Pat McAfee has given some behind-the-scenes information about the WWE Royal Rumble.
For the second consecutive year, McAfee made his surprise return at the event and remained on commentary for most of the evening. Discussing his return with WWE after the show, the announcer felt privileged to be back once again:
“Yeah, coming back to get a chance to be in front of the WWE Universe is an absolute honor. I was told, ‘Hey, Pat, you wanna come back and commentate?’ I said, hell yes. The Royal Rumble, what an event. Stories can be written, where dreams can come true. ‘You want to commentate?’ I said, ‘Hell yeah,’ work with Michael Cole, the greatest of all time, alongside Corey Graves with a fresh baby, fresh mindset, fresh haircut. I said, ‘I would love to do that.'”
Getting more than he bargained for on the night, McAfee’s music would play during the Men’s Royal Rumble, signalling that the announcer was a part of the match. Entering at number 22, McAfee would stand face to face with Omos and Bron Breakker before thinking better of it and eliminating himself just under a minute later.
Continuing the interview, McAfee claimed that no one told him that he would be a part of the match and thought better of it so returned to the desk:
“All of a sudden, what, 22, I’m in the Royal Rumble? Nobody gave me a heads-up about that,” McAfee claims. “I got my cowboy boots on. Michael Cole let me go in there. That was rude of him. I thought we were friends. Then there was a thing in there. Seven foot three, okay? You’re just looking up at a statue of a being. I see little Bron Breakker go like barking at me. I’m like, I’m not supposed to be in here. Why would I be in here right now? I’m not prepared for this.
Also, who would I be to take a main event at WrestleMania spot away from somebody? So I got my ass out of there. Now I went back in because I thought to myself, wait a minute, am I just gonna be a coward?
“I realized quickly, ‘Yeah, I think tonight I am.’ I went right back to the booth. And it was great. It was a great show,”
Will Pat McAfee Return To WWE Commentary?
The company are looking for a replacement on Friday nights as Kevin Patrick was recently released by WWE. Discussing the lead-up to the Royal Rumble on his podcast, Pat McAfee teased that there is currently an opening on the announce team.
H/t to Fightful.