Pat McAfee Was Originally Offered Spot In 2023 Royal Rumble Match

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind in the wrestling world that former NFL star Pat McAfee gave a new meaning to the role of a commentator. Pat’s amazing charisma and enthusiasm redefined a role in WWE that had been very much conventional since its existence. The podcaster came back to WWE at this past weekend’s Royal Rumble event and revealed what was actually in store for him to do.

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Pat McAfee worked as an occasional wrestler and color commentator on SmackDown during his stay in WWE. He was highly regarded for his commentary role, but took break from it to join as an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay. McAfee recently returned to the Royal Rumble event this past week to join Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary. He spoke about his return on his show, The Pat McAfee Show.

“There was speculation, a lot of people talking about it, a lot of people thought I was going to be in the Royal Rumble, a lot of people thought I was going to be there. That was not figured out until late last week. That came together pretty quick. Not that there was any bad relations, it’s just my schedule for the last five months, and everyone’s schedule, especially in the WWE, my wife is pregnant, there was no bad beef or anything, it was just, ‘I don’t want to have to train enough to get into the Royal Rumble.'” 

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Pat McAfee further elaborated that the original plan was for him to compete in the Royal Rumble match. However, at the end of the college football season, he realized that he wasn’t going to be in shape to get in the ring.

“They said immediately (after I left), Hunter, Stephanie, and Nick, ‘Rumble is like the perfect time to comeback,’ because that’s when people comeback and it’s after college football season. I was like, ‘perfect.’ I need something to keep me in shape. I get fat and I need something to keep working out for. I tried. Everybody saw me, I was getting after it. By week nine….I think I could have (done a couple minutes in the Rumble), but I don’t want to disrespect anybody. There were only 29 guys who came out because where the fuck was Rey Mysterio? Is he okay? There are only so many spots and there is a lot of danger and shit that can happen.

I told them, maybe week 13 or 14 of the season, ‘Hey, want to let you know, the season has been a grind with Gameday being an extra work day, I’m not going to be able to be in good enough shape for Rumble. I don’t want to disrespect Royal Rumble. I’m just letting you know where I’m at right now. I’m not waking up an extra hour or stay up an extra hour to get in shape or whatever is needed.’ It’s one of those combos. ‘We’ll chat later, all good.’ It was the goal, Royal Rumble was the goal, I wasn’t able to keep up with it because Gameday getting dropped in and what that schedule became. I landed 28 minutes before I was seen at the Rumble because of the plane delay”

Pat McAfee rose to fame after his stint in the NFL. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft and played in the Super Bowl in his rookie year.

After a successful eight-year-long career in football, Pat McAfee switched to analyst roles. Furthermore, he also started podcasting and made his way to WWE through an episode of his podcast, getting into a real-life heat with Adam Cole in 2018.

Pat McAfee’s return was an actual surprise for his commentary cohorts, Michael Cole and Corey Graves, who gave a genuine surprise reaction upon seeing McAfee. Let’s see if this was a one-hit wonder or whether Pat McAfee could return full-time to the commentary booth.

Were you happy to see Pat McAfee at the Royal Rumble? Sound off in the comments!