Pat McAfee Steals the Show at WWE's WrestleMania

Former WVU punter/kicker has the time of his life at WrestleMania.

When you think of West Virginia football legends, you tend to think of Pat White, Steve Slaton, Major Harris, Tavon Austin, Darryl Talley, and so on. As good as those guys were, there may not be another former Mountaineer football player who has had more success post-WVU than former punter/kicker Pat McAfee.

McAfee spent eight years in the National Football League (all with the Indianapolis Colts) and very quickly became one of the best, if not the best punter in the league. He was named an All-Pro in 2014 and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2014 and 2016. At the age of 29, McAfee surprised the vast majority of NFL fans by calling it a career following the 2016 season. People questioned the decision and even Michael Wilbon of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption went as far as to say, “Make them tear the uniform off of you… Look, somebody needs to stage an intervention. People who know this guy, get to him now. Make him put his helmet back on.”

Over the last five-plus years, McAfee has built an incredible brand and following with his show, the Pat McAfee Show which airs on Sirius XM radio and streams on YouTube. Each week during the NFL season, McAfee has a segment carved out for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and also interviews some of the best players and coaches in the game. 

Back in December, McAfee signed a massive four-year, $120 million deal with FanDuel to promote the sportsbook and app on his show. Now, obviously, he's going to pay some of that out to his buddies on staff but just for comparison, he earned just over $15 million during his time in the NFL.

Recently, McAfee has been doing some color commentary on WWE's SmackDown alongside Michael Cole. McAfee's energy and relatability to the common fan makes him a perfect fit for the WWE company which is why CEO Vince McMahon offered McAfee an opportunity to actually wrestle in WrestleMania 38 against Austin Theory over the weekend. For those who follow McAfee's show, you already know how passionate he is about wrestling and how it's been a dream of his for a very long time to take the ring.

Sunday night, he got to live out his dream and delivered a rockstar performance that will be remembered for a lifetime. He strolled out from backstage with Seven Nation Army as his intro music, walking down the ramp with Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders on both sides and when he got halfway to the ring, he punted a football into the crowd.

Pat McAfee punted a football during his entrance 🔥#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/QHzKCapnib

— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) April 4, 2022

McAfee went on to defeat Theory, but that was just the beginning.

Former #WVU football players are now 1-0 at #WrestleMania

Who’s next? pic.twitter.com/w6xxHwkgc4

— Schuyler Callihan (@Callihan_) April 4, 2022

McMahon took his jacket off and got into the ring to square off with McAfee, something no one saw coming. Then, WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin ran out and got into the mix as well, delivering a stone cold stunner to both McAfee and McMahon. The move left McAfee lying on the ground, still sipping in the beer that had been dripping from his face after clashing two together with Austin. 

Win or lose.. Still booze #WrestleMania #WrestleMania38 pic.twitter.com/UFf8cmd8fd

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 4, 2022

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