College football enters bowl season this weekend, which means Pat McAfee’s time on ESPN’s “College GameDay” also nears its end.
The former NFL punter, podcast host and broadcaster took a hiatus from WWE on Sept. 7 after accepting a position to be on the panel of “College GameDay.” It is expected McAfee will return to his role as SmackDown commentator after his obligations with ESPN are fulfilled. Wade Barrett has filled in during his hiatus.
Since his in-ring debut at NXT TakeOver XXX on Aug. 20, 2020, McAfee has proven himself to be a big personality on the microphone and a capable in-ring worker. He is not crisp in the squared circle and some of his matches leave a lot more than desired, but he has grown into a beloved figure to the WWE audience.
McAfee’s last match was at SummerSlam on July 30 against Baron Corbin. The College Football Playoff National Championship is scheduled on Jan. 9, 2023, which puts him in line for a potential return at Royal Rumble, which is on Jan. 28, 2023, where he could be a surprise participant in the Royal Rumble match. It would be the best way to have McAfee make his WWE return rather than simply announcing his return to the booth via social media. But if he does return at the Royal Rumble, where should he go next? Here are three realistic feuds for the 35-year-old.
Grayson Waller
This admittedly is an outside-the-box choice, but Waller is a rising star in NXT. He won the inaugural “Iron Survivor Challenge” at NXT Deadline last Saturday to become the No. 1 contender for Bron Breakker’s NXT Championship. WWE are high on Breakker, so it’s unlikely Waller will defeat the son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner. But Waller could transition into a feud with another former NFL player — Breakker, real name Bronson Rechsteiner, was a former Baltimore Ravens fullback. Waller is one of the few NXT stars that has exhibited a large, bombastic personality, which would pair well against McAfee. In his career outside of WWE, where he wrestled under the ring name “Matty Wahlberg,” he showed he was a decent in-ring worker, so a match on the mid-card would perform well.
Alpha Academy
This is another choice where the clash of personalities likely would play well for the WWE audience. Chad Gable is one of WWE’s better in-ring workers, but he and Otis are a consistent comedy act. On SmackDown this past Friday, Kurt Angle hosed the duo with a milk truck — Gable and Angle previously got into it in a “shushing” encounter. They’ve participated in an “Academic Challenge,” which ended in Gable, real name Charles Betts, who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics, losing a spelling bee. The point is Alpha Academy are the consistent comedy act for WWE, but as of late, Gable has been given the opportunity to showcase his in-ring abilities. This clash of personalities would be entertaining to watch for WWE fans as McAfee deals with Gable and the general quirkiness and Chris Farley-inspired comedy of Otis. McAfee also can then mix it up in the ring with Gable.
Omos
This matchup could do well in masking McAfee’s deficiencies in the ring. Omos quite frankly isn’t much better, but he appears to be someone WWE are high on. Omos, real name Tolulope “Jordan” Omogbehin, played basketball at the University of South Florida and Morgan State. He is billed as 7-foot-3 and at 28 years old, the company saw potential in him. He was paired with arguably one of the best wrestlers of all time in AJ Styles before his current partnership with WWE veteran MVP, who is his manager and does most of the talking for him. If WWE is still high on Omos, a high-profile feud with McAfee could help boost his profile. For McAfee, he wouldn’t be asked to carry a match and would simply have to sell for Omos before making his comeback in the match.
