{"id":134944,"date":"2025-05-08T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=134944"},"modified":"2025-05-08T04:39:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:39:26","slug":"does-pat-mcafee-have-a-chance-at-beating-gunther","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/05\/08\/does-pat-mcafee-have-a-chance-at-beating-gunther\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Pat McAfee Have a Chance at Beating Gunther?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At WrestleMania 41, Jey Uso did the unthinkable to Gunther. He made him tap out to claim the World Heavyweight Championship for himself. By doing so, he ended the 258-day reign of the Ring General.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the April 21, 2025 episode of Monday Night Raw, Gunther\u2019s WrestleMania weekend got even worse. Enraged by his loss and commentary\u2019s attitude towards the match, he confronted Michael Cole and Pat McAfee. The yelling quickly devolved into a personal attack, as he choked out Cole.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McAfee kicked him to break the hold, but got put in a chokehold as well. The following week, McAfee wanted to fight him that night.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis proposed a match at Backlash, which was accepted by him. Even though the odds are majorly stacked against him, Pat McAfee could have a legitimate chance at beating Gunther at Backlash.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pat McAfee verbally blasts Gunther after being attacked: Raw highlights, April 28, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EP6AJVuwUJs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Pat McAfee\u2019s In-Ring Career Speaks for Itself<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The past couple of years have seen celebrities make their way into the ring and do pretty good for themselves. Bad Bunny, Johnny Knoxville, and Logan Paul have impressed WWE fans with their athletic ability and stamina. Instead of celebrities just being guest hosts or put in joke matches, they are taking it seriously and delivering highlight reel moments.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same thing can be said for Pat McAfee. His second match ever was a WarGames match at NXT Takeover: WarGames in 2020. Even though his team lost, he showed that <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TQ42baBZC_M\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he had some wrestling talent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, he has beaten Austin Theory, Happy Corbin, and The Miz. Those weren\u2019t some two-minute squash matches. He legitimately fought those men, showing how talented he actually is.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given Pat McAfee\u2019s prior work, Gunther might be underestimating his skill level and wrestling ability, which could allow him to get the surprise victory.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>He is Motivated by the Attack on Himself<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whenever a wrestler gets attacked or put on the shelf for an extended period of time, they want to get back at the person who wronged them. Doing so ignites a fire in them, as they are determined to beat the aggressor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s exactly why Pat McAfee is the fan favorite underdog in this match. He isn\u2019t doing it just for himself. Rather, he\u2019s doing it for his friends, family, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/WoiBstvMncE\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Cole<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They want to see him avenge himself for what happened two weeks ago. If he doesn\u2019t stand up for himself, Gunther will have free rein to do whatever he wants. Accepting the match sends a message that he or any other commentator isn\u2019t going to stand being pushed around or disrespected.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019s standing his ground to right a wrong. Pat McAfee\u2019s motivation for the match could propel him to a win against Gunther.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Gunther Won\u2019t Be Getting an Easy Victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From Gunther\u2019s point of view, he already has the win in the bag. Pat McAfee hasn\u2019t wrestled a singles match in two years, and he has the size and experience advantage. However, he shouldn\u2019t take McAfee lightly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His promo last week shows how fired up he is not only for the match, but for the wrestling business. He isn\u2019t treating everything as a joke. Instead, he has a legitimate love for wrestling that won\u2019t be extinguished by Gunther.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His in-ring resume is very impressive, showing that he can go in the ring. He is also very motivated, as he had a real reason to accept the match.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting beaten down by Gunther could intimidate a regular celebrity. But he isn\u2019t just a regular celebrity. Pat McAfee is someone who not only takes this business seriously but also has what it takes to beat Gunther at Backlash.<\/p>\n<p><b>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/a><i> for more on Pat McAfee, Gunther, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Netflix<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>USA Network<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>The CW<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Tubi<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Peacock<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>YouTube<\/i><\/a><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/a><i>).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At WrestleMania 41, Jey Uso did the unthinkable to Gunther. He made him tap out to claim the World Heavyweight Championship for himself. By doing so, he ended the 258-day reign of the Ring General. On the April 21, 2025 episode of Monday Night Raw, Gunther\u2019s WrestleMania weekend got even worse. Enraged by his loss [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5338,"featured_media":134982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[8238,4714,47,144],"class_list":["post-134944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-gunther","tag-pat-mcafee","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-backlash"],"modified_by":"Chinyere Okafor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134944"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134981,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134944\/revisions\/134981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}