Pat McAfee is back in a WWE ring.
The former NFL punter and sports media giant has thrived in the wrestling world, bringing his chaotic energy and fun-loving self as the commentator for WWE Raw. But while he’s great on the headset, he has shown some skill as a wrestler, and he had a chance to do it again against a very formidable opponent.
McAfee faced Gunther at WWE Backlash 2025 on Saturday in St. Louis. The feud began at the Raw after WrestleMania, where Gunther went on a tirade following his loss at WWE’s top event. He targeted announcer Michael Cole, but McAfee stepped in to stop the attack. Gunther then focused on McAfee and put him in a sleeper hold that took him out. The following week, McAfee gave a passionate promo targeted at Gunther. He wanted a match with “The Ring General,” and the two got it inside Enterprise Center.
Did Pat McAfee win his WWE match?
No. Gunther beat McAfee by knockout.
What happened in Pat McAfee’s WWE match?
McAfee showed some fight early, getting out of a hold and landing some shots in on Gunther. “The Ring General” put an end to it quickly and encouraged McAfee to get some chops on him. All Gunther did was absorb it and ask for more before he sent McAfee flying. Almost anything McAfee tried to do seemed to not have any effect on Gunther.
After spending much time just standing over his opponent, Gunther finally landed the sleeper hold. However, McAfee broke out of it, only to take a German suplex and prolong the match. Gunther tried a German suplex off the top turnbuckle, and McAfee got out of it and landed a quick flurry of kicks. McAfee tried to sneak a pin but Gunther quickly got up.
THIS IS WILD!#WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/9Btc9skLlP
— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2025
McAfee landed two super kicks and had some momentum, but Gunther caught it and landed a powerbomb. Tired of what was happening, Cole took off the headset and tried to encourage his colleague. However, it resulted in Cole getting dragged into the ring. As Gunther was about to powerbomb Cole, McAfee kicked him to break it up and nearly got a roll-up pin. Cole tried to hold Gunther’s leg and help McAfee pin him, but he kicked out.
MICHAEL COLE gets in on the in-ring action at #WWEBacklash! pic.twitter.com/4uiZiREQlE
— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2025
Distracted, Gunther got put in a sleeper hold by McAfee. A tap out looked possible, but Gunther broke it off. He then put McAfee in a sleeper hold, and even though he tried breaking out of it, McAfee passed out and Gunther got the victory.
After the match, Cole helped McAfee to his feet and Gunther stared him down. “The Ring General” gave his respect to McAfee before walking away. Cole and McAfee then hugged before the former NFL punter received applause from the crowd.
Well that was unexpected! 👀#WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/a91Dgebj75
— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2025
Pat McAfee WWE match history
This was McAfee’s eighth WWE match and his sixth singles competition. He had his first WWE match in 2020 against Adam Cole, and his last match was when he was briefly in the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble match. His last singles match took place in 2023 at WrestleMania 39.
Here’s McAfee’s WWE match history:
NXT TakeOver XXX: loss vs. Adam Cole (Aug. 8, 2020)
NXT TakeOver WarGames: loss vs. The Undisputed ERA (Dec. 6, 2020)
WrestleMania 38: win vs. Austin Theory (April 3, 2022)
WrestleMania 38: loss vs. Mr. McMahon (April 3, 2022)
SummerSlam 2022: win vs. Happy Corbin (July 30, 2022)
WrestleMania 39: win vs. The Miz (April 1, 2023)
Royal Rumble 2024: loss (January 27, 2024)
Backlash 2025: loss vs. Gunther (May 10, 2025)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pat McAfee WWE match: Did former NFL punter win at Backlash?
