SmackDown star on his WWE WrestleMania match with Steve Austin's involvement

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin has been the special guest referee for a number of big matches since his retirement back in 2003. At WWE WrestleMania XXVII, he got involved in a contest between commentators Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler. However, the bout was not well-received by fans.

The SmackDown commentator recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and was highly enthusiastic about McAfee's return to WWE. While conversing with the latter, he mentioned that his wife doesn't keep up with the product, and that his WrestleMania match against Lawler might have been the last time she did.

Cole mentioned that his wife was "completely embarrassed" by the whole ordeal, until she "saw the WrestleMania paycheck."

“WrestleMania is the last time, because of the match, that she was ever watching wrestling ever again,” Cole said with a laugh. “She was completely embarrassed until she saw the WrestleMania paycheck. Then she was like, ‘Hey, I might start watching this.’ [Laughs]" [H/T: WrestleZone]

Michael Cole further went on to talk about how the Stamford-based promotion contributed to many important things in his life.

“She appreciates everything that this company has given to me. S—, it gave her a kidney transplant, it paid for that and put two of my kids through college and given us everything we ever wanted in our life, the McMahon family. But she can’t bring herself to watch every single week because she knows I’m not home. So it’s tough for her sometimes.” [H/T: WrestleZone]

You can watch the entire video below.

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Pat McAfee's original plan for WWE Royal Rumble return

McAfee mentioned on his show that the original plan was for him to enter the Royal Rumble match. Ultimately, that didn't pan out.

"They said immediately [after I left], Hunter, Stephanie, and Nick, 'Rumble is like the perfect time to comeback,' because that's when people comeback and it's after college football season. I was like, 'perfect.' I need something to keep me in shape. I get fat and I need something to keep working out for. I tried. Everybody saw me, I was getting after it. By week nine....I think I could have [done a couple minutes in the Rumble], but I don't want to disrespect anybody." [H/T: Fightful]

McAfee's return to WWE was a shock to the crowd in San Antonio, Texas, as it was to Michael Cole himself. The former's return was kept a secret from most people. When his music hit, even Cole didn't know how to react for a few seconds before Triple H ribbed him.