Pat McAfee has opened up about the reasons behind his recent departure from the WWE Monday Night Raw commentary desk, citing significant mental exhaustion and burnout from the demanding travel schedule. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, the popular media personality detailed the moment he realized he had hit his limit.
“I got real tired, man, I bet I hit a wall,” McAfee said. “I hit one.” He described the feeling as “brain fog” and a moment he knew was inevitable. “I talked to others that have maybe experienced like, mental exhaustion before… and like, as Money in the Bank was happening, I was like, ‘Oh my god, yeah, this is it.’ This is, I finally hit it. And I never thought it was going to happen.”
A Grueling Schedule
McAfee detailed the grueling travel schedule in the weeks leading up to his decision, which included trips to Dublin, Los Angeles for TST, and Parris Island before heading back to L.A. for WWE’s Money in the Bank event. “I was trying my best,” he said. “And I know wrestling fans don’t think this… But like, I was trying to put everybody over, like, maximum effort, full every time.”
The schedule, combined with the effort he was putting into the broadcasts and his family commitments, became too much to sustain. “I think that with the travel with me not getting back to like two, 3am on Monday takes a toll, and then that’s the beginning of our work week,” he explained. “But you add in, like, my daughter, that’s real, wanting daily, wanting to be around the daily.”
An Understanding Partner
McAfee praised WWE for being accommodating and understanding of his need to step back. “WWE has on the other side, because they have such a hard work, kind of mindset and travel mindset… They understand, like, people get like, ‘hey, yeah, we understand you might need to take a sleep early.’ For sure, they’ve been great,” he stated. “And I will always love the WWE, and I miss it.”
He also gave credit to his commentary colleagues, Corey Graves and Wade Barrett, whose talent made his decision easier. “Corey Graves, so good. Wade Barrett, so good,” McAfee said. “For me at the commentator position, it’s like, the show moves on regardless. So like, the ability to not feel absolutely f—ing terrible for having to take a step back because I’m tired…”
McAfee admitted that if he had continued at that pace, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to handle his other commitments once football season began. “I didn’t think I would have made it,” he confessed. “I was eyeing football season right around the corner. It’s gonna be, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to survive this thing.”
Since Pat McAfee stepped away from the commentary desk following the Money in the Bank premium live event, WWE has announced that Corey Graves will move from SmackDown to permanently re-join Michael Cole at the Raw announce table. McAfee remains under contract with WWE and is expected to continue focusing on his daily talk show and his duties with ESPN’s College GameDay as the college football season approaches.
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.
