Pat McAfee Reveals Which WWE Star Knew He Was At Royal Rumble

WWE's Royal Rumble 2023 event saw many shocking moments, returns, and surprises, starting the show off with a bombshell surprise appearance from Pat McAfee. The former NFL punter's return was reportedly kept secret from everybody in WWE, including his commentary colleagues Michael Cole and Corey Graves, whom he'd call the entire event with. The situation was kept so secret that WWE fans in attendance even caught footage of the production crew scrambling to set up a chair and headset for McAfee.

Despite reports suggesting nobody knew about his return, McAfee revealed that wasn't the case on an episode of "The Pat McAfee Show." During a conversation with WWE star Seth Rollins, McAfee mentioned that Rollins' wife, Becky Lynch, actually saw him arrive at the arena while he ran through several buses to get into WWE's "gimmick bus." He said Lynch was shocked to see him, mentioning that he wasn't "supposed to be here," until it had registered in her head that McAfee was kept a surprise. In response to the news, Rollins revealed that his wife kept McAfee's appearance a secret even to him, making her the only person on the WWE roster who knew.

"You ran into the right person because she will keep a secret," Rollins said. "She didn't even tell me, didn't even know."

McAfee revealed that the interaction with Lynch happened about "94 seconds" before everyone else saw him. Despite appearing on the San Antonio show, McAfee didn't wrestle in-ring, a decision he previously revealed was made late in the lead-up to the Royal Rumble. He has yet to make another appearance in WWE since his return, putting into question his role with the company after he signed a full-time deal with ESPN last year.