Last night on NXT, Pat McAfee punted Adam Cole in the head, seemingly knocking the former NXT Champion out cold. Today, Triple H appeared on ESPN’s “Get Up” and challenged the former NFL kicker to face Cole at TakeOver XXX on August 22nd.
Tensions between McAfee and Cole date back to an NXT live event in 2018. Cole then appeared on the Pat McAfee Show 2 weeks ago and things got heated between the two.
Cole and McAfee appeared to have patched things up before last night’s edition of NXT. McAfee was then on commentary during the Imperium vs Fish & O’Reilly match and made several disparaging remarks that Cole heard from ringside. Cole then confronted McAfee during the match and a melee ensued. During the chaos, McAfee found an opportunity to kick Cole in the head.
“Adam Cole and Pat McAfee have had a history here,” Triple H said on the show.
“Pat, now is your opportunity, you want to be famous? Just so happens, coincidentally as things happen in WWE and NXT, we have a big TakeOver PPV in a few weeks. August 22nd, NXT TakeOver XXX. My call out to Pat McAfee is put your money where your mouth is, let’s see how bad you are. Pat McAfee vs Adam Cole, on that stage, massive match.”
Adam Cole also commented on why it was Triple H challenging McAfee on the show and not him.
So far, the only matches scheduled for TakeOver XXX is Io Shirai vs Dakota Kai for the women’s title and the ladder match for the North American title.
Footage of the melee from NXT last night can be viewed in the player below:
