During a recent edition of his popular show, Pat McAfee explained why he took his recent hiatus from WWE. And it may be evidence that he will never return to a full-time schedule with the company.
Following Money in the Bank in June, WWE fans were surprised to find out McAfee would not be on WWE Raw the following Monday. And would not be for the foreseeable future. In the weeks since, it was revealed that the popular podcaster and ESPN analyst was burned out from his hectic schedule. On a new edition of his show, he offered up more details on why he took his sudden hiatus.
“I’m an energy guy, and I don’t need a lot of sleep to operate. I got to Money in the Bank in LA, and I could just feel it. I was like, ‘Oh my god. My brain is not operating right now,'” McAfee said. “I talked to others who have experienced mental exhaustion before. And I said, ‘I am staring down what you went through.’ I knew this moment was coming.
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“I talked to people about it happening and what they went through. And as Money in the Bank was happening, I was like, ‘This is it. I’ve finally hit it.'”
McAfee admitted he hoped he would be one of the few who could avoid the mental exhaustion despite the schedule. However, with his podcast being five days a week, mixed with the travel for that and WWE, getting little sleep on Monday nights, then the fact that he has a two-year-old daughter made everything come to a head.
It seems that his love for his toddler played a big role. And wanting more time with her factored into his making the tough decision to take time away from WWE.
McAfee added that the company has been completely understanding, and having men like Corey Graves and Wade Barrett on the broadcast roster made stepping away easier.
Soon, he will have to do more work for ESPN as part of their weekly college football pregame show. WWE’s schedule won’t be getting any less hectic, and his podcast remains as popular as ever. One has to wonder if McAfee can really go back to being a full-time announcer. Maybe he switches to making appearances for big events until his schedule lightens up in a few years.
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