Pat McAfee is returning to WWE as a full-time commentator for “Monday Night Raw,” Michael Cole announced to open up Monday’s show in Tampa.
McAfee, 36, continues to add to his ever-growing plate. The former NFL punter hosts “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday-Friday from 12-3 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+ and is a regular member of “College GameDay” during college football season.
He previously served as commentator for WWE “Friday Night Smackdown” alongside Cole from April 2021 to September 2022. McAfee took a hiatus from the company after joining “College GameDay,” making sporadic appearances on commentary since then. He surprised a crowd of 48,044 at Tropicana Field Saturday for the Royal Rumble premium live event, joining Cole and Corey Graves on commentary.
“Yeah, coming back to get a chance to be in front of the WWE Universe is an absolute honor. I was told, ‘Hey, Pat, you wanna come back and commentate?’ I said, hell yes,” McAfee said in a WWE digital exclusive, via TJR Wrestling. “The Royal Rumble, what an event. Stories can be written, where dreams can come true. ‘You want to commentate?’ I said, ‘Hell yeah,’ work with Michael Cole, the greatest of all time, alongside Corey Graves with a fresh baby, fresh mindset, fresh haircut. I said, ‘I would love to do that.’”
Pat McAfee drops revelation about Royal Rumble appearance
McAfee later entered the Men’s Royal Rumble Match as the 22nd entrant. He eliminated himself after engaging in a stare down with Omos and Bron Breakker. McAfee revealed he had no idea he would be in the match, only finding out once his music hit.
“All of a sudden, what, 22, I’m in the Royal Rumble? Nobody gave me a heads-up about that,” McAfee said. “I got my cowboy boots on. Michael Cole let me go in there. That was rude of him. I thought we were friends. Then there was a thing in there. Seven foot three, okay? You’re just looking up at a statue of a being. I see little Bron Breakker go like barking at me. I’m like, I’m not supposed to be in here. Why would I be in here right now? I’m not prepared for this.
“Also, who would I be to take a main event at WrestleMania spot away from somebody? So, I got my a-- out of there. Now I went back in because I thought to myself, wait a minute, am I just gonna be a coward? I realized quickly, ‘Yeah, I think tonight I am.’ I went right back to the booth. And it was great. It was a great show.”
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