Which WWE Legend Did Pat McAfee Secretly Pay Tribute To At NXT TakeOver XXX?

'I don't even know if anybody saw it!'

Pat McAfee NXT TakeOver XXX
WWE.com

Pat McAfee had one hell of a debut at NXT TakeOver XXX, but he's not sure if anybody spotted a mini-tribute he snuck into his match with Adam Cole.

According to Pat's own show, that Swanton Bomb-esque dive to the outside was a direct homage to Jeff Hardy. He even flashed some 'double guns down' hand gestures before soaring through the air. WWE's cameras barely caught that, meaning most watching the event would've missed McAfee's tribute entirely.

Pat described the bump as a "leap of faith", and said he was thinking of Jeff whilst flying head first onto the Undisputed Era and his old pro football buddies at ringside. It was just one of many spectacular moments from a match that made McAfee look like a million bucks.

Advertisement

McAfee told listeners tuning into his show that his foot is still hurting from kicking "the hell out of those steel steps". He also discussed how weird it was to see countless wrestling journalists and critics bash the fact he was working a match before it had happened.

They'll be eating their words now. They didn't get to pull off a sweet Hardy tribute at TakeOver.

Advertisement
In this post: 
Pat McAfee
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.