Bishop Dyer has worked with Pat McAfee in both pro football and pro wrestling. But even though they’re good friends, Dyer is not a fan of McAfee’s involvement in the main event of WrestleMania.
“Pat’s a weird anomaly because he’s not a celebrity to the full extent, he’s not a wrestler, he’s kind of just that guy that is in between and has his finger in everything whether it be comedy, entertainment, sports, wrestling, all that,” Dyer said. “It’s not like Travis Scott all over again that ruined the main event.”
Still, Dyer would prefer the Mania build had remained focused on the two men in the match.
“I’m bummed out a little bit with the story that is being told between Cody and Randy because I think with the history that they have and Randy being the mentor and Randy having him throw Cody out and throwing his brother out of the Royal Rumble, that’s the story we need to be telling,” he said. “Why do we have this anonymous phone call and it turns out to be McAfee?”
“To me, the purest form of wrestling should be the main event of WrestleMania, that should be a one-on-one competition down the line except for a heel trying to take some shortcuts or whatever,” Dyer added. “That’s the thing to me that shouldn’t be touched.”
Dyer closed with a clear statement: “If you’re going to get Pat involved, get him involved in something else, you know? Not the main event of WrestleMania.”
Dyer was McAfee’s roommate when the two were playing for the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. McAfee also defeated Dyer (then known as Happy Corbin) at WWE’s SummerSlam in 2022.
Corbin also had matches against both Orton and Rhodes in WWE.
During his promo that opened Raw, the World Heavyweight Champion addressed his WrestleMania opponent Roman Reigns, who wasn’t there, taking shots at him, his family including The Rock, TKO, and a “weird old man,” referencing Vince McMahon.
“You’re a bucktoothed nepo baby who ate dog food for a weird, old man,” Punk said, referencing an angle involving Reigns from years ago. “That weird old man for years treated me like a dog and he expected me to smile, but I had ‘f you’ money so I took that and my dignity and left.”
Eventually, he turned his attention to Pat McAfee, who was recently revealed as the mystery caller that had been guiding Randy Orton. Punk dismissed the idea, giving McAfree a blunt instruction.
“You want to talk about ticket sales? Do me a favor and call up that agent that was foolish enough to shoehorn you into this business and this show and tell him to lower the ticket prices,” he said, causing the fans in Houston to cheer.
“Lower the ticket prices because I want all of these families to come watch me stand on Roman Reigns’ throat at WrestleMania. Because my name is CM Punk, and I approve this message,” he concluded.
Reigns did not appear during the promo. The last time the two met, it was Punk returning the favor from the previous week by sending Reigns through an announce table.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including all the big shows this weekend, Pat McAfee’s Smackdown appearance, Stand and Deliver, New Japan with a new IWGP Champion, RAW tonight, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
After controversially being inserted into the WWE WrestleMania 42 build on SmackDown, Pat McAfee stayed in character while addressing the situation on his ESPN show today.
McAfee looked back on the weekend in sports and named his alliance with Randy Orton as the biggest thing that happened. They joined forces on SmackDown with McAfee aiming to “save the business’ by having Orton defeat Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Bringing up that tickets to WrestleMania still aren’t sold out, McAfee called Rhodes a “puppet” champion and said the business he’s leading is “terrible.”
On The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee brought up that his daughter is about to turn three years old. He wants her to be a wrestling fan, but he wants wrestling to be what it’s supposed to be. That starts with elevating Orton back up to the top of the company.
“Somehow tickets are still available for WrestleMania. Just know that we got some things cooking, and you’re going to want to be in Las Vegas,” McAfee said. “It’s going to be spectacular. It’s going to be special. Future wrestling generation fans will have to look back on the night that was in Las Vegas and say, ‘That was the moment that that GOAT saved the entire business by becoming 15-time World Champion.’ Shout out to Randy Orton. Thank you, Randy, for doing that.”
McAfee acknowledged the backlash the segment received but said the fans who reacted negatively are the exact type of people he’s doing this for.
“These IWC dipsh*ts, they have no idea. This is for the good of them,” McAfee said. “They have no idea what they’ve been missing, they have no idea what it’s supposed to look like. Now we change that. That’s the Internet Wrestling Community. They’re not the biggest fans of what happened, they’re pretty upset about it. But they are a part of the problem. They are the ones that said, ‘Yeah, this is what it’s supposed to be, all this stuff.’ It’s like, ‘Nah, let us show you what it’s supposed to be whenever Randy Orton is at the top of the marquee.'”
The Rhodes vs. Orton Undisputed WWE Championship match is expected to main event night one of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18. That should be confirmed tomorrow morning when the cards for both nights are revealed on ESPN’s Get Up.
In the United States, WrestleMania 42 will be broadcast live on the ESPN Unlimited app. The first hour of each night will also air on ESPN’s TV channel. In international markets, the show will stream live on Netflix.
While some fans weren’t thrilled with the reveal of Pat McAfee as the mystery confidante to Randy Orton on this past Friday’s WWE SmackDown, there is some new information out Monday as how it came together and why.
On Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that the ESPN sports talk host and occasional WWE broadcaster was “the first choice” for the spot and that it came directly from TKO head and McAfee agent Ari Emanuel. However, McAfee turned down the offer at first.
“That’s where it came from. They wanted celebrity involvement. Originally from what I was told, Pat McAfee was the choice and he turned it down. Then, they were scrambling to get somebody else in the spot, and then, obviously, they were able to make a deal with him. So he did it and he was there,” Meltzer said.
McAfee attacked Cody Rhodes on Friday’s SmackDown during a segment with Orton, then cutting a promo in which he referenced a record-low SmackDown rating (apparently talking about Cagematch data), that WrestleMania 42 still had tickets left, and that he and Orton were going to save the wrestling business.
“This was not a WWE creative move. This was not a Paul Levesque move. It came over their heads and there’s a lot of people not happy about it at all. One person told me it was the single most counterproductive thing the company has done in a long time, but there you go,” Meltzer said.
As referenced earlier, McAfee’s show is on ESPN, the same network which will air next weekend’s WrestleMania 42 as part of their domestic premium live event contract. McAfee is expected to be a major promotional hub for the PLE, raising questions as to how he will handle his heel persona when he is doing interviews.
The most detailed update on the Janel Grant case, with her new filing and claims, a look at those claims in detail, what is net for the case, the key thing regarding the future of the case and why it really comes down to the judges ruling, and timeline for all of this. We cover new cais and the arguments for and against binding arbitration or continuing the civil case.
Update on WrestleMania, the card as of this point, reasons for some of the new matches, when matches changed and why, as well as the business for the show, how far behind are ticket sales and interest in the show as compared to the same period last year.
Chris Jericho returns to AEW and as much detail as we have on the decision
AEW Dynasty update and updated major event ticket sales
The death of J Robinson, a college coaching legend and his connections with a number of key figures in pro wrestling, including the recruiting of Brock Lesnar by WWE and the politics behind why WWE waited an extra year to offer him a deal.
The most detailed look at the television ratings for all the pro wrestling shows this past week, including competition, comparisons with one year back, Raw vs. Dynamite and how close it has become, and more.
It’s CMLL tournament of champions month starting this week
Anniversary shows at Arena Mexico and Arena Coliseo this week including a look back at the first show in each building
A look at the four title match show at ArenaMexico on Tuesday
A super hot match to watch on AAA
A look at Stardom’s biggest stipulation of the year and Yokohama Arena show
Current Tiger Mask retires
Best of the Super Junior tournament update
Largest crowd of the year for women’s wrestling in Japan
Hodge trophy winner looked at
Maple Leaf Wrestling announces new TV deal and a look at the weekend shows
Stabbing at a pro wrestling show
Very interesting political match will take place with TNA champion vs. AEW star
American gold medalist challenges UFC undefeated champion
Rebellion notes
Lots of injury updates and business notes
Wrestler complaining about AEW not booking them enough
Kenny Omega talks his and Kota Ibushi’s health
Brody King talks the chants
Tony Khan and his enemies
Kayla Harrison on why her next bantamweight fight will be her last and why she should never have fought at bantamweight to begin with
Crazy Dana White story
Will Mayweather-Pacquiao II take place and what are the issues
Fedor Emelianenko wants to return to combat next year
Nick Khan acquires TKO stock
Bret & Ross Hart talk Badnews Allen in WWE Hall of Fame
— We’ll be back with Wrestling Observer Radio tonight talking Smackdown, Sakura Genesis, Stand & Deliver and the rest of the weekend news.
— We’ll talk about the SmackDown angles tonight on the show. As noted all weekend, this was an Ari Emanuel call to Pat McAfee to do the angle and not something from the Paul Levesque side. Of those we heard from internally, they were not fans of it to say the least.
— Willam Haynes, Jr., the former Billy Jack Hayes, was ordered to stand trial for the murder of his wife in 2024. He was previously ruled mentally unfit to stand trial in May. He underwent more testing and KATU-TV reported the decision was made for him to stand trial in 2027 for the death of wife Janette Becraft.
— MJF said on the Late Night Grin podcast that he told Tony Khan they should do a documentary on the Wednesday night War with NXT, noting that they could have interviews with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Relly and Swerve Strickland who were in NXT at the time.
— Billy Corgan’s NWA at the Crockett Cup this weekend announced a TV deal with the Sci-fi channel COMET. No other details were announced. Comet in 2025 averaged 92,000 viewers and an 0.03 in 18-49in prime time.
— The Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira UFC flyweight title match that was scheduled for the major show on 4/11 has been moved back to the May show. The new semifinal underneath Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Uhlbertg for the vacant light heavyweight title will be Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa.
— Regarding Dynamite, it was third in the first hour behind FOX News (which had a giant night with the Donald Trump speech) and the NBA and fourth in the second hour, also behind CNN. It was actually up in 18-49 and 25-54 from last week, down in 18-34 but still the second highest Dynamite in 18-34 so far this year.
— Will Ospreay on X said that he hadn’t returned to Japan because he wanted a break and didn’t know how his body was going to feel doing long flights like that since he lives in the U.K., and works full-time with AEW.
— Jon Jones was involved in an incident last night. Bryan Betran, who drove in a car said he was nearly hit three times by a truck even after revving his engine the first time. He flipped the person off and he proceeded to stop in the middle of the road, backed up and came into the parking lot. He said he thought Jones was carrying a weapon but said he just wanted the whole thing to blow over. Jones’ side is that the kid chased his car down for two blocks and tried to intimidate him and said he was proud of himself for standing up for himself and not allowing any bullying or intimidation.
— We haven’t heard much yet from the weekend CMLL shows, but from reports the top weekend matches were Callum Newman’s IWGP title win over Yota Tsuji and Yuto-Ice & Oskar vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa from Sakura Genesis. Stand & Deliver was also a lot better than most of the recent NXT big shows.
— I didn’t monitor it closely but Stand & Deliver about 30 minutes into the show had 133,000 viewers and was doing 147,000 to 158,000 about an hour in on YouTube. Those were only U.S. numbers but still far smaller than I would have expected.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on NXT Stand & Deliver and NJPW Sakura Genesis, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— Really not much on the Google search stuff for this weekend. Everything was low. The UFC show did 50,000. Stand & Deliver did 7,000. Deontay Wilder had 10,000 searches. Pat McAfee, Lil Yachty and nothing from Smackdown thing from Smackdown even hit the top 350 for the weekend.
— WrestleCon announced that Ted DiBiase Jr. would be coming this year.
— The Global Wars show from 3/27 from Maple Leaf Wrestling which as a joint show with ROH is now up on Honor Club.
— Scott Teal has released the first volume of his history of Stl Louis book, which covers August 27, 1873 to 1927. Volume 1 looks at the origins of pro wrestling in St Louis, matches in bars, theaters, athletic clubs and eventually moving to the Coliseum and Municipal Auditorium. Volume 2, covering 1928-1936 will be out later this year and he will continue to release books covering St. Louis Wrestling until the end of the Sam Muchnick era on January 1, 1982. For more inf go to www.crowbarpress.com
— United Wrestling Coalition on 4/11 in New Egypt, NJ at the American Legion. It is not a wrestling show by itself, but also an 80s wrestling party which is family friendly..
— Diamond Dallas Page turned 70 today. Villano IV (Tomaz Mendoza Diaz) turned 61. Charlotte Flair turned 40 and Dominik Mysterio turned 29. Among other birthdays include John Tolos, born in 1931 and Sika Anoia’i, born in 1945. Among those who passed away on this day were former NCAA champion and 50s pro star Ralph “Ruffy” Silvestein, who was 66 when he died 46 years ago today. Sara Lee was 76 when she died 18 years ago today. New Zealand promoter Steve Richard was 85 when he died 11 years ago today (thanks to Tony Richrards)
— Announced for Maple Leaf Wrestling on 4/17 at the Palms in Las Vegas is Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Amazing Red vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz & Myron Reed, plus Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Shotzi Blackheart and Michael Oku are on the show.
— Seth Rollins will be in the opening segment on Raw tomorrow.
A recent report has emerged on Pat McAfee’s return to WWE SmackDown.
The latest episode on Friday, April 3, SmackDown saw McAfee make his surprising return as Randy Orton’s mystery phone call friend and aid him in attacking Cody Rhodes. However, the segment was extremely poorly received and helped SmackDown record one of its lowest-ranked episodes in the show’s history, per Cagematch.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that McAfee’s return was an effort to boost interest in the show and for “corporate synergy” between WWE and ESPN. The report further noted that there were several people who were not in favor of the direction of the “this place sucks” angle of the promo, and felt that those rarely work in pro wrestling.
Fightful Select also claimed that the internal reaction to the return was mixed, and WWE was well aware of the online reaction. Some internally suggested that the reaction was “heat,” others claimed that it was not the kind of “heat” the promotion needed.
Previously, Wrestlevotes had reported that McAfee was set to return soon, although the former NFL punter denied those rumors. WWE sources informed Fightful Select that “McAfee is also figured into upcoming WWE programming through WrestleMania.”
Moments after McAfee’s return, PWInsider reported that McAfee’s comeback was an Ari Emanuel call. Emanuel has been very high on McAfee as well as the entertainment space. This created the notion that Triple H was no longer leading the creative team. However, such is not the case, and the Hall of Famer is still leading the “week-to-week creative and the vast majority of the program.”
Later, Bodyslam also reported that Rhodes’ promo that happened later in the evening was instructed to be a shoot one and “from the hip.”
It’s the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.
Pat McAfee being Randy Orton’s “mystery caller” on WWE SmackDown has elicited two opinions from the fans: 1) It was the worst SmackDown ever or 2) Why can’t you just enjoy things? Nobody hates wrestling more than wrestling fans!
We’ll talk about why McAfee was the choice and who made the decision. We’ll also touch on Trick, Melo, Danhausen and the rest of the show as well.
Plus, a big surprise at Sakura Genesis, Billy Jack Haynes news, RIP “Flying” Fred Curry, NXT Stand & Deliver, and that’s not close mto all of it.
Pat McAfee was revealed as the mystery caller on the line with Randy Orton on this week’s SmackDown. McAfee, the former NFL punter turned media personality who built genuine (some) goodwill during his run as a WWE commentator, has been inserted into the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton main event picture for WrestleMania 42. While the reveal tried to bring some mainstream buzz to Night One’s main event, it just ended up feeling like the dying embers of WCW in the year 2000.
People overuse the phrase “WCW 2000” as a derogatory term, but I LITERALLY mean it here. Confusing heel turns out of nowhere, breaking kayfabe, talking about terrible TV ratings…it was seriously just missing a “that wasn’t in the script!” line. I felt like I was launched back a quarter-century to when WCW Nitro was desperately trying to be cutting-edge and fourth-wall-breaking. It didn’t work then, and it certainly doesn’t work now.
Steve Austin flipping off his boss in the Attitude Era worked because the story underneath it was (pretty much) airtight. The chaos felt real because the structure holding it together was invisible. When it worked, the outrageousness meant something. WWF in the late 90s was the product of slow build, earned heat and a crowd that had been taken on a journey. That’s the version of this that the McAfee moment wanted to be. Instead, it’s the other version…so all the noise and none of the architecture heat.
WCW 2000 angle on WWE SmackDown
I am by no means saying that WWE is going to die out like the ill-fated World Championship Wrestling, but WCW’s death spiral was a masterclass in what happens when you confuse chaos with creativity. Vince Russo was booking swerves upon swerves until the swerve was the product. WCW in 2000 was a company so consumed with being edgy and unpredictable that it forgot to be good, and isn’t that exactly what’s happening right now? Adding a former NFL punter to a Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton story nearly 20 years in the making? That feud has history, texture, and genuine emotional weight. McAfee’s involvement doesn’t add anything to that story.
Why the Pat McAfee heel turn?
So why is McAfee here at all? The answer is straightforward. Randy Orton was getting cheered by fans after his heel turn on Cody Rhodes. There’s no other reason to put McAfee in there. WWE is desperately trying to get the live audience to boo Orton and cheer Rhodes ahead of another big WrestleMania match for the American Nightmare.
But as we saw during John Cena’s final run, where no crowd in the world was going to jeer one of the greatest careers in WWE history on its way out the door, people are simply not willing to boo Randy Orton in 2026. Bringing back the 2009 Viper version of him was never going to fix that. If anything, it made everything worse because fans want to see that side of him again. It’s pure nostalgia, and no one wants to boo good nostalgia. The fact that WWE pulled the trigger on the heel turn without accounting for that is genuinely baffling.
I’ll leave you with this, and tell me if you notice anything familiar. WCW 2000 wasn’t failing because people weren’t swinging for the fences or trying to outdo the competition. They were swinging constantly. The problem was that every swing was completely disconnected from the last one. There was no through-line, no earned heat, no real stakes. The “shocking” moments felt shocking only in the sense that you couldn’t believe anyone had actually signed off on them. Not in a fun way, but in a who-thought-this-was-a-good-idea way.
Cody Rhodes has vowed revenge on Pat McAfee, who suddenly has become the focus of a WrestleMania main event.
McAfee had opened SmackDown by returning to WWE and giving Rhodes a low blow, revealing himself as the mystery man who had been on the phone with Randy Orton in recent weeks.
Rhodes returned to the ring shortly before the main event, laying out Kit Wilson with a crossroads and cutting a fiery promo.
“We got all dressed up in St. Louis tonight to find out who Randy Orton was talking to on the phone,” Rhodes said. “And color me surprised, it was Pat McAfee. That’s like if Scott Hall and Kevin Nash talked about the third man in the NWO, and instead of Hulk Hogan, it was Disco Inferno.”
This week marks the eight-year anniversary of Rhodes’ burial of Inferno on social media. “Stop,” he wrote to Inferno in 2018. “You know nothing. You have drawn 0 dollars. No fan has ever left a show thinking about you. You were lucky to be a juiced up double-lifer ‘over with the boys’ type in an era where you hid in plain sight coasting on others’ success. Couldn’t hang then, can’t get booked now.”
Rhodes continued to insult McAfee as Orton’s hometown crowd booed him. “Pat, you stoner, grifter, Logan Paul without muscles, human hat rack, fly by night, you’re gonna get your receipt,” he said. “And boy I felt it. And I should have, you’re a former NFL punter. But Pat, you and everyone who represents you, and I know who I’m talking to, can kiss my ass.”
Rhodes then referred to his six-year absence from WWE. “Oh no, is that too far?” he asked. “What are you going to do, fire me? It sure worked out for you the last time.”
Rhodes closed his promo by addressing Orton—who, in case you had forgotten, will be his opponent at WrestleMania. “It’s as simple as this,” he said. “It’s a wrestling match with 20 years of history, with the two very best wrestlers to do it. And I am hearing it, I am. I am hearing those voices inside my head, finally. But you don’t want to here what they have to say.”
Rhodes was largely booed by the crowd in Orton’s home town of St. Louis.
After returning to WWE as the mystery man on the other end of Randy Orton’s phone calls, Pat McAfee has promised that he will never again appear on wrestling television if Orton loses at WrestleMania.
McAfee made the announcement on social media after his appearance on SmackDown.
“How about that marks?” he asked. “Never back on any wrestling television if Randy Orton loses at WrestleMania. I don’t know how long the business will last if that happens, but I will never come back. I am here on a mission to motivate a 6-foot-5, 270-, 280-pound monster to lead the WWE. My friend, the Legend Killer, the GOAT, Randy Orton. Tickets available now. Most important match in the history of this business happens in Las Vegas Nevada. Come watch it live.”
McAfee had not been seen on WWE television since last June. At that time, he announced he was taking a leave from his commentary duties due to mental exhaustion.
Randy Orton is challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 on Saturday and Sunday, April. Tickets are available here.
The mystery caller reveal kicked off Friday’s SmackDown. Cody Rhodes didn’t waste time coming to the ring and attacking Randy Orton. However, he was quickly cut off by McAfee, who entered the ring and gave Rhodes a low blow. Orton attacked Rhodes with a steel chair as McAfee cut a promo revealing that he has been the one telling Orton to kill everything in sight.
McAfee explained his actions, saying that the business Rhodes leads now is terrible and Orton was “gonna save the f****** business,” recalling the peak of the Attitude era fondly while dismissing the current business. He complained about WWE programming, asking the crowd why he had to watch “two 5’5 guys do a 45 minute Iron Man match ten weeks straight for no rhyme or reason” and also brought up WrestleMania tickets still being on sale and SmackDown’s “worst rated episode of all time.”
The segment ended with McAfee and Orton leaving together as WWE officials checked on a battered Rhodes.
Bryan Alvarez is reporting that he had heard McAfee as a possible mystery man candidate, though the assumpion was that it wasn’t happening.
“Pat McAfee as Orton’s mystery man was the guy I hinted at on WOL earlier in the week, but the feeling at the time was that it had fallen through. Apparently, it had not,” he writes.
Since his heel turn following Elimination Chamber, Orton had been seen talking on the phone with someone that seemed to enable him to tap into his darker intentions, attacking Matt Cardona after he initially seemed interested in apologizing. During the week, it was confirmed that the mystery person would be heading to SmackDown on Friday.
During Raw, it was announced that the WWE Champion will appear on the show this Wednesday. It will be his first appearance since being attacked by Randy Orton two weeks ago on SmackDown.
Orton brutally assaulted Rhodes during their contract signing, low blowing him after a hug and striking the champion with steel steps, causing him to get busted wide open. But Orton wasn’t done, causing further injury by propping Rhodes’ head against steel steps and smashing it with a steel chair.
On the Raw and SmackDown following the turn, Randy Orton has been seen talking to someone on the phone, seemingly following whatever advice he’s been given. He explained his actions by saying once Rhodes told him to be the best version of Randy Orton he could be, he allowed the voices in his head to take action.
After punking out Matt Cardona backstage, Jelly Roll convinced him to try to make amends with both Cardona and Rhodes. Orton brought Cardona to the ring to apologize, but it ended up being a swerve as Orton went on the attack once again, stomping Cardona’s arm that was wrapped in a steel chair.
It doesn’t sound like a WWE return is imminent for Pat McAfee.
McAfee gave an update on his WWE status during an Instagram Q&A on Sunday night, saying he does not feel like a return is in the cards right now. He left the door open to return in the future and said he’ll be keeping up with the product as a fan.
“Will I be returning to the WWE in the future? I don’t think you ever say never, you know, especially with the WWE. But right now, it does not feel like it is something that’s supposed to happen,” McAfee said. “It feels like that business has kind of passed me by a little bit. I grew up loving it, dreamed to work in it, feel honored that I had the opportunity to work alongside the GOAT Michael Cole. But I feel like WWE is in a good spot without me, and I’ll continue to watch.”
McAfee stepped away from his WWE Raw commentary role last summer due to burnout. His jobs outside of pro wrestling include hosting a daily show on ESPN and appearing on College GameDay during football season. He and his wife are expecting to welcome their second child into the world in 2026.
Acting is also an ambition of McAfee’s, with him set for a four-episode arc in the Sylvester Stallone series “Tulsa King.”
McAfee did make an appearance at WWE Wrestlepalooza last September. His most recent match took place in May 2025 with McAfee losing to Gunther at Backlash. That bout was covered in the second season of Netflix’s “WWE: Unreal” docuseries. On the show, Paul “Triple H” Levesque said he feels like McAfee is the face of WWE to a lot of people.
Sports media star and part-time WWE broadcaster Pat McAfee is reportedly expected to return to WWE soon.
Discussed on Thursday’s WrestleVotes on Fightful Select, their WWE sources indicated as much, noting that to what capacity or schedule isn’t known. This Saturday’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia was not mentioned as a return spot, but always could be a possibility given the secrecy surrounding surprises — perhaps even in the men’s Rumble match itself.
McAfee has been off regular WWE TV work since last June due to admittedly feeling exhausted and like he had hit a wall with all he was doing. He did make an appearance at last September’s Wrestlepalooza, joining Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on commentary for the start of the show that was held in his adopted hometown of Indianapolis.
He has continued to do his daily talk show on ESPN in addition to contributing to their college football coverage. He and his wife are expecting their second child in June which would affect his schedule as well.
