Pat McAfee Vs. Vince McMahon & Austin Theory Feud Should Continue Past WrestleMania
Coming out of WrestleMania 38, there was a great deal of buzz around Pat McAfee’s back-to-back matches with Austin Theory and Vince McMahon. Despite a segment of the audience being lukewarm heading into ‘Mania about the color commentator vs. under-established young star match, the bout delivered, with McAfee exceeding expectations and Theory more than holding up his end, proving himself as a budding talent worthy of this kind of push. Then there was the matter of Vince McMahon, tearing off his button-up shirt to reveal that, at 76, he remains in remarkable physical shape. His match with McAfee was arguably among the worst in WrestleMania history, but the conversation was more centered on the fact that, at his age, McMahon still got in the ring to work a bout. It would be easy enough for McMahon to now step back out of the limelight, for McAfee to return to the broadcast table, and for Theory to move on to more conventional booking. However, there is also some potential in the story continuing.
Vince McMahon Can’t Keep Going Like This Forever
The WWE Evil series has presented some of the most successful documentaries the company has produced in quite some time. The series included a profile on Stephanie McMahon, but that was in many ways a proxy of celebrating her father himself—the ultimate heel mastermind and one of the greatest villains pro wrestling has ever seen.
To this day, the combination of McMahon’s charisma, talent on the mic, and perhaps most importantly the way his real life identity and relationship with the fans make him a heat magnet, fully capable of spreading that heat to other talents he associates or feuds with on screen. While McMahon doesn’t show any signs of slowing down as a force behind the scenes, his performance at WrestleMania 38 did show his age, and there’s reason to believe he’s approaching the end of when he can be physically involved in storylines in any meaningful way. While McMahon remains in such phenomenal shape for a senior citizen, WWE should capitalize and keep him in front of the camera for a little longer now.
Austin Theory Must Maintain This Momentum
Austin Theory has benefited from an on-screen association with Vince McMahon since last fall. WrestleMania 38 might have marked an opportunity for Theory to fly on his own. However, he had a run featured as a top heel act without a single noteworthy victory to speak of, and it culminated in losing to a color commentator at the biggest PPV of the year. Thus, Theory hasn’t exactly emerged looking like a top talent.
Theory is young enough that he has plenty of time to recover. However, WWE’s at a crossroads with him, where they can essentially hit the reset button as he moves on to other things, or ride out his present circumstances by carrying the program with McMahon and Pat McAfee forward. To make the most of the build he’s had, it only makes sense to carry forward from the foundation that’s already been established.
Pat McAfee Should End Up On Commentary
While Pat McAfee has impressed fans with his every foray into the ring—first in NXT, and most recently on the main roster at WrestleMania—there’s still the reality that he is an even better broadcaster than he is a wrestler. Whereas WWE has no shortage top tier wrestling talents, there are very few men or women in the company who can broach McAfee’s level on commentary.
The endgame should be for McAfee to continue to shine from the color commentary position, perhaps with the occasional foray back into the ring like Jerry Lawler or Taz before him. It would make sense, though, for McAfee to ride out his momentum as an in-ring performer—including his first WrestleMania victory—with another match or two to put a bow on his storylines with Vince McMahon and Austin Theory. The PPV title WrestleMania Backlash all but invites a coda to the biggest show of the year, and extending McAfee’s in-ring work through at least that show would only make sense.
There’s always the risk of WWE running a storyline too long, particularly when it involves one or more talents who aren’t full-time wrestling talents. After all, Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga was one of the most memorable angles and matches for WrestleMania 23, fifteen years ago. The story got run into the ground, though, when the McMahons and Umaga kept going after Lashley for months to follow, including Vince’s ill-conceived ECW Championship reign. No one wants to see Pat McAfee vs. McMahon and Austin Theory run to that extreme. But coming off an eventful WrestleMania 38, and particularly with rumors of Shane McMahon returning to the fold, there are opportunities to see this angle through for at least one more month.
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