Pat McAfee has only been back in WWE for about a month following the college football regular season, but the former NFL punter is once again preparing to step away temporarily. McAfee is set to have a strong presence at the College Football Championship on Monday, including live coverage for the game itself. As a result, McAfee will miss the upcoming edition of "WWE Raw" on Netflix.
As for McAfee, he made his return during Saturday Night's Main Event last month before reappearing on the Netflix debut of "Raw," along with the announcement that he'll continue serving as the commentator for the show as long as his schedule allows. This isn't a new arrangement for McAfee, as he has previously called both "Raw" and "WWE SmackDown" at different points before leaving during the college football season to serve as a co-host for "College GameDay."
Under normal circumstances, Corey Graves would likely serve as the fill-in for McAfee. However, after expressing dissatisfaction about being moved from "Raw" to "WWE NXT" at the start of this year, Graves was reportedly sent home ahead of this week's show and hasn't been utilized on any WWE programming since.
Monday's edition of "WWE Raw" is set to feature the reignition of a long-running rivalry as Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre go to battle once again. The New Day will have a match as well, and the company has announced the return of WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield. It's worth noting that JBL previously spent years as a commentator for both "Raw" and "SmackDown."
The 2025 College Football Championship game will pit Notre Dame against Ohio State University, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, January 20.
Wrestling Inc. has reached out to WWE to inquire as to McAfee's replacement for the broadcast.
