Pat McAfee Discusses Working Alongside Corey Graves For WWE Royal Rumble 2024

With his WWE hiatus now over, officially joining the commentary team for "WWE Raw," Pat McAfee is reflecting positively on his return over Royal Rumble weekend, including playfully mending fences with fellow announcer, Corey Graves. On "The Pat McAfee Show," the former Indianapolis Colts all-pro punter talked about returning to WWE for the first time since WrestleMania 39, quickly turning the spotlight onto his interactions with Graves.

"It was awesome, man," McAfee said. "And it was fun to work alongside Corey Graves again, which is cool, cause for a while there, it wasn't a blast. It was like, 'Oh, this guy hates my guts over here.'" McAfee's return was reportedly kept a complete secret, even from Graves and fellow commentator Michael Cole, until his entrance at the Royal Rumble, where he greeted Cole warmly after gently shoving Graves into his announce chair. McAfee praised both Graves and Cole, who helped him re-acclimate to WWE after time away focusing on his show and his role as an analyst for ESPN's "College GameDay."

"On Saturday night, [Graves] was awesome," explained McAfee. "He has like an expert-level brain and then Michael Cole is the greatest of all time." McAfee admitted not being familiar with a few Rumble entrants, including TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, but the enthusiasm from Cole and Graves helped get him through. Now back in the fold full-time as part of "Raw," the learning curve shortens, but if history is any indicator, McAfee will be just fine in no time at all.

If you use quotes in this article, please credit "The Pat McAfee Show" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.