Pat McAfee Opines On ‘Incredibly Problematic’ Vince McMahon Allegations
The wrestling world was turned upside down yesterday when a Wall Street Journal report revealed Vince McMahon was under investigation by the WWE board of directors for a $3 million payout to a former WWE employee he, and WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, had an affair with. Many in the wrestling world have reacted to the story, and today, Pat McAfee became the latest.
On today's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the "WWE Friday Night SmackDown" commentator gave his thoughts on the situation, starting with what he knew of what was going on.
"I know less than everybody else," McAfee said. "This is just me, I don't know sh*t about f*ck over there. I go in, do my thing, say hello to everybody, and I'm out. I'm in maybe the most awesome situation in the history of WWE for anybody. I'm the long-time fan, a lifelong fan of the company. But I'm not part of anything. I'm part of no groups, I have no locker room. I literally bounce around, do my thing, and I'm out. It's designed to be that way.
"I think Michael Cole and everyone have set it up to be that way, like 'This is the best way for this to happen, let's keep him out of everything. He comes in and does his thing.' I'm very fortunate, lucky, and love that job. But outside looking in, it's like, if you're watching Succession, anytime a board is trying to do something, it's hard not to be like 'Woah, woah, woah.' I'm going there tomorrow. I'm excited to hear the chatter. Now obviously, what is being alleged is not fantastic at all, it's terrible. There will be full investigations."
After once again comparing the situation to "Succession", McAfee described his reaction yesterday when the story hit the press.
"Yesterday, when this hits the internet out of nowhere, I'm like 'Oh my God,'" McAfee said. "It's hard not to start piecing things together and be like 'You could see how that person would want, and then that, and if that was happening, how does this not come out?' I'm watching along with everybody else in the middle of Indianapolis yesterday. But that came out of nowhere."
McAfee then delved into what could come next from the story.
"What will happen? There are going to be a lot of investigations," McAfee said. "There will be investigations about the investigations too. And those investigations will contradict other investigations. Will you ever get the truth? No. Hopefully, we get part of it though. And I think that's what everybody's hoping for. That's what everyone is hoping for at some point."
After talking about how several people from WWE trended throughout Wednesday afternoon, McAfee brought up how he had been the talk of social media regarding things that were said during McMahon's appearance on The Pat McAfee show months ago.
"I think I was trending at one point yesterday, because of something he said on this show about how 'I was married at the time to my wife,'" McAfee said. "And also, I asked him about Succession and watching it and seeing the whole thing. So I think we were even getting chatted about at one point."
In the end, McAfee saved arguably his most notable comment on the situation for last.
"Who knows how the whole thing will go," McAfee said. "It sounds incredibly problematic."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Pat McAfee Show with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.