Controversial Star Says He's DONE With WWE Once & For All (WWE News)
Pat McAfee reiterates that he really IS done with WWE.
Having not been seen since WrestleMania 42 and announcing shortly after 'Mania 42 that he was now done with WWE, for those wondering whether we might eventually see Pat McAfee back with the pro wrestling market leader, the former NFL kicker has moved to play down such concerns.
Speaking on an Instagram Stories Q&A (via f4wonline.com), McAfee reiterated that he really is done with WWE:
As Pat put it when asked about a WWE return:
"If Randy [Orton] would have won, maybe, but I made a promise that I would never, ever, I will never be seen on WWE television ever again. And Cody Rhodes won; he is the one. What a dog he turned out to be. Maybe he was the right one all along. Maybe I was wrong with what I was saying. But no, wrestling fans can sleep soundly, understanding that I will never be back over there."
Of course, Pat McAfee was infamously inserted into the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42, with subsequent reports noting that McAfee's inclusion was pushed for by TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, rather than Pat's involvement being a WWE call.
As part of the build for WrestleMania 42, Pat McAfee turned heel and joined with Orton, called 'Mania 42 Night 2 "ass", had members of WWE's own roster feeling sorry for Cody at this unravelling situation, caused WWE's writing team to scramble to try and salvage that 'Mania Night 1 main event, and, in the aftermath of this year's Showcase of the Immortals, saw Cody call Pat's heel turn "the worst received thing in the history of wrestling".
By all accounts, Pat McAfee was well aware of the negative reaction from fans to his role in the Rhodes vs. Orton match, and it was his decision to step away from WWE. And here we are, four months later, and WWE has returned to the well with the Cody and Randy story, this time seemingly simply pulling on the natural, legitimate, storied history between the two, rather than having to shoehorn celebrity involvement into this rivalry.