Pat McAfee is at WrestleMania to assist Randy Orton in his main event match against Cody Rhodes. His involvement has generated significant excitement among fans.
When Randy Orton was on SmackDown in late March and made a phone call suggesting he could have some help coming, social media was excited. Who was it? Was it an old tag team partner? Was it his father who was a wrestler in his past? Was it some other prominent figure from his extensive wrestling past?
Then it was revealed that he had called...Pat McAfee.
The ESPN host had been involved with the WWE before, but the expectation was that his time with the company would be intermittent at best, as his full-time announcer role on Monday Night Raw had ended. The reception to McAfee joining forces with Orton and aligning himself against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes did not go over well with fans and has become one of the most questioned storylines for this year's WrestleMania.
McAfee is at WrestleMania because he has been involved in the storyline between Randy Orton and WWE champion Cody Rhodes. The ESPN host is aligned with Orton as the heels or bad guys in the story. McAfee has been given a role as an advisor to Orton and will be in the challenger's corner at WrestleMania when they have their WWE championship match on Saturday night.
Is Pat McAfee wrestling at WrestleMania?
No, or at least he isn't expected to. McAfee should only be in Orton's corner, but the match is a singles match. He could get involved since he is the heel in this storyline, but McAfee will not be officially competing.
Q&A
What is Pat McAfee's role at WrestleMania?
Pat McAfee is assisting Randy Orton in his main event match against Cody Rhodes.
Why did Randy Orton call Pat McAfee?
Randy Orton called Pat McAfee to suggest he could have some help during his match, generating speculation about his involvement.
What match is Pat McAfee involved in at WrestleMania?
Pat McAfee is involved in the main event match between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes.
How has social media reacted to Pat McAfee's involvement in WrestleMania?
Social media has reacted with excitement and speculation regarding Pat McAfee's role in Randy Orton's match.
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Why is Pat McAfee with Randy Orton?
In the match between Orton and Rhodes, Orton is the bad guy. He has resorted to nefarious tactics in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, including sneak attacks and bloodying Rhodes. McAfee's reasoning for linking up with Orton is that he apparently doesn't like the direction the WWE is going and wants to reinstate the Attitude Era's action.
McAfee said that Rhodes is everything wrong with the current direction of the WWE, and thinks there is time for a change.
This is the storyline reasoning. The actual reason McAfee is involved is that interest, sales and ticket sales for WrestleMania were low, and TKO (the company that owns the WWE) believed that bringing in McAfee would be a draw since the show would be broadcast on the ESPN App, and he is a popular ESPN personality. The storyline itself took a weird turn with all of this, and fans are suspicious of the show's eventual payout.
Once Rhodes won the WWE Championship back from Drew McIntyre, it set up the title match against Orton at WrestleMania. And what does every main event need? A contract signing. Rhodes and Orton met for the contract signing, and Orton beat up the champion. The following week, Orton was seen on the phone, thanking someone for inspiring the attack on Rhodes.
McAfee then showed up to SmackDown and hit Rhodes with a low blow, officially aligning himself with Orton.
This then led to some promotional content in which Rhodes called out McAfee and criticized the process. He said in a podcast appearance that this angle was "the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling." Randomly CM Punk also got in on insulting McAfee, but he isn't part of the storyline. McAfee stole Rhodes' championship belt, but then Rhodes went to McAfee's podcast set after hours, took it back and destroyed the set with a baseball bat. It's been a whole mess that has not landed well with fans.
Is Pat McAfee feuding with Jelly Roll?
Not originally. Jelly Roll has been involved in WWE storylines in the past, and most recently, when he got in the ring, it was alongside Orton. Jelly Roll has been brought back into the mix as a figure who can tell Orton "you've changed" and "this isn't you" while also hyping up Rhodes as everything right with the WWE and the direction the company is going.
With McAfee backing Orton and Jelly Roll backing Rhodes, the two are technically in a feud together, but they are both secondary characters for the wrestlers. Jelly Roll could be ringside and could get involved in the match, though.
TKO Group Holdings is a sports and entertainment company in the United States. They are the result of the merger between Endeavor and the WWE. Endeavor owns the UFC, so TKO is the governing body behind both the UFC and the WWE, though they have not yet mixed since the merger and remain separate.
Who is Ari Emanuel?
Emanuel is the CEO of TKO. The President of the company is Mark Shapiro, and the CEOs of the UFC and WWE, respectively, are Dana White and Nick Khan. Emanuel came up through talent agencies, but in 1995 started Endeavor. He has also served as a board member of Live Nation Entertainment since 2007. Jeremy Piven's character, Ari Gold from the hit show "Entourage," is an homage to and a parody of Emanuel.
Pat McAfee history with WWE
McAfee first appeared in the WWE in March 2018. He has been a lifelong fan, but showed up at an NXT show in March 2018, where he prevented Adam Cole from winning a championship, an action that ended up creating a multi-year feud between the wrestler and host.
The former NFL punter then started having a regular pre-show analyst for NXT Premium Live Events (PLEs). In December 2018, it was announced that McAfee had signed a multi-year deal with the WWE. He hosted watch-alongs on YouTube of PLEs and had wrestlers on as guests, almost like the ManningCast for "Monday Night Football" games.
McAfee became a color commentator alongside Michael Cole for the first time in April 2021, and the duo called the action on SmackDown until September 2022. There were several times when he would actually get in the ring and wrestle.
He began to take a hiatus throughout the fall to host "College GameDay." McAfee has taken a step back from announcing recently due to the rigorous schedule, since he has maintained his weekday show every afternoon, even while commentating. He had been discussing wrestling on his show, but had been away from the WWE until showing up as Orton's "advisor" for his feud with Rhodes.
Social media reaction to Pat McAfee at WrestleMania
The vast majority of the reaction to McAfee's use at WrestleMania has been very negative. Reportedly, there have been tweaks to the storyline after the reaction, but it is hard to see how any sort of finish at WrestleMania will change fans' minds.
Have the fans ever collectively considered doing a No Pop Protest?
WWE measures how they are doing or what direction to go in with positive or negative reactions.
What a message we’d sent if Pat got zero pop. No boos, no “go away Pat” chants. Just silence.#nopopprotest
