Pat McAfee

Pat McAfee is a former NFL punter who later became a sports media personality and a major on-air voice in WWE. He played college football at West Virginia and was set to enter the NFL Draft in 2009, but before his pro football career began, he tested the waters in pro wrestling with a single independent match for IWA East Coast on March 22, 2009, facing Warpig.

A few weeks later, McAfee entered the NFL when the Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the seventh round. He spent his entire playing career with the Colts from 2009 through the 2016 season, building a reputation as one of the league’s top punters.

During his football career, he earned multiple Pro Bowl selections and first-team All-Pro recognition, gaining league-wide respect for both his on-field performance and personality. He retired in early 2017 and publicly pointed to his ongoing knee issues as the main reason for stepping away.

After football, McAfee built a large audience through sports broadcasting and his own show, which helped him move into WWE as both a commentator and a part-time performer.

His WWE involvement started with guest work, including a spot on the NXT TakeOver: New Orleans pre-show panel in 2018. He later moved from the desk to the ring, with his first WWE match taking place at NXT TakeOver XXX in August 2020 against Adam Cole. Cole won, but the match leaned hard into McAfee’s athleticism and his willingness to take punishment and keep fighting.

From there, he moved from guest appearances into a bigger WWE role that mixed commentary with storylines.

Later that year, he captained Team McAfee in the men’s WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2020, teaming with Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan against The Undisputed Era.

McAfee then settled into a regular commentary spot, joining Michael Cole on Friday Night SmackDown in 2021, and WWE later announced a multiyear extension with him in 2022.

Even while working primarily as a commentator, he kept returning for big matches. At WrestleMania 38 in 2022, he beat Austin Theory, and at WrestleMania 39 in 2023, he answered The Miz’s open challenge and won in a quick match, with the help of fellow NFL player George Kittle.

In 2025, he wrestled Gunther at Backlash, where he took a beating, kept getting back up, and tried to fight through Gunther’s heavy strikes, but would ultimately lose after being put to sleep with a sleeper hold.

In the ring, McAfee wrestles with an athletic style that fits his limited experience. He keeps matches fast, relies on short bursts of offense, and focuses on clean strikes, quick tackles, and basic grappling.

His movement looks natural for a former pro athlete, and he sells well, taking bumps willingly and committing to the big moments, including taking chances off the top rope, even when the match is simple. His leg strength shows in his kicks, and his best performances usually come in matches structured around a few sequences rather than extended back-and-forth.

As a WWE figure, McAfee has become known for balancing the roles of a loud, emotional commentator who reacts like a fan and a part-time wrestler who shows up for major moments and treats them like they matter.