The 2024 WWE Royal Rumble closed with Cody Rhodes winning the big multi-man contest for the second year in a row. Unfortunately, his final opponent in the match, CM Punk, was injured and will not be able to compete at WWE WrestleMania 40, but there were other highlights surrounding the win. Notably, former NFL player and occasional WWE personality Pat McAfee returned to the commentary desk to call the action alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves.
On tonight’s WWE Raw, McAfee returned to the commentary desk alongside Michael Cole. His stay at the desk will not be brief, as Cole confirmed that McAfee will join him each Monday night as a permanent member of the WWE Raw commentary team. McAfee previously served as a commentator for WWE SmackDown, also alongside Cole, from 2021 until 2022.
The news of McAfee’s move to WWE Raw comes on the heels of the news that Kevin Patrick will no longer serve as a commentator for WWE SmackDown. Haus of Wrestling has reached out to sources within WWE for insight on who could be joining Corey Graves on WWE SmackDown and has not been given a clear answer as to who will be replacing Patrick. One name that has been bandied about as a possibility is Wade Barrett, who previously served as WWE SmackDown commentator but was shuffled to WWE Raw last year and appears to have been replaced by McAfee.
WWE recently announced that WWE Raw will be heading to Netflix in January 2025. The deal is for ten years and is valued at $500 million a year. Netflix has the option of opting out early, at the five-year mark or extending the deal for another ten years. If they do see the deal through as far as they can take it, WWE will pocket $10 billion over a twenty-year period.