After a season away, Pat McAfee has officially returned to WWE, landing a spot at the commentary booth for the Royal Rumble. That's right, after taking a leave of absence from WWE to work for ESPN's College GameDay, McAfee is back, earning a chance to pick up where he left off on a commentary team with Michael Cole, even if Corey Graves wasn't exactly excited to see the team expand to three.

For fans out of the know, McAfee initially joined WWE in 2018, where he entered into a feud with Adam Cole that blossomed into a pre-show analyst spot before Takeover events, appearances on WWE proper, work on commentary, and the coup de gras, a match against Cole at Takeover XXX. From there, McAfee joined SmackDown as a color commentator alongside Michael Cole, where he helped to rejuvenate the veteran commentator's career. McAfee instantly connected with fans, getting his dance to Shinsuke Nakamura's theme over, forging a feud with long-time friend Barron Corbin, and even working a match at WrestleMania against Austin Theory and Vince McMahon.

What does McAfee's return mean for the WWE Universe? Will he replace Wade Barret on SmackDown alongside Cole? Will the SmackDown team expand out to three, with McAfee playing a heel and Barrett working face? Or does WWE have something else in mind, maybe giving Cole a spot in NXT that won't be affected by a weekly Saturday morning show? Either way, Pat McAfee is back in WWE, and the Universe is better off because of it.