Former WWE star refuses to face Pat McAfee; willing to take on Hall of Famer instead

Former WWE star and SmackDown announcer Wade Barrett recently said that he does not fancy his chances against Pat McAfee.

Barrett made his way to the SmackDown announcement team alongside Michael Cole after regular announcer Pat McAfee took a brief hiatus to pursue an opportunity with ESPN as part of College Game Day.

Speaking with Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast, Barrett said that he wouldn't confront McAfee if the former NFL star wanted his spot back. The former five-time IC Champion said that squaring off with Pat would result in another loss for him. He joked that he would have a better chance at beating Booker T for a spot on the NXT commentary team.

"Ten years ago, I would have fancied my chances against Pat McAfee. He's proved that in his several escapades in the ring so far that he can really go. That's another L for old Wade Barrett if I did get in the ring with McAfee right now. I need to have a few warm-up matches before I try to take up somebody of that stature. If he wants the chair back I think I'm going to have to politely give it to him and try to make my way back to NXT. Maybe fight Booker T, he's as rusty as I am." [From 0:05 - 0:31]

🎙 @StuBennett jokes about what will happen when @PatMcAfeeShow eventually returns to #SmackDown

#OutOfCharacter w/ @RyanSatin

LISTEN HERE ➡️ apple.co/outofcharacter… https://t.co/wiEf8qy3Dm

Pat McAfee will reportedly return to WWE next year

Several fans are missing McAfee on Friday nights. However, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that the former NFL star could be back to WWE following his engagement with ESPN.

This could mean that fans may see a three-member announcement team on the blue brand.

WWE notes that Pat McAfee "will return to the WWE announce booth following his commitments to ESPN's College GameDay." twitter.com/WONF4W/status/…

McAfee's return will also boost the roster since he has been part of some major events this year. He faced off with Austin Theory at WrestleMania before a long program with Baron Corbin culminating at SummerSlam.

Would you like to see Pat McAfee back on the blue brand? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit Out of Charcater and add a H/T to Sportseeda for the transcript.