8 Things We Learned From Pat McAfee On Stephanie McMahon's WWE Show
3. A Chance Meeting Broke Him Into Wrestling
If you like Pat McAfee, thank Scott Armstrong. If you don't like Pat McAfee, blame Scott Armstrong. The former WWE referee is responsible for motivating Pat and turning him into a WWE success story. McAfee told Steph that he was flying between Charlotte, North Carolina and Indianapolis with the Colts when he spotted Armstrong on a flight one day.
Scott was wearing a WWE jacket, so Pat sat next to him and started asking questions about how he could break into the business. Being as honest as he could be, Armstrong told him that Vince McMahon didn’t typically hire people older than 30 at the time. McAfee was 29, so he decided then and there to take a stab at it. It was a 'now or never' moment for his childhood dream.
He “got boozed up one night” and bought a wrestling ring. Yes, an actual full sized squared circle he could put in his barn and use. Then, Pat “trained a little bit” (there's some clips of him hitting arm drags, taking bumps and that sort of thing) and generally tried to learn the ropes so he could make strides towards a WWE contract.
People must've started talking backstage, because Michael Cole text Pat and asked if he'd like to be on an NXT panel. One thing led to another from there. Most know that Cole chewed McAfee out for wearing shorts at WrestleMania 35, which almost caused Pat to quit the company entirely. Today, he and Michael are great friends.
Scott Armstrong might not even know he's responsible for Pat gritting his teeth and hunting down a WWE dream.