AEW star Adam Cole has praised his old rival, WWE’s Pat McAfee, even though he still thinks the commentator is “a real jerk”.
WWE SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee has wrestled a few times in WWE. His most recent match was against the-now United States Champion Theory and then right afterwards against Vince McMahon at WrestleMania.
However, his first in-ring feud in WWE came against a man who is now one of the stars of AEW, Adam Cole.
McAfee and Cole had a few run-ins before the former footballer officially signed with WWE, including McAfee costing the Undisputed Era leader a match against Malakai Black – then Aleister Black – during an NXT show in 2018.
Soon after McAfee signed, they reignited their rivalry after an appearance on McAfee’s radio show ended with Cole storming out.
The two eventually met in the ring at NXT Takeover XXX and, while Pat McAfee was praised for his performance, it was Adam Cole who came out on top.
McAfee then aligned himself with several NXT stars to take on the Undisputed Era. This ended with a War Games match between Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong and Pat McAfee, Danny Burch, Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne which the Undiputed Era won.
Looking back on the rivalry on The Kurt Angle Show (available early on AdFreeShows), Adam Cole explained that, while he “can’t stand the guy”, Pat McAfee is very talented.
“So it’s really, really fun getting the chance to do anything that’s somewhat outside the box, you know. As much as I can’t stand the guy, you know, Pat is a very, very talented person. Very charismatic, has the gift of gab for days.
“He really respects pro wrestling a lot, he really does. As far as being a student of the game and watching it and respecting it, he’s the best when it comes to that.
“So yeah, but getting the chance to do any sort of programme with someone who’s a non-wrestler, was very, very fun.
“It was such a compliment for them to trust me with that role of getting to be in there with Pat. So he’s, again as far as someone being such a natural when it comes to this job, oh my goodness.
“Yeah. It’s unbelievable. He’s a real jerk but he’s a natural.”
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