Vince McMahon had a special message for former Indianapolis Colts punter and current SmackDown color commentator Pat McAfee ahead of his WrestleMania in-ring debut this Sunday.
The 76-year-old WWE CEO sent a video of himself doing a 1,000-pound squat on a Pit Shark machine at the WWE headquarters gym in Stamford, Connecticut, to McAfee, which the rising media star shared on the Pat McAfee Show's live broadcast Friday (April 1), days ahead of his scheduled match against his McMahon's protegé, Austin Theory, at WrestleMania 37.
"So Pat, Austin Theory, your opponent at WrestleMania, just left the gym," McMahon said alongside WWE corporate trainer Michael Monteforte while standing on the Pit Shark platform with 22 45-pound plates visibly loaded on the machine and AC/DC playing through the speakers. "Look what he did here. He put 1,000 pounds right here on the Pit Shark and he knocked out 10 reps. Mike and I, another day at the office. Let me show you how it's done."
(WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised for coarse language)
McMahon successfully did the squat max before quickly pointing to the camera and telling McAfee, "that was a thousand. Austin Theory is gonna kick your a**."
McAfee said he received the message at 3:00 a.m. -- although windows in the background of the gym show the video appears to have been shot during the daytime -- and questioned how a 76-year-old man could lift 1,000 pounds, while also responding "no he's not" to McMahon's claim about Theory beating him at WrestleMania.
McAfee, who has previously appeared in several matches for WWE's televised developmental brand NXT, will face Theory in the second night of the two-night event in Dallas, Texas this weekend.
McMahon offered McAfee the opportunity to compete in a WrestleMania match while appearing on the Pat McAfee Show last month, which the host quickly accepted, once again calling it "a dream."
Theory, a rising star who has been McMahon's on-screen protégé in recent months, revealed himself as McAfee's opponent during the March 4 episode of SmackDown, which resulted in Theory slapping the popular commentator after making the challenge.
McAfee has shared numerous posts of himself training in Indianapolis since being announced as a WrestleMania competitor last week.
WWE announced McAfee would join veteran play-by-play man Michael Cole on the Friday Night SmackDown announce team in April 2021, after having previously worked numerous angles with current All Elite Wrestling star Adam Cole and his faction, Undisputed Era, during his time in NXT.
The 34-year-old was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro punter during his eight-year NFL career, as well as being credited as Pro Football Focus' punter of the decade for the 2010s.
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