9 months ago
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WWE
Fresh off his appearance on commentary for WWE Royal Rumble, as well as briefly appearing in the men's Royal Rumble match itself, former "WWE SmackDown" commentator Pat McAfee is back and will be on the desk with Michael Cole on Monday nights for "WWE Raw" moving forward.
Just like Royal Rumble, McAfee's music once again kicked off the show on Monday, and he headed down to join Cole, who made the announcement. Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett was previously on the call with Cole — as of this writing, WWE has not announced if Barrett will be moving to "WWE SmackDown" to join Corey Graves and replace lead announcer Kevin Patrick, who was let go by the company last week. McAfee, who hosts "The Pat McAfee Show" throughout the week on ESPN, had previously teased a return to commentary following Patrick's releas.
The former punter for the Indianapolis Colts began his career with WWE in 2018 as a pre-show analyst for "WWE NXT" TakeOver events. In 2021, McAfee moved to "SmackDown" as a color commentator alongside Cole. He's also previously mixed it up in the ring, feuding with Adam Cole when the now-AEW star competed in "NXT." McAfee even wrestled at WrestleMania 38, defeating Austin Theory before losing to Vince McMahon (in what's likely his final WrestleMania appearance in light of his recent resignation following allegations of abuse and sex trafficking) and taking a stunner from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. McAfee took a hiatus from his commentary gig when he joined ESPN's "College GameDay" in 2022.
