How Long Will Pat McAfee Be Away From WWE NXT?

Don't expect to see Pat McAfee on WWE television again soon. The ex-NFL star and podcast host [...]

By Ryan Droste

Don't expect to see Pat McAfee on WWE television again soon. The ex-NFL star and podcast host really made an impression in NXT throughout 2020, closing out his fantastic (brief) rookie campaign by taking part in NXT War Games earlier this month. However, per a new report in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, McAfee will be away from the company until at least this spring.

According to the report:

We're told McAfee will be off TV for a while. It was WWE's call, not his. No exact time frame was said, but we're told he was given the impression it'll be the spring. He's such a natural at this and really, if the main roster creative wasn't such a mess, he should be there. Plus, his affiliation would get far more sports media talk if it was on Raw or Smackdown and unlike most celebrities, you don't have to worry that his segments or his physical end will come off looking bad.

Lots of a great points of emphasis within that paragraph from Dave Meltzer. McAfee is already one of the best promos in all of NXT, and his natural athleticism from his days playing professional sports make him believable in the ring. Though the feud with Adam Cole is what brought him into the ring, it's not hard to imagine McAfee having success on the main roster relatively quickly should his career take that turn. And an ex-NFL star on Raw or SmackDown would definitely give the WWE some big publicity.

All of that said, perhaps taking it slow with McAfee is the right approach to avoid overexposure as he acclimates to the business. Both of his WWE NXT matches have been losses so far: the match against Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX back in August and the aforementioned War Games match at NXT War Games in early December.

What would you like to see McAfee do upon his return to WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments section below!

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