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WWE Royal Rumble is now in the rearview mirror, and what an eventful show it was. A well-structured premium live event from top to bottom, with the killer main event segment allowing the show to end on a high note.
While the closing moments were the stuff of legend that will be talked about many years from now, one can't overlook Triple H and the creative's clever choice to book the Royal Rumble match to open the show.
The Game did his homework and learned from the mistakes of several other editions. No amount of joy that came from Cody Rhodes' triumphant return would have offset the kind of reaction Sami Zayn got in the main event.
Speaking of the night's opener, Pat McAfee returned to WWE programming by kicking off the show with an entrance and subsequently joining commentators Corey Graves and Michael Cole, with the latter genuinely happy to see McAfee back.
The SmackDown color commentator and occasional wrestler revealed on The Pat McAfee Show about his original plans and goals for the first premium live event of 2023.
"There was speculation, a lot of people talking about it, a lot of people thought I was going to be in the Royal Rumble, a lot of people thought I was going to be there. That was not figured out until late last week. That came together pretty quick. Not that there was any bad relations, it's just my schedule for the last five months, and everyone's schedule, especially in the WWE, my wife is pregnant, there was no bad beef or anything, it was just, 'I don't want to have to train enough to get into the Royal Rumble,'" said McAfee. [H/T: Fightful]
He continued, saying that the original plan was for him to be in the Royal Rumble match, but by the end of the college football season, he realized he wasn't going to be in ring shape:
"They said immediately [after I left], Hunter, Stephanie, and Nick, 'Rumble is like the perfect time to comeback,' because that's when people comeback and it's after college football season. I was like, 'perfect.' I need something to keep me in shape. I get fat and I need something to keep working out for. I tried. Everybody saw me, I was getting after it. By week nine....I think I could have [done a couple minutes in the Rumble], but I don't want to disrespect anybody." [H/T: Fightful]
You can watch the entire show here.
How Pat McAfee's WWE Royal Rumble return was kept a secret
Pat McAfee even mentioned that his WWE return was kept a secret even from Michael Cole. This makes the latter's reaction to McAfee's return heartfelt, which was on display.
Kevin Dunn was the one who coordinated McAfee's return, including finding Pat's flights after there was a plane delay.
Pat further stated that he met a few superstars backstage and spoke to Triple H and Kevin Dunn before making his way out into the arena.
McAfee was the full-time announcer on WWE SmackDown before stepping away to focus on College Gameday. Wade Barrett replaced him in the commentary.
