WWE Worked Everyone In The Company With This Royal Rumble 2023 Moment

WWE demonstrated how to work the locker room at Royal Rumble 2023.

by Andy H Murray
Pat McAfee
WWE.com

WWE kept a lot of people in the dark when it came to Pat McAfee's return at Royal Rumble 2023.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson reports that the show-opening moment was kept secret from a lot of people, with the promotion holding the situation "close to the vest."

Most of WWE's production crew didn't get told about it prior to McAfee's entrance music hitting ahead of the men's Royal Rumble. This meant that when he hit ringside, there was a scramble to find a headset and chair for Pat, as he took his place alongside Corey Graves and Michael Cole in the announce booth.

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McAfee's broadcast partners, Cole and Graves, weren't clued in on the situation. The duo were ready to call the show as a twosome. This meant that their surprised, excited reactions to McAfee's appearance were real and organic.

Whether or not Pat will be back on SmackDown on a regular basis following his Rumble comeback remains to be seen. The former NFL punter had been on hiatus from WWE duties since September 2022, when he announced a deal to work on ESPN's College GameDay show, though he was always set to return to pro wrestling once those obligations had wrapped.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.