWE's fanbase. In all seriousness, Cole has been one of WWE's most devout employees in for the past 2 decades. Regardless how you feel about him, Cole is a pro.

He'll be missing a juicy episode of Monday Night RAW next week, though. Roman Reigns will be challenged the Miz for an Intercontinental Championship that has proven to be elusive for The Big Dog. Not only that, but there's quite the Shield undercurrent involved not just in that match but in Seth Rollins' scheduled bout.

The Kingslayer is set to face Braun Strowman just one week after the Monster Among Men destroy his tag team partner, Dean Ambrose. Having already capped off a red-hot rivalry with Roman Reigns, Strowman now finds himself combating the other members of the Shield. This is not a coincidence.

While last week's show gave us the impression that the Miz and his Miztourage would be the antagonists that brought out the Shield return, they may not be in WWE's long-term plans.

We'll certainly know more about WWE's direction after Monday, but we won't have Michael Cole to tell us about it.