"Each week became a new adventure" - Michael Cole praises Pat McAfee for his work on WWE SmackDown

WWE SmackDown announcer Michael Cole recently credited Pat McAfee for reinvigorating his love for professional wrestling.

Pat McAfee is currently not a part of the SmackDown commentary team as he works full-time for ESPN College Gameday, as well as hosting his popular sports talk show. Wade Barrett is serving as McAfee's temporary replacement on the blue brand.

The Athletic named Pat McAfee the publication's "Sports Media Person of the Year" for 2022. Speaking to The Athletic, Cole said that Pat's energy and love for the product also helped reinvigorate his love for the business.

"Pat helped reinvigorate my love for our business. I have been sitting in that chair at ringside for 25 years calling live sports entertainment every single week. I have missed two television shows over that period. As one can imagine, that amount of repetition can become tedious after time. Pat changed all that, and each week became a new adventure and a new chapter in my career. Pat also gave me the confidence to open up and have fun out there. One of my career highlights was calling Pat’s match at WrestleMania. He deserves all his success," said Cole. [H/T: The Athletic]

Michael Cole on first meeting Pat McAfee in WWE

Michael Cole praised his broadcast partner for having no ego when he first arrived in the company.

The 54-year-old told The Athletic that he first met Pat in 2017 and was impressed with how real he was as a person. Cole stated that the two have become close friends after working together every week on SmackDown:

"I first met Pat in late 2017 when WWE was looking for a talent from outside the wrestling world to add some insight into our fast-growing world at NXT. My first impression of Pat was how real he was. There was no facade, no ego, just a cool dude with a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm. For whatever reason, we just clicked and became close friends. That chemistry would later pay off in our incredible run as a tandem on ‘Friday Night Smackdown’ on Fox." [H/T: The Athletic]

Pat McAfee will likely be returning to the blue brand in the future. It will be interesting to see if WWE has anything planned for the former NFL punter at WrestleMania.

Do you miss Pat McAfee on WWE SmackDown? Who would you like to see him battle at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.