Arn Anderson praises Michael Cole, says John Cena “could have spread some of that wealth” with heels on WWE roster

On the latest episode of the “ARN” podcast, Arn Anderson and Conrad Thompson covered the WWE TLC pay-per-view.

This show included a Chairs Match between John Cena and Wade Barrett in the main event, The Miz vs. Randy Orton in a Tables Match, Edge vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio in a Fatal 4-Way TLC Match for the World Title and much more.

Here are some highlights from this week’s ARN podcast:

Arn gave his opinion of Michael Cole: “Ironically, probably about six or eight months before I was released from WWE, Michael Cole, who I respect and who has a very hard job and does a great job, I told him one day that he is the most professional announcer we have in the company. I meant it. He can sell anything. A lot of the time it’s hard to put your thoughts into what you’re watching when someone is screaming in your headset. Matter of fact I would say you have to switch gears and go with the guy who pays your salary. That’s not who Michael Cole is left to his own devices. He is very effective as a wrestling announcer calling the action.”

Arn talked about John Cena and the Nexus storyline: “Cena was in an impossible situation. He was established to the point where people believed in him. The kids loved him. He was their hero. You could have taken Cena out in a very ugly way and put him on the sidelines for four or five months and just piled the heat on Nexus. You pile heat on these guys, week after week, month after month. Without taking too long, somebody would have to put a stop to these guys. Bad guys are supposed to pile the heat up on television. It was hit and miss and a lot of the time, Cena would become Godzilla and beat up three or four guys. To John’s defense, that’s what turns the audience off on a babyface. If you get shoved too hard down the audience’s throat, they are going to spit you out. They know what is plausible and believable and they will accept it if it is done well.”

Arn was asked, “When you talk to Cena about this, are you trying to give him some old school pro tips on what he could do, or is that not your marching order and you know that in the end that will bite you in the butt?” Arn said, “I never failed to give John my honest opinion on everything right up until the last time I worked with him, and he will tell you that. On a lot of things I saw, I would see him go, wow, I didn’t think of that, but the old man is already set on doing this. Kabash. I never failed to tell him what I thought when something was too much and if we were making a mistake. If it was already settled and been discussed, I had very little control over that. As the years crept by, I had less and less and John took control of what he felt he should do in his angles. Nine times out of ten, Vince would go along with him. I understand that he sells a lot of merchandise.  Even when business was down, most of them were there to see John. So I get that whole thing but I think you could have spread some of that wealth around and got some of these heels with some heat on them.”

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit ARN (Arn Anderson’s podcast) with a h/t to PWrestling.com for the transcription