Over the weekend, Todd Pettengill spoke to Metro UK, and covered a number of topics surrounding his time in WWE.

During the interview, the former WWE broadcaster recalled making the pitch for Michael Cole to get hired, way back in the ‘90’s. Todd explained:

“We go way back! He was my news guy at my radio station in Albany, New York back in the ’80s. I went on to New York City at PLJ, and he was at CBS Radio and clearly we stayed in touch. He was a massive wrestling fan! So, when it came time for me to step aside, he was the first choice. I knew he knew the product, he sort of looked like me, which I thought – ‘This is kinda funny, too!’ I respected the heck out of him and still do. I just knew that he was gonna be the right guy.”

Pettengill continued to talk about the current WWE Smackdown announcer, and reflected on Cole’s level of enthusiasm for talking about pro-wrestling. Todd told the site:

“He always talked about it! I was like, ‘Dude, enough! We gotta talk about other things here!’ He was always a gigantic fan, and that gave him a great, great lane to come in and say, ‘Hey, I’m familiar, I know it, you don’t have to start all over with me.’”

Todd finished by taking a look into the future, and discussed the legacy he believes Cole will leave behind as an announcer. The host of tonight’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House stated:

“I think it’s terrific I think when the time comes for him to step aside – and I hope that’s not for many years – he’ll be very proud of what he’s accomplished. Listen, if everybody loves you, you’re probably not doing it right. I just think you have to, at some point, be you and that means you have opinions. Everybody’s not gonna like that, but it shows that you’re certainly a multi-dimensional person when you allow people to see different sides of yourself. I think his legacy is certainly cemented and he’s done himself and the company very proud.”

(Via MetroUK)