Pat McAfee (and his telestrator) were in peak form on Raw

Pat McAfee’s taken a few weeks to settle back into his color commentary groove on Monday Night Raw, but his work last night (Feb. 19) could stack up against pretty much any episode from his 2021-2022 SmackDown run.

His best moment was probably the “THIS SON OF A BITCH” call during the main event when Jimmy Uso revealed himself as the timekeeper who prevented his brother Jey from ending Gunther’s record-breaking Intercontinental championship reign. But his telestration (is that a word? It is now!) of how another Bloodline member helped Drew McIntyre become the first man to pin Cody Rhodes in a WWE television match since 2016 was my personal favorite.

Could probably use a few more “BOOM”s and “POW”s in honor of the OG telestrator-er, John Madden, but this is pretty excellent use of the technology. SHAWT AWT to Michael Cole for excellently tagging in to remind us he sees a “hypocrite” in McIntyre’s eyes, which teed Drew up for this…

As Pat said, Drew’s scumbag run continues.

One of the best things about McAfee in this role is how he tees up and inspires those he’s working with. The way he (and Vince McMahon’s absence) has rejuvenated Cole is well-documented, but the McIntyre tweet reminds us that the wrestlers seem to love riffing with Pat Mac, too. Gunther had some Gunther-like fun with him before last night’s main event, and turned that into great social media #content too…

McAfee has proven to be a pretty polarizing/controversial figure in his day job at ESPN, but he’s pretty perfect in the weird, wacky world of pro wrestling. In fact, the things that make him great in WWE are probably at the root of what irks some of the “real” sports audience… but that’s a whole nother conversation.

For now, I’m just appreciating Pat McAfee: WWE announcer. It’s unlikely his run on Raw will even last as long as his SmackDown one did, so if you’re a fellow Pat Mac appreciator, let’s enjoy him while he’s here.