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.
WE’RE ALL THE WAY BACK
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 30, 2024
LET’S ENJOY THIS RIDE @MichaelCole #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/aTWgyk7Zsr
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.’”
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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