Will Pat McAfee Be At WWE WrestleMania 39?
The hugely charismatic star last appeared for WWE back at this year's Royal Rumble.
With his WWE future currently unclear, many have pondered whether Pat McAfee will have a role to play at WrestleMania 39 this weekend.
Speaking during an appearance on The Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast (via the Wrestling Observer), WWE CEO Nick Khan noted how there are currently zero plans to have McAfee at SoFi Stadium for this year's Showcase of the Immortals.
As Khan explained:
"We have no plans to have him there this weekend. The world is his oyster. He's 36 years old, and look at his relevancy factor when you talk to children? I have two young children. When I talk to them, it's often, 'McAfee, McAfee, McAfee'. That's what's in the wheelhouse for them. So, if you look at any of the traditional buyers, who do they want? They want a young diverse audience. What does McAfee bring? He brings a young, diverse audience. You notice, he doesn't get political, extreme, either way. He has Aaron Rodgers on, he treats him respectfully, develops that relationship, he becomes the go-to home of Aaron Rodgers. You see that with more athletes and Pat. He's not looking to annihilate anybody or crucify them, he's looking to have good content, and his content has been terrific. So, he'll determine, ultimately, where he wants his home to be, and our hope is that he does more with us."
As alluded to by Nick Khan there when he talks about "traditional buyers", last month saw McAfee take to social media to openly state how he's unsure what lies in his WWE future as he questioned whether he'd want to work and make money for whomever eventually purchases the market leader.
The last time wrestling fans saw Pat was at this year's Royal Rumble, where he made a surprise one-off return on commentary. Prior to that, the Indianapolis Colts favourite was alongside Michael Cole at the SmackDown announce booth from April 2001 until September 2022.
Of course, McAfee's run as a commentator was brought to a temporary halt when he took up a job with ESPNS' College GameDay. At that time, it was believed that the hugely charismatic star would be returning to SmackDown once the season of College GameDay was up, but it's more recently been revealed that Pat has committed once more to GameDay and that Wade Barrett is now viewed as Cole's permanent co-commentator on WWE's blue brand.
Away from the announce desk, Pat McAfee's WWE run has also seen him step in the ring as an active competitor on five different occasions. The first of those came back at NXT TakeOver XXX in August 2020, losing to Adam Cole, and that would be followed by McAfee's Kings of NXT group losing to Cole's Undisputed Era at TakeOver: War Games later that year. On the main roster, the 36-year-old defeated Austin Theory at WrestleMania 38, then swiftly lost an impromptu match against Vince McMahon at that 'Mania, before more recently picking up a W over Baron Corbin at last year's SummerSlam.