Pat McAfee: It feels like WWE has ‘passed me by a little bit’
It doesn’t sound like a WWE return is imminent for Pat McAfee.
McAfee gave an update on his WWE status during an Instagram Q&A on Sunday night, saying he does not feel like a return is in the cards right now. He left the door open to return in the future and said he’ll be keeping up with the product as a fan.
“Will I be returning to the WWE in the future? I don’t think you ever say never, you know, especially with the WWE. But right now, it does not feel like it is something that’s supposed to happen,” McAfee said. “It feels like that business has kind of passed me by a little bit. I grew up loving it, dreamed to work in it, feel honored that I had the opportunity to work alongside the GOAT Michael Cole. But I feel like WWE is in a good spot without me, and I’ll continue to watch.”
McAfee stepped away from his WWE Raw commentary role last summer due to burnout. His jobs outside of pro wrestling include hosting a daily show on ESPN and appearing on College GameDay during football season. He and his wife are expecting to welcome their second child into the world in 2026.
Acting is also an ambition of McAfee’s, with him set for a four-episode arc in the Sylvester Stallone series “Tulsa King.”
McAfee did make an appearance at WWE Wrestlepalooza last September. His most recent match took place in May 2025 with McAfee losing to Gunther at Backlash. That bout was covered in the second season of Netflix’s “WWE: Unreal” docuseries. On the show, Paul “Triple H” Levesque said he feels like McAfee is the face of WWE to a lot of people.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.