Stephen A. Smith claimed on Monday that at some point in the past, WWE wanted to hire him to play a heel (bad guy) role, like Pat McAfee is doing now, but he turned them down because he isn’t “as courageous.”
“In the last two weeks, our colleague Pat McAfee has inserted himself here,” WWE announcer Joe Tessitore said on First Take on Monday. “And what he’s done is he has put fuel on a fire that has enraged the industry. He has taken a blowtorch and a steamroller onto the WWE, onto Cody Rhodes.
“Fans the other night were sitting back when we were out in California live on air chanting, ‘Go home, Pat.’ There are different levels of heat in the business, of how much there is a negative reaction from fans, and sports entertainment. There’s cheap heat. You get that. You get some heel heat. You get go away heat, annoyance. Then there is nuclear heat where they truly despise you and don’t want to see you there because of what you’re doing. Pat has reached that level in two weeks. And Stephen A, it’s going to play a big role in Vegas.”
WWE’s largest event of the year, WrestleMania 42, takes place this Saturday and Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Pat McAfee has aligned himself with 14-time WWE world champion Randy Orton, who will be trying to take the WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes.
Stephen A. Smith loves what Pat McAfee is doing with WWE
“I love it. I love it,” Stephen A. Smith responded. “And I want to applaud Pat McAfee for that because let me tell you something. They would talk… listen, I go back to the old days, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan and people like that. I love [inaudible] the heels, okay?
“The difference, and I actually wanted to do that. Your man, [President of WWE] Nick Khan, talked to me about that. See, the difference is I’m not as courageous as Pat McAfee. I ain’t trying to get hit by one of them big boys at all. I don’t want no parts of it. But I love that stuff because I think the sport needs it.”
Well, he did shoot a man on General Hospital, so it’s not like Stephen A. Smith couldn’t handle a bad guy role in WWE. However, being 20 years older than Pat McAfee, it’s probably for the best that he stays out of the wrestling ring.