Pat McAfee Explains Three-Week RAW Absence – After several weeks off WWE television, RAW commentator Pat McAfee has finally addressed his absence from the commentary booth. During the closing segment of The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee revealed that he has been away from RAW since June 9 because he needed a break from his increasingly packed schedule.
“Continuing to just like kinda catch up on life as a whole,” McAfee said. “Post-Money in the Bank, pre-Night of Champions… was getting pretty exhausted there. So shout out to everybody at WWE for looking out for me too. Very, very thankful.”
McAfee has not appeared on RAW since the June 9 episode, where he last worked alongside Michael Cole. Since then, Wade Barrett and Corey Graves have filled in as his temporary replacements, with Graves handling commentary duties the past two weeks. While WWE has not offered an official on-air explanation for McAfee’s absence, Cole referenced him during this week’s show when Bron Breakker faced Penta in the opening match.
McAfee has remained a high-profile presence on WWE programming, particularly following his in-ring feud with GUNTHER earlier this year. After GUNTHER’s World Heavyweight Championship loss to Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41, the frustrated former champion attacked both McAfee and Cole during RAW. That storyline confrontation ultimately led to a match between McAfee and GUNTHER at WWE Backlash, which ended with GUNTHER scoring a dominant victory.
While there is still no confirmation on when McAfee will return to the announce desk, his comments suggest it’s likely to be sooner rather than later, especially with WWE Night of Champions just days away.
