Michael Cole reveals how a backstage argument with Pat McAfee helped them become best friends.
The WWE commentator has formed a brilliant partnership with the former NFL kicker on commentary. It has given Cole a new lease on life and added an entirely new dimension of commentary in the WWE.
Michael Cole spoke with Logan Paul on the Impaulsive podcast about an incident with Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 37. The WWE commentator revealed that he shouted at McAfee for wearing shorts. This led McAfee to storm off and threaten to not work the show.
The incident was eventually straightened out. The pair soon became the best of friends, which shows in their commentary partnership.
Michael Cole On His Fight With Pat McAfee
“We brought Pat in to do the WrestleMania kickoff show. Everybody at WrestleMania is in tuxes and ties—the whole nine yards. And Pat shows up in shorts. Now, they were tuxedo shorts, but still… he shows up in shorts.” Michael Cole said.
“So now, we’re about to go on the air live, there’s all this pressure, and I see Pat walk into Gorilla with these shorts on. In front of everybody, I go, ‘What the fuck are you doing, dude? You’re in fucking shorts! It’s WrestleMania, man! Stephanie McMahon’s there, Vince is there, all these people are here!’ I’m dressing him down, and then he just storms off.”
“I’m like, ‘Where the fuck are you going?’ And he says, ‘I’m not doing the show.’ He goes back to the locker room and starts packing his bag to leave. He tells me, ‘You just embarrassed me in front of everybody in this company.’ And I never thought of it that way, but he was right.”
Michael Cole continued. “Pat’s about to leave, and we end up working it out. We show Vince the shorts, and of course, Vince was great—‘Why are you yelling at him?’ [Saying the shorts were fine because he likes to stir things up]. Ever since then, I think that moment brought us closer together, and we’ve been best friends since.”
