Pat McAfee, who has wrestled in WWE and served as a color commentator, has received high praise from Steve Austin.
After working a few matches in NXT, McAfee beat Austin Theory at WrestleMania 38 last year, losing to Vince McMahon right after. Austin would make the save, hitting a Stunner to all three stars. McAfee also made an unexpected appearance at WrestleMania 39 for a brief match against The Miz.
He is currently away from WWE, as Wade Barrett began filling in for McAfee as a color commentator on WWE SmackDown last year when the former NFL punter joined College Gameday. Additionally, he has recently signed a lucrative contract with ESPN.
When asked where he would rank McAfee’s sell of the Stunner at WrestleMania in an interview with TMZ Sports, Austin praised McAfee.
“Man, top three. I got to say top three because I mean, you know, The Rock is number one. The way he oversold and Scott Hall and some of the other guys that took it. I mean the way…Pat has a natural feel for the business. Epic performer. Great on the stick. Athletically you know that that match he had with the Theory was awesome. And then the kicker was not only the sell of a Stunner, but I don’t know if I threw him out or he ended up out of the ring but to lay there selling, still guzzling the beer, the presence of mind to ad Lib and improvise it like this is a moment without even thinking about it. I think he’s amazing. He’s very entertaining, and as a human being, I like him a whole lot,” Austin stated.