One of the questions* being posed about TakeOver: XXX’s Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee match is “how good can a match with a punter-turned-talking head possibly be?”
I’ve been enjoying their long feud and am looking forward to the next big step on Sat., Aug. 22, but I don’t have an answer. I do know McAfee has done some training, as he’s shared clips of himself in a ring at what looked like a school in the past (turns out it wasn’t a school - more on that in a moment). Beyond that, we don’t know much.
Now, thanks to his appearance on ESPN’s Get Up this morning (following up on Triple H’s yesterday), we have a few more details.
While talking to host Mike Greenberg, the former Indianapolis Colt cut another solid heel promo. McAfee name drops ROH, New Japan, and CZW to demonstrate he’s not a casual fan. He puts over Cole, saying “some consider him the next Shawn Michaels, the next best wrestler of all-time.” And, naturally, he promises to kick his ass.
When Greenberg asks him if he has any idea how he’ll do the ass-kicking, Pat tells a self-deprecating humblebrag about his spending habits. In the course of it, he gets around to answering the question:
“One night, when I was a little bit intoxicated, I bought a wrestling ring - a full-sized wrestling ring and I put it in my barn... I set that thing up and I’ve ran the ropes a couple times, I’ve taken a couple bumps, I’ve trained with a guy named Rip Rogers who trained John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Brock Lesnar, you name it...”
.@patmcafeeshow has officially accepted @TripleH’s challenge to a match against Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX on August 22!
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 7, 2020
"I'm gonna walk out undefeated like I'm Goldberg back in the day." pic.twitter.com/nTjyqlA7di
So the point is, this might be pretty good! Just don’t expect any ...dives.
* Roughly 90% of those are some from of “Whyyyyyy?”