Pat McAfee had Michael Cole on his show this week to talk about the fans being back and the Money In The Bank pay-per-view. McAfee talked about his genuine reactions while announcing and John Cena’s return:
“As you probably heard, I was not told of anything. People are wondering, not a lot of people, but a lot of people on the internet, after hearing the clip were wondering was that genuine. They did not tell me anything. Allegedly, all day there were a lot tighter lips around every situation. I am not a part of any of the, like, I don’t go to any of the meetings. I rarely know what potentially is going to happen in the grand scheme. I know next to nothing going in there. That’s by design. I don’t think I’m good enough to know what’s going to happen, and also have a genuine reaction, because I think that is a tough balance. Michael Cole has really found a balance with that. Hunter, Mr. H., is also on board with it, so that helps a lot. Michael Cole is like, ‘We just need Pat to show up and just be a fan almost. You be a fan. You react accordingly.’ Now obviously there’s some things I’ll get a heads up, like boom and bang, we need you to do boom. It’s like, ok, got it, and that’s only during a commercial break or something that’s about to happen. They keep me out of the loop for almost everything. There were a lot of rumors. On the internet, there were Cena rumors, there were CM Punk rumors, there were even Lesnar rumors, then there were Goldberg rumors. There were so many rumors. I, obviously, read the internet. This is an internet show. I’m on there so I see all these things, and I get some people that will even tweet me, or friends of mine that are fans that will ask me, ‘Who is it?’ I’m like, I have no idea. They think I’m bullsh*tting. I legitimately don’t know.”
Michael Cole talking about Pat McAfee:
“I’ve read a lot about this online as well, but it’s absolutely true. You’ve completely revitalized my career. I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years now, and I’ve seen and have been a part of everything in WWE. You go through different partners over the years. Everybody I’ve worked with has been great. They’ve all brought a different style to the product. JBL, unbelievable partner. Corey Graves, incredible talent. But you’re different than all those guys. Not that they’re not fans, but you’re a true fan, and you bring that enthusiasm to the product. Seeing how you’ve been acting over the past couple of months has really revitalized what I do. I realize I have to step up my game to keep up with what you’re doing from an enthusiastic standpoint, and that’s what I’m trying to do. It’s been a lot of fun for me. It’s been really different. I really want to thank you for bringing some life into this old body again so maybe I can hang on for a couple more years.”
Michael said he believes John Cena is the G.O.A.T.:
“Of course the moment at the end (of the Roman Reigns vs Edge match), it was a really emotional moment for me. John and I have been through so much in our career together. We really both broke through at about the same time. I was here a few years prior to John. Many times over the years, people have said Jim Ross had Stone Cold Steve Austin, Michael Cole had John Cena, and it’s true. I believe John is the greatest of all time. I have no doubt in my mind that that man is the greatest sports entertainer because he did it longer than anyone at the level that he was at as a 16 time World Champion. To see the emotion that he had, the smile on his face, and the high-fiving everyone, to see how excited he was to be in that atmosphere, I just reacted like a little boy again. I was Sean Coulthard, not Michael Cole, who was watching this product as a 10 year old kid and marking out for Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, and those guys. That’s who I was again. The reaction was legitimate. I think that’s why you and I work Pat. It’s real. Nothing is rehearsed. It’s just you and I being two cool guys hanging out. That Cena stuff, I’ll tell you, I’ve been in cars and buses with John Cena for a decade. That man is the salt of the earth. I’ve learned so much about this business from him. To see him come back like that, it was a legitimate mark out moment for me. It really was, and I don’t have many of those in my career anymore, but that really was one.”
Check out Michael Cole’s appearance on McAfee’s show below.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Pat McAfee Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription
