From WWE to MLS, Kevin Egan balances Monday Night Raw with American soccer

Posted by Delta Gatti on Saturday, May 4, 2024

On WWE’s website, Kevin Patrick is described as having “done a little bit of everything” since joining the company in March 2021. 

After starting in a backstage role, he soon became a fixture on Monday Night Raw, WWE’s flagship weekly show, and a regular host of the WWE podcast RAW Talk. After 18 months behind the curtain, he was promoted to the show’s play-by-play announcer alongside Corey Graves. Given his lack of grounding in professional wrestling, it’s an extraordinary ascent. 

On Sunday, he sat on a black stool at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, crammed between Peter Rosenberg, Kayla Braxton and former WWE superstars Wade Barrett and Booker T at Wrestlemania’s kickoff show. It was the third time he had presented the brand’s showpiece event, but a lead role on the kickoff show is among his most prominent positions since joining the company. Over his short career with WWE, he’s learned to become more comfortable in front of the camera after spending most of his career in the gantry at football stadiums.

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In January 2021, Kevin Patrick received his first call from WWE. He was shaving when a New York area number appeared on his phone moments before he was set to go on air with CNN to talk about the UEFA Champions League.

“You can’t really think of anything more different,” he described the moment. “I said to my wife, ‘I just got a call to go to Tampa to audition for WWE, and she responded, ‘Hey, that’d be fun. Learn more about it, see what it would entail, and make the decision.’”

Kevin Patrick jumped at the chance to audition.

“I absolutely loved it,” he said. “I drove away from the ThunderDome in Tampa, hoping to get that phone call. And thankfully, I did.”

Soccer fans in the United States will be more familiar with his work under a different name, Kevin Egan, as a longtime commentator for MLS and Atlanta United. Typically, Egan splits his responsibilities between wrestling and football – committing his Monday nights to RAW, mid-week to SiriusXM FC and the WWE show After The Bell and Saturdays to MLS matches. 

“With WWE, I get announced, and I’m high-fiving the fans as I walk out – we have a relationship. And they’re right there next to me throughout the entire show, even when someone is thrown on your desk. You can hear them throughout, and the noise of the arena is out of this world,” Egan said. “With MLS, you have the cozy confines of the press box. You get a meal, and you can go to the toilet at halftime if need be. On a Monday night, I can’t go to the bathroom for three and a half hours once I sit in that seat.”

Egan’s come-up in the soccer world was a natural progression, developing from a runner at RTE, the national broadcaster in Ireland, to various roles in the United States, developing a passion for broadcasting. Despite very little knowledge of college gridiron football, he accepted a job offer from the Big Ten Network and forged a path in soccer. Following that, he earned a role with Chicago Fire as a sideline reporter, then a commentator, and his career has blossomed.

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On the weekend, Egan responds to unscripted action across a 90-minute soccer match where anything can happen. On a Monday night, he plays the Kevin Patrick character (Patrick is his middle name), where the in-ring competitors enter the arena knowing the event’s outcome.

“Ultimately, storytelling is the common denominator,” said Egan. “I think working on RAW and in WWE is teaching me to be a much better storyteller when I’m commentating on football matches. On the other side, bringing the excitement from my football commentary is something my boss at WWE has said he wants — the element of calling it like a sports match at times. They crossover and can complement each other quite well. They’ll help me become a better broadcaster in both roles.”

In a run-of-the-mill three-hour episode of RAW, there will be at least five matches for Egan to call alongside colleague Graves. Between the matches, Egan reflects on promos — unscripted monologues in the middle of the ring between one or more WWE superstars — feeding off the crowd’s energy and guiding the television audience through the show. The commentators are not typically provided with the result of a match before the event, leaving them free to interpret the action as it happens. For that reason, Egan believes an episode of RAW is more unpredictable than covering football.

“I am always very prepared for an MLS match,” Egan said. “I also feel really prepared going into RAW, but RAW is more unpredictable than a football match. You have to be flexible, and adjusting on the fly is incredibly important – you must be prepared for any eventuality at any time.

“On Monday Night Raw, I’ve got to steer the ship. I’ve got to try and get the best out of Corey Graves — whether it’s grinding his gears, whether it’s annoying him, whether it’s trying to get a reaction – that’s my role. I look at Michael Cole as a perfect example for that.” 

The practice of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic is known as kayfabe in wrestling circles. While discussing the upcoming event with the rest of the panel at Wrestlemania, it is clear that it’s become second nature to Egan – mediating the crowd’s reactions and the rotating panel, including San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle at one stage last weekend. 

Egan is not alone in splitting his time between two passions. Pat McAfee is an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay and presents the Pat McAfee Show on Youtube, while he also served as a color commentator on WWE’s SmackDown brand until recently. Jackie Redmond juggles roles with NHL Network and NHL on TNT in addition to serving as a co-host on RAW Talk. And Peter Rosenberg is signed to WWE for PPV events while working as a radio host on HOT 97 and ESPN Radio affiliate WEPN-FM. 

For Egan, adopting a stage name and dividing time between MLS and WWE doesn’t mean dividing his personality. It’s about tapping into different parts of himself.

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“I’m not one of these people who studies how and why I do things. It’s much more of a feel for me,” Egan said. “You’ve got to be yourself, especially in a show like RAW that requires personality. In those big near-fall moments, you’re all in. If, for example, Seth Rollins stomps Logan Paul, you’ve got to be all over that moment in giving it a full 10 out of 10 in terms of energy and excitement. 

A @PrimeHydrate #WrestleMania Moment!

Thanks to @WWERollins, @LoganPaul just frog splashed @KSI through a table! pic.twitter.com/Us1Dt7QvQ3

— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 2023

“In football, it’s a little bit different because you could have a scramble inside the box after three minutes of the game, you won’t give that goal the full Logan Paul stomp energy. You’ve got to find the appropriate energy with both. Like when Thiago Almada scored a free-kick in the 97th minute after equalizing in the 93rd, I’m giving that the same 10 out of 10 energy. But finding the balance and level of excitement that fits both roles is not an easy thing to do. It’s been a challenge for sure, but I am improving.”

Thiago Almada only scores bangers™️ pic.twitter.com/jTcaN2t0Nu

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) February 26, 2023

RAW is the longest-running weekly episodic show in television history, airing every Monday evening of the year for over 30 years. WWE, which is set to be combined with UFC into a single publicly traded company after Endeavor announced it had bought a controlling stake, airs in 180 countries worldwide with Egan’s voice projected across all nations and territories where English is the first language. The events are not just broadcast globally, the product and talent must frequently travel, too. Since 2018, WWE has staged eight pay-per-view (PPV) events in Saudi Arabia, with a ninth set for May, and continues to schedule events outside U.S. borders.

Though Egan is not present at all PPV shows, he said travel is a privilege and a challenge. Last weekend he focused solely on Wrestlemania duty, but in the coming weeks, he will travel between New York City, Seattle, Chicago and Arkansas while ensuring he spends as much time as possible at home in Atlanta with his wife and two young children, Maisie and James. 

In addition to the added travel, Egan has had to learn to prepare differently for live WWE shows. Since working as an announcer, he has started taking voice coaching lessons, where he has been advised to work out regularly as physical exercise helps strengthen vocal cords. Maintaining a disciplined schedule across both roles has given him a platform to progress and eliminate the headaches that plagued his early WWE shows.   

“It’s about preparing mentally and physically for that show because RAW is very physically demanding,” Egan said. “You’re bombastic for over three hours, and I also do a show called Main Event before RAW. I’m in that chair for three and a half hours, so getting a good night’s sleep, being well-rested and having my notes prepared is essential. 

“But as I learned after two minutes on my first show when Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar went through the announcer’s table, my notes got ripped to shreds for the entire show.”

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Lead WWE commentator Michael Cole once had an in-ring storyline with Hall-of-Famer Jerry Lawler, but Egan has no plans to follow suit — though having WWE superstars like Lashley and Lesnar (weighing a combined 538 lbs) thrown around in his vicinity ensures he has to stay agile and alert. On the RAW episode after Wrestlemania, three people, including reggaeton artist Bad Bunny, were put through the announcers’ table with Egan and Graves having to jump out of their seats with no prior warning. 

Not wanting to get ahead of himself, the thought of one day getting in the ring has not crossed his mind yet. He focuses on taking advice, improving and dedicating his attention to both roles. 

“I try not to look too far ahead,” Egan said. “I focus on what’s next because if I start to worry about having 50 trips coming up in the next month, you’ll start to feel that anxiety set in. I’m reading a book at the moment called “Essentialism” (by Greg McKeown). It’s about trying to get more done by doing less. This year will be a challenge in that sense, but so far, so good.”

(Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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