Pat McAfee has only been back in WWE for about a month following the college football regular season, but the former NFL punter is preparing to take a temporary step away again. McAfee is expected to have a strong presence at the College Football Championship on Monday, including live coverage of the game itself. As a result, McAfee will miss the upcoming edition of “WWE Raw” on Netflix.
As for McAfee, he made his return on Saturday Night’s Main Event last month before reappearing on the premiere episode of Netflix’s “Raw,” with the announcement that he would continue to serve as a commentator on the show as well. as long as his schedule allows. This isn’t a new arrangement for McAfee, as he previously called “Raw” and “WWE SmackDown” at different times before leaving during the college football season to serve as co-host of “College GameDay.”
Under normal circumstances, Corey Graves would likely serve as McAfee’s backup. However, after expressing his displeasure with being moved from “Raw” to “WWE NXT” earlier this year, Graves was reportedly sent home ahead of this week’s show and was only used in no WWE programming since.
Monday’s edition of “WWE Raw” is set to feature the resurgence of a long-standing rivalry as Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre battle again. The New Day will also have a match and the company announced the return of WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield. It’s worth noting that JBL previously spent years as a commentator for “Raw” and “SmackDown.”
The 2025 College Football Championship Game will pit Notre Dame against Ohio State University, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, January 20.
Wrestling Inc. contacted WWE to inquire about replacing McAfee for the broadcast.
