Pat Sajak once told 'this is my show' to 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant in bizarre off-screen moment

Pat Sajak was at the helm of "Wheel of Fortune" for decades and his wit, engagement with audiences, and interactions with contestants were crucial for making it an iconic show. However, before his retirement, one contestant came uncomfortably close to upstaging him and Sajak was stern when he told the man to take it down a notch.

"This is My Show"

The contestant named Michael Colen was cruising through the rounds in style as he surpassed all his competitors. At the beginning of the episode, the player introduced himself as a middle school math teacher from Sacramento, California, and added that he was a "secret rap star," by night. As a seasoned performer, Colen put on a show for the audience with his hilarious antics, witty comments, and exaggerated reactions. He even pulled out the 'dab' after solving a puzzle in the first attempt.

"You would do a backflip if you could," Sajak remarked. "I would if I wasn't so old," Colen said in response. Next, when Colen picked a vowel (A), which had already been chosen, he gave an exaggerated but self-aware reaction. "You know, that was tried before," Sajak told Colen after which the player broke into despair saying, "Oh Lord! I'm one of those guys."

Further, when it was time for him to spin the wheel, Colen yelled, "All right wheel, let's have a relationship!" When the wheel came close to the 'bankrupt wedge' Colen cried out, "Slow down. Slow down!" He was loud enough for Sajak to snub him saying, "Are you yelling at our wheel?" While his flamboyance was entertaining, it seemed like it was unsettling for the host, who felt he was being upstaged. Speaking to Fox News, Colen revealed that in the middle of taping, Sajak came up to him during a commercial break to issue a warning.

"He came up to me and just told me, 'Hey, Michael, you know, this is my show, right?" Colen recalled. While taken aback by the warning, Colen mustered up the courage to answer and be polite to the veteran host. "And I politely said, 'Yes, sir, it is your show for 41 years. So, it was funny, of course, but it was stern," Colen explained. "There was a stern drop of sternness to it," he added.

Colen later told The New York Post that the veteran host wanted him to just “tone it down a bit” but he “ended up enjoying himself," in the end. “I believe he wanted me to succeed and have a good show, so he was giving me a little direction,” he told the outlet. “The interaction was not ill-toned," he added. 

Throughout the episode, there was no negativity between the two, and Sajak even stood next to him when Colen solved the puzzle with "Let's not dilly-dally," to make a joke. "He may rap by night, but he can still say dilly-dally, I like that," Sajak noted. Finally, in the bonus round, when Colen did not even attempt to solve the tough puzzle "Pick Wisely" with just a few letters on the board, Sajak made a sly joke saying, "I'll give you a hint. It's something you didn't do."

The episode ended with Colen winning $38,304. Sajak congratulated him and the two shook hands and hugged. "You're a good man," Sajak said at the end.