This past Saturday, Pat McAfee had his first-ever wrestling match against former NXT Champion Adam Cole. While the former NFL punter ended up on the losing side of the match, McAfee’s work inside the ring was highly praised by fans and critics alike.
So could we see more matches with McAfee down the line?
The 33-year-old addressed his future in wrestling with Tim Fiorvanti of ESPN.com. Early in the interview, McAfee talked about pulling off impressive moves during his bout at TakeOver: XXX, such as the backflip coming off the top rope:
"As the backflip off the top rope is starting, because he pushes me off, kind of off-balance, [I'm thinking,] 'Here we go. Let me hit a backflip here instead of falling on my back, hopefully.' I've never done that before off the top," McAfee recalled. "Even on my own ring that I have, I've always done a moonsault onto a bed, but I had never done a backflip and landed it. So doing it there, attempting it there, it goes very much along the framework that I am such an idiot that I think I can do things.
"And I think that has been an advantage for me in my life for a lot of different professions that I've tried. For me, I think that doubt never ever creeped in. ... So, wherever I choose to hit that backflip, in my head while I'm flying through, I'm like, 'OK, I'm going to land this.' And then the thought is, 'How can I get back up there as quickly as possible?' And just jumping up to the top as if I'm Shelton Benjamin just felt like the right move."
McAfee also discussed the possibility of getting back inside the ring and the former NFL star doesn’t shoot down the idea of having another match in the future:
"That seems to be a conversation that has been circling me for the last couple of days, and even maybe the last week or so in the buildup to this. And this is going to sound very cliche, but it's 100% real and it's how I literally operate with everything. I just focus on literally what's next in my life. Because I run a business. I've got a daily show. I got a merch business. We have a touring company. I mean, there's a lot of advertising, marketing. There's a lot of things I do. And I just focus on what's next for me.
So for when it came to the match on Saturday, I was only focused on that match. I was only focused on, 'OK, how do I go in here, put on a hell of a show, hell of a fight and get a win? And then, we'll worry about everything after that on Sunday.' We'll cross that bridge whenever we get to it. And I've heard the conversation start all around me and there was a lot. ... Even my mom was asking, "Well, are you going to do this again?" I'm like, 'Well, let's worry about that on Sunday.'"
"But for me, all I was worried about was that match at NXT TakeOver: XXX and then I'll let everything else kind of sort itself out. And I think that's where I'm at right now. I feel good. If I never get in the ring again, I'll be very thankful for the opportunity and I'll be proud of it. If something pops up and it's right and my wife doesn't mind, because I did miss some of the honeymoon for this whole thing and she's been incredibly cool. There's a lot that goes into it. To be honest, I just started thinking about it within the last 24 hours, and have no idea what the future holds."