© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Pro wrestling fans everywhere are expressing their frustration at the WWE after the company inserted Pat McAfee into the WrestleMania 42 main event storyline between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton on Friday night.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown, McAfee was revealed as the “mystery” man who had been speaking with Orton on the phone for weeks, telling him to attack Rhodes.
But fans are wondering why McAfee, who has been off WWE television for months and has no real ties to either Orton or Rhodes, was chosen for the role.
As it turns out, the decision reportedly goes above the heads of the WWE creative team.
TKO Group Executives Pushed For Pat McAfee’s WrestleMania 42 Involvement
Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Illustrated reports that WWE’s parent company, the TKO Group, was the one that wanted McAfee involved in the angle.
“The idea seems to be that including McAfee in the scenario gives ESPN a new promotional dimension for WrestleMania, given McAfee’s importance and popularity on their platform, giving the ESPN audience something additional leading into their first-ever WrestleMania broadcast,” Johnson stated.
On top of that, TKO Group CEO Ari Emmanuel acts at McAfee’s personal agent and reportedly believes he can be a star across multiple forms of media.
“A source indicates that Ari Emanuel believes Pat McAfee is a star and will help elevate the program between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes and get it to where it needs to be, between his show on ESPN and SmackDown episodes before WrestleMania,” Bodyslam.net reports.
Friday’s episode of SmackDown closed with Rhodes cutting a promo against McAfee that some in the wrestling industry was not initially planned.
“Sources indicate that Cody Rhodes was told from members of creative to go to the ring and shoot from the hip regarding Pat McAfee and TKO,” Bodyslam reports. “Rhodes and other members of creative have legitimate gripes with TKO for sticking their nose in storylines close to WrestleMania multiple years in a row.”
If all the reports are true, which is a big “if,” it appears that the WWE is in a significant state of array heading into its biggest event of year.