Pat McAfee Says WWE Break Was Needed to Save His Sanity: “I Stopped Going to RAW”

Pat McAfee is finally shedding light on the real reason he’s stepped away from WWE RAW—and it’s got nothing to do with backstage drama or new contracts.

Speaking on the July 16 episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the WWE commentator revealed that his intense schedule had become unmanageable, forcing him to make a major shift to protect his mental and physical health.

McAfee opened up about recognizing the signs of burnout and what it took to recalibrate his life. He hit a wall after nonstop travel, commentary, and daily shows, realizing it was time to prioritize rest.

“I think that just kind of backed up. Just slowed down. I stopped going to Monday Night Raw, so that took away two planes and a two-hour-sleep-a-night week away from the schedule. And it was like—stack a couple of those weeks…”

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Even after a few days off, McAfee said he felt a noticeable difference.

“Yeah, it was like—it wasn’t even a couple weeks. By Wednesday, you’re like, ‘Man, I feel like it was…’ Well, if you didn’t do it, like you snap your fingers and then boom, game day is back. Okay, here I’m just like, you know, whatever.”

Instead of taking a full hiatus from work, he simply scaled back his commitments—particularly the grueling WWE travel—just enough to avoid completely burning out. And while WWE has a reputation for being an all-consuming grind, McAfee had nothing but praise for the company’s support during his step back.

“And also, Corey Graves—so good. Wade Barrett—so good.”

He continued by acknowledging WWE’s mindset around hard work, while still crediting them for understanding the toll it can take.

“For me at the commentator position, it’s like—show moves on regardless. So the ability to not feel absolutely [expletive] terrible for having to take a step back because I’m tired—WWE has on the other side. Cuz they have such a hard work kind of mindset and travel mindset, and they’ve been doing it for so long, they understand. People get to like, ‘Hey, we understand, you might need to take a sleep for a little.’”

And despite his absence from RAW, McAfee made one thing clear.

“They’ve been great. They’ve been great. And I will always love the WWE. And I miss it.”

Pat McAfee isn’t bitter—he’s just being real. The man gave WWE everything he had, but even his endless energy hit a breaking point. Between red-eye flights, brain fog, and trying to be a full-time dad, something had to give. Stepping away wasn’t quitting—it was surviving. And if fans didn’t notice how hard he worked to put talent over, that’s on them.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.