Pat McAfee opens up about WWE hiatus; reveals real reason for missing RAW

Pat McAfee opened up about his WWE hiatus and revealed the real reason as to why he has not been on RAW as of late. The company is currently on the road to SummerSlam 2025 next month at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show today, the former NFL punter opened up about his hiatus from the company. He revealed that he was mentally exhausted and had to step away.

“I got real tired, man. I crashed, I hit a wall. I got to Money in the Bank in LA – I was on the east coast for TST, and then I went down to Parris Island, and then I went to LA for Money in the Bank, and I could just feel it. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, my brain is not operating right now," he said.

McAfee added that after he stopped doing RAW, he began to feel normal again. The popular commentator noted that he would always love the company, but didn't think he was going to be able to survive the schedule with the NFL season approaching.

"And I will always love the WWE, and I miss it, but I didn’t think I would have made it – I was eyeing football season around the corner, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to survive this thing," he added. [H/T: WrestleTalk]

Corey Graves has been calling the action alongside Michael Cole in recent weeks on WWE RAW during McAfee's hiatus.

Vince Russo reacts to WWE fans criticizing Pat McAfee

Wrestling legend Vince Russo recently came to the defense of Pat McAfee after he received criticism from WWE fans for taking a break from RAW.

Speaking on Sportskeeda's Writing with Russo show, the veteran defended McAfee and noted that he had a life outside of calling professional wrestling.

"Pat McAfee has made it clear by saying this and doing this: he doesn't eat, sleep, breathe, crap professional wrestling. He's got a life, he's got his own podcast on ESPN, he's got a two-year-old daughter. That's the thing with these marks, wrestling has to be your life, 100%, more important than anything else in your life. All of a sudden, you're this person who says, it's a part of my life, no question about it, it ain't the whole thing. Now they've got a problem with you because they can't understand why wrestling isn't your everything." (2:28-3:18)

You can check out the video below:

Only time will tell when Pat McAfee decides to return to WWE television down the line.