WWE: Michael Cole on Taz Being His All-Time Favorite Broadcast Partner, WWE Announces Rayne Leverkusen as MVP Of SummerSlam Week Tryouts, Cody Rhodes on “I Don’t Think I Would Ever Turn Heel”

Michael Cole Comments on Taz Being His All-Time Favorite Broadcast Partner

WFAN held a recent interview with Michael Cole. One of the topics discussed included Cole’s thoughts about Taz being his all-time favorite broadcast partner that he has had during his wrestling commentary career.

“I’ve had a lot of great partners over the years. JBL was a great one, Corey Graves, Pat McAfee but, to me, my favorite partner of all time was Taz. Taz and I really took over SmackDown under the tutelage of Paul Heyman and to me, we became the best announce team in the business there for a few years so Taz has always been my number one favorite.”

Following the release of the interview, former WWE and current AEW commentator Taz responded on Twitter thanking Cole and said Cole was his choice for his all-time favorite broadcast partner.

Thank you brother…same.@MichaelCole https://t.co/E2upCU4lN9

— taz (@OfficialTAZ) August 2, 2025

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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WWE Announces Rayne Leverkusen as MVP Of SummerSlam Week Tryouts

WWE held a new set of talent tryouts throughout this past week in New Jersey.

WWE announced earlier today on Instagram that United Kingdom-based indies talent Rayne Leverkusen was the MVP of their recent SummerSlam talent tryouts.

“Closing out the #WWE SummerSlam 2025 Tryout with our MVP! ????

Congratulations Rayne????????and great work to all of the athletes who participated this week!”

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A post shared by WWE Recruit (@wwerecruit)

This was the first time ever that WWE had announced an MVP recipient for their tryouts.

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Cody Rhodes Comments on “I Don’t Think I Would Ever Turn Heel”

A recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast featured Cody Rhodes as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes’ thoughts about if it is more fun to be a good guy or a bad guy in pro wrestling.

“Everyone is going to tell you bad guy, but I think that’s because they haven’t experienced what a good guy can really be. A bad guy is fun because you can fall on your face and make a spot out of it. You can stumble on your words in a promo and make a moment out of it. Bad guy is fun because traditionally, a bad guy leads the match, but a good guy or girl that they are actually invested in where they came, they’re wearing your shirt, they have signs. There is always an argument, ‘Will Cody turn heel?’ I don’t think so. They can boo all they want if certain people decide, ‘Cody is a heel to me,’ but I don’t think I would ever turn. There is too much of a connection with those who were on board with me.”

In response to comments by host Bill Simmons about how hard it is to pull off being a bad guy, Rhodes stated:

“For a while, they were extinct because they just wanted anti-heroes and edge social kinds. Every heel has the best social media and the best one-liners that leave most babyfaces with their dick in hand. You have to be a really good babyface and rise above it. That’s very hard. Jey Uso is a great example. So popular and it’s not easy to make that connection. It’s even harder to keep it because babyfaces get beat up a lot on TV. John (Cena), for so long, was booed in certain markets, cheered in others. He was so unique in that you felt strongly about him, you were going to boo or cheer. Today, I feel our attention spans are a little shorter. When they start booing, people think it’s time (to turn). No. I just call it an away game. I always know when it’s an away game. ‘We’re going into their arena tonight. It’s an away game.”

In a separate recent interview with the Gabby AF podcast, Rhodes gave his thoughts about a potential double turn happening between him and John Cena. This interview was held prior to Friday’s WWE SmackDown show that featured Cena claiming that he is back to being a good guy.

“People talk about, ‘Oh, I bet they’re going to do this double turn.’ No. I think, to take a page out of [Cena’s] book, if they think I’m a heel, then I’m a heel. To me, I’m not changing my game. It would be detrimental to the place I work to make a pivot. No more Kingdom, no more promos, no more merch. Real bad guy stuff. However, I have ears open, and I’m well aware that sometimes it’s not your night.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1 & 2