Bill Apter Responds To Pat McAfee Telling Him To “F–k Off”
Pat McAfee has won many people over since he began working color commentary for Friday Night SmackDown, but he has faced some criticism.
Pro wrestling journalist Bill Apter mentioned on Twitter that he didn't care for McAfee's announce table dancing during Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance a couple of weeks ago, to which McAfee responded quite negatively telling him to, "f–k off," on Twitter.
Speaking with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman, Apter walked through his mindset that night.
"That night I was sitting there on my recliner, I had the volume up very high. I like he and Michael Cole together!" Apter said. "McAfee's terrific. I've tweeted that in the past, but did I ever get a tweet back from him, 'With all due respect, thank you Bill'? No. Here, it just annoyed [me]. It got to the peak to where one time I said, 'Ah! I can't listen to this.' I didn't even think he'd know who I was. Then for him to come back and say, 'With all due respect, f off,' I get it. I'm sorry it irritated you. It irritated me that as a professional you had to use the f-bomb. It wasn't necessary."
Apter emphasized that the response from McAfee wasn't the issue, but rather the language he used.
"To say, 'Bill, with all due respect, I didn't appreciate what you said.' Something like that? That's fine," Apter said. "He's probably a great, classy guy too. Maybe it's a generational thing, but the f-bomb bothers me. It truly does."
Beyond the cursing, Apter was upset that McAfee only responded to the critical tweet, as he mentioned he's praised his work before.
"I don't have anywhere near the fan base he does, at all, but my fans were very upset at what he said," Apter said. "Matter of fact, this past Friday night on SmackDown, I complimented he and Michael Cole on the great job they did on the Rey Mysterio / Roman Reigns match. Nothing! Nothing. He used the f-bomb, that's what upset me. I think he's terrific. I think he's extremely entertaining. He's good at what he does. I have nothing against his broadcasting, but that night I just... ah!"
On the red brand side of things, Apter had only good things to say about new RAW play-by-play man Jimmy Smith.
"I like him," Apter said. "For one, he's not overbearing. He's just a commentator who is very good. I like him."
You can follow Bill on Twitter @Apter1Wrestling. You can find Apter's full interview via the embedded players below.
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