Pat McAfee’s WrestleMania 39 Status Confirmed
Pat McAfee was a featured part of WrestleMania in 2022 with the star defeating Austin Theory before competing in possibly the unlikeliest WrestleMania match ever when he was defeated by Vince McMahon.
McAfee began his WWE career as part of NXT and in April 2021, it was announced that he was to become a permanent part of the SmackDown announce team alongside Michael Cole. However, he has been on hiatus from that role since September 2022 due to his commitments on ESPN’s College Game Day.
Speaking on the Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast, WWE CEO Nick Khan confirmed that McAfee will not be part of WrestleMania 39 and says ultimately he will decide where he wants his future to lie:
“We have no plans to have him there this weekend. The world is his oyster. He’s 36 years old. Look at his relevancy factor when you talk to young 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.
“If you look at any of the traditional buyers, what do they want? They want a young, diverse audience. What does McAfee bring? A young, diverse audience. He doesn’t get political to the extreme either way. He has Aaron Rodgers on, respectfully develops that relationship, and becomes the go-to home for 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. He’ll determine, ultimately, where he wants his home to be. Our hope is that he does more with us.”
Pat McAfee has previously cast doubt on his future in WWE and suggested that he’ll make up his mind once he knows who’s buying the company.