‘You embarrassed me’ – Pat McAfee exploded backstage at major WWE show and ‘packed bags’ after heated row

Pat McAfee is the life and soul of WWE programming but once very nearly left the party altogether after an almighty backstage bust up.

Former NFL star and poplar broadcaster McAfee is now a firm fixture on the weekly programming of WWE, currently serving behind the commentary desk with Michael Cole on Raw.

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He’s rarely far from the chaos. In the last week, he’s been in the firing line of World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, ducking one attack and narrowly avoiding another.

Away from storylines, he brings an excitability to the shows thanks to his charm and enthusiasm and natural rapport with Cole.

That relationship is firm and steady, Cole has said, but he revealed on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast that things very nearly went a different route.

The veteran recalled: “Pat was always a wrestling fan, his whole life. He came to one of our live events in Indiana a number of years ago. He’s like: ‘I’d like to try this.’ We were like: ‘Why don’t you come in and start doing some stuff with NXT?’

“He came in and started doing the countdown shows and all that, and me and him got really, really close, then our relationship exploded for one night!”

Having lent his hand to some initial broadcast work on NXT, the 37-year-old stepped up to duties at the company’s biggest show of the year, WrestleMania, in 2019.

The host of ESPN’s College Game day was part of the hosting panel for the Mania Kick Off Show at the 35th instalment of the mega show, but only just .

Cole explained that the fan favourite had turned up for work at the show in shorts – tuxedo shorts, but shorts nonetheless, and a stark contrast to the dresses and suits that adorned the rest of the roster.

With pressure building before the epic show, Cole exploded at McAfee, given among his responsibilities at the time was overseeing all of the company’s announcers.

The 58-year-old said: “We’re about to go on the air, live, and there’s all this pressure. I see Pat walk into Gorilla [the area immediately before the arena] with these shorts on, and I’m like, in front of everybody, which is my bad: ‘What the f****** are you doing? Dude, you’re in f**** shorts and it’s WrestleMania!’

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“Stephanie McMahon’s there, Vince, all these people, and I’m dressing down Pat. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t think about it.”

Not one to suffer fools gladly, or take a tongue lashing unnecessarily, McAfee was apparently having none of it.

“He stormed off,” Cole went on. “I’m like: ‘Where the f*** are you going?’ [He replied]: ‘I’m not doing the show.’

“He goes back and he’s packing his bags in the locker room to leave. He goes: ‘You just embarrassed me in front of everybody in this company.’

“I never thought of it that way, but he was right.”

All’s well that ends well, though and, despite some devilment by then WWE Owner Vince McMahon that didn’t help, the pair were able to patch things up before showtime.

“We ended up working it out. We showed Vince the shorts and, of course, he said: ‘Great, why are you yelling at him?’ He was stirring the s***.

“Ever since then I thought it brought us closer together and we’ve been best friends ever since.”

Years later, McAfee and Cole are inseparable, though the former is now far more at home in full length trousers…