On the June 24 episode of WWE SmackDown, Pat McAfee challenged Happy Corbin to a showdown at WWE SummerSlam.
During his promo, McAfee referenced "the millions and millions" of fans, even giving a shoutout to The Rock, who made the catchphrase famous.
After the promo, The Rock gave McAfee props on social media.
In front of the MILLIONS…. AAAAAND MILLIONS….
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 25, 2022
“BUM ASS CORBIN”
That’s good shit brother! ------------
Great promo. Enjoyed watching this #ISmellIt --
Speaking on his radio show, McAfee revealed that he asked The Rock permission to use the catchphrase.
"Shoutout to The Rock by the way, thanks man. People are wondering, in the wrestling world, when you say somebody else's catchphrase, it's kind of a thing. Don't want to go too in the weeds here, but I did get permission beforehand from Dwayne Johnson to say it. If you do recall, in my last program against Austin Theory, when I was allowed to speak into the mic, I was in the middle of doing it and I got interrupted. That was around the time when I originally got the 'okay' to say it. That was in Miami, I think. It would have went bananas. I apologize for not...it seems like I kind of ripped your thing, didn't give you credit, they started the music. It was a whole situation, I didn't know they were hitting the music then. I'm the only person in the history of the company, maybe modern era, where I'm kind of told some things, but all things. 'You only need to know what you need to know.' 'I get a chance to speak tonight?' 'Yeah, you're speaking tonight.' Then I'll send a [text], 'This is what I'm thinking. Can I drop a (line)?' He actually responded and said, 'Give me some context so we can really get this thing going.' He gave me an entire 'here we go.' I'm very grateful and thankful for The Rock. I appreciate the hell out of him," said McAfee.
McAfee competed against Theory, and then Vince McMahon, at WrestleMania 38.
WWE SummerSlam is scheduled for July 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. Fans can keep up with the card by clicking here.
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