Jim Ross has shared his thoughts on Pat McAfee’s growing role in WWE storylines, and while he sees the bigger picture unfolding, he is not completely convinced by McAfee’s wrestling instincts.
Speaking on Grilling JR, Ross addressed McAfee’s recent SmackDown appearance, where the ESPN personality stood alongside Randy Orton, took aim at WWE in a fiery promo, and positioned himself within the WrestleMania 42 main event narrative. While Ross acknowledged the storyline is clearly building toward something significant, he admitted he remains unsure about how it will ultimately land.
“I don’t have any inside information, but I’m curious to see where it goes, because it obviously has a destination. They’re heading somewhere to do something, and I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. So we’ll see, you know, we’ll see how it works out. I don’t understand. McAfee is getting a lot of credit for knowing more about pro wrestling than he does. I think I might be wrong, but you know, WWE has helped make McAfee’s show a hit.”
Ross went on to praise McAfee’s entertainment value while questioning whether his understanding of the business matches the perception surrounding him. He pointed out that while McAfee’s show has benefited from its connection to WWE, there may be a gap between charisma and deep wrestling knowledge.
“It’s helped, and they do. I watch that show pretty much every day, and I enjoy it. I enjoy McAfee’s sense of humor, but I don’t think he’s as smart as he’d like to perceive that he is. So we’ll see. You know, we’ll see. Hey, guy is making a living. I got no problem with that, so let’s see where it heads. But it’s going someplace. You know it has a destination. I don’t know what the destination is, but there’s a destination for all this talk and all this stuff going on. So let’s see where it ends, because it’s gotta end somewhere.”
Despite his reservations about McAfee, Ross had nothing but praise for the WrestleMania 42 night one main event, which will see Cody Rhodes face Randy Orton, with McAfee expected to be involved in Orton’s corner. Ross described the match as a major attraction featuring two of WWE’s top stars.
“Oh yeah, absolutely, that’s their two best guys in the eyes of a lot of people, including me. And it’s a marquee match, it’s a big-time deal. So let’s just see where it ends.”
