Pat McAfee is always game—no matter what. The former NFL punter had a wild week as he wrapped up his commitments. Let’s rewind: it all started on the Monday Night Raw following WrestleMania. After a loss at WrestleMania, Gunther targeted Michael Cole. McAfee stepped in to defend Cole, and Gunther turned his attention to McAfee, putting him in a brutal sleeper hold. What followed was intense.

The incident led to a match between McAfee and Gunther at WWE Backlash, where Gunther ultimately came out on top. The next day, McAfee showed up to work looking like he’d been through a car crash—and in many ways, he had. His chest was scorched red, and his eye was bloodshot, with a ruptured vessel standing out starkly. He clearly wasn’t in the best shape. Still, his voice remained loud, laced with something else. Pain? Pride? Probably both. The battle at WWE Backlash 2025 had left its mark.

McAfee reflected on the entire ordeal in a video teased by the Instagram handle @wwe_on_netflix. And the caption? “Pat McAfee revealed that he popped a blood vessel in his eye from his match against Gunther at Backlash 😳.” In the featured episode of RAW, which explores WWE’s groundbreaking, star-studded in-ring series, McAfee breaks down the chain of events.

Currently serving as an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay and hosting The Pat McAfee Show, he returned to the commentary table—visibly battered, but undeniably unshaken.

“So everything you saw, my family saw, all my friends on the WWE medical staff saw…” Pat McAfee said. He referred to the streaming of the match on Netflix for the world to witness. His right eye showed a clear sign of damage—a subconjunctival hemorrhage. He bluntly recounted, “He hit me so hard in the chest that he popped a blood vessel in my damn eye, Cole.” And that was just the beginning.

“Everything’s sore,” McAfee told Michael Cole in a post-match update. “My back’s sore. My shoulders are sore. And my knees are sore. My head is sore. Also, my mind is sore.” He added, “I’ve still got bruises on my collarbone. I’m banged up.” While McAfee admitted that Gunther dominated most of the match, he insisted he didn’t go down without a fight.

“He beat the hell out of me, but I think I gave him some back.” He concluded, “I obviously have massive respect for everybody that steps foot into that ring. Even more so now.” The level of violence on display was far beyond what fans expected. And it all played out live, leaving an unforgettable mark on viewers and McAfee alike.

McAfee suffers brutal bruises

McAfee’s clash with Gunther—booked after the Austrian powerhouse choked him out on live TV—became one of the most high-profile bouts of Backlash 2025. And, they streamed it globally via WWE on Netflix. Gunther, who was fresh off a humiliating WrestleMania loss, was an untameable force as he left McAfee’s chest red, bruised, and burning.

Making shocking revelations, former Indianapolis Colts punter shared that the very first chest chop from Gunther may have ruptured both of his eardrums. It left Michael Cole, his longtime on-air partner, quite emotional.

In the match’s final minutes, Cole took to grab Gunther’s leg to stop a pin. He couldn’t stand to watch his friend get battered. “Michael Cole, I’m sorry I couldn’t get us the win,” McAfee said later. “At least I think the guy who was bullying your old ass around knows we’re willing to fight if we have to.” But what’s next for him?

Despite the bruises, it seems that his reputation only grew. Willing to step into the ring and survive, he has indeed cemented his crossover legacy. We know that Pat McAfee is never far from the action.

And, this moment has certainly elevated McAfee’s credibility as a performer, winning the hearts of the fans. So, Pat McAfee may not be a full-time wrestler, but he proved that he’s still willing to fight when the moment calls.