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As Theory took kissy-face selfies atop the Money in the Bank ladder on Saturday, the Peacock broadcast faded to black. Despite the show ending, though, the action wasn’t over. WWE superstar Happy Corbin brutally attacked announcer Pat McAfee from behind, setting up a SummerSlam showdown between the two friends-turned-foes who actually used to be NFL roommates.

Happy Corbin attacked Pat McAfee ahead of their ‘SummerSlam’ match

After the Peacock broadcast of Money in the Bank ended, the in-house audience and WWE web exclusive viewers were treated to one final bit of story-propelling action.

As Pat McAfee and Michael Cole wrapped the broadcast, the bald, 6-foot-6 Happy Corbin — dressed all in black — came from behind McAfee and viciously pulled him into the crowd. As Cole pleaded with WWE officials to intervene, Corbin delivered a devastating End of Days finishing move to the former NFL punter.

The attack comes on the heels of McAfee delivering a series of promos calling out the wrestler. The Smackdown announcer has even started a trend where the audience chants “Bum A** Corbin!” during the former Baron’s appearances.  

McAfee has also implied in these promos leading up to the pair’s SummerSlam match that the two used to be friends. This is where kayfabe and real-life interestingly overlap.

Mcafee and Corbin knew each other long before their WWE days

(L-R) Baron (now Happy) Corbin, aka former NFL player Tom Pestock at the 2022 NFL Draft; WWE announcer Pat McAfee as a sideline reporter for ESPN in 2019.
(L-R) Happy Corbin, Pat McAfee | David Becker/Getty Images; Aaron Gilbert/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Before Corbin was a WWE superstar, he was a Golden Gloves boxing champ and offensive guard at Northwest Missouri State University named Tom Pestock. In 2009, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted rookie free agent.

It was there in Indy that Pestock’s path first crossed with the Colts’ rookie punter, McAfee. According to McAfee, the two were roommates for a time. The sports broadcaster told Wrestling Inc. in 2019:

Baron [now Happy] Corbin lived in my house for months when he played for the Colts our rookie year. Baron Corbin and I know each other well. I’m not a golden gloves boxer at all, so I think our backgrounds might be a bit different, but I think he’s incredible on the microphone. He’s very hateable, both in real life and his character, so it’s a perfect foil.

Pat McAfee on WWE superstar Happy Corbin

McAfee became an All-Pro punter, while Pestock made the Arizona Cardinals practice squad but never played an NFL game.

Now, the former roomies’ paths have crossed again over a decade later. They will get to settle any beef they have in the ring at SummerSlam. The event is at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 30, 2022.   

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Staff Writer, Producer - NFL

Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.