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Pat McAfee might be done with WWE for good.
The former NFL punter had been a longtime favorite on broadcasts, having climbed his way up from a pre-show analyst for NXT, all the way to the SmackDown and Raw commentary desks.
During his rise, McAfee often found himself involved in storylines too, but the most recent of which rubbed some fans the wrong way.
With WrestleMania 42 ticket sales said to be waning, he returned to WWE and inserted himself into the feud between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, having previously been on a months-long hiatus.
McAfee ran down the product in a move that was said to upset some in the locker room, and touted 25 per cent off seats for Night 1 of the big show, where Rhodes and Orton closed out.
He was also positioned alongside another celebrity, rapper Jelly Roll, for the main-event feud.
WWE’s decision to have both men involved with two generational stars of the industry, both more than capable of carrying the main event, left many frustrated.
Pat McAfee pulled WWE storyline amid fan backlash
According to Dave Meltzer, McAfee was fully aware of the negative response, and pulled the plug on his storyline.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, the pro-wrestling insider shared some details behind the decision to hit the eject button for WrestleMania 42.
“With the Pat McAfee thing, he opted out, so that’s what actually led to everything changing,” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“That’s why the tag match from Backlash was taken off.
“Orton and McAfee against Jelly Roll and Cody Rhodes, which Cody Rhodes may not be okay for Backlash anyway, you know with that eye.”
Meltzer then revealed that both McAfee and Jelly Roll were aware their involvement was potentially damaging to the main event storyline, and future builds.
He added: “They were very cognizant of what has been said about celebrities in wrestling and both of them love wrestling and I think that they realized that there was a lot of negative sentiment about it.
“And they listened and they understood and I think they saw the fan side of it. And I think that that’s what led to this.
“I was told that the belief was that it was due to the reaction that he pulled out.
“It wasn’t anything else.”
What happened in the main event of WrestleMania 42?
In the build to Rhodes vs Orton, McAfee stated that he would ‘leave the business’ if the latter lost.
At WrestleMania, that’s exactly what happened, with Rhodes winning a bloody battle to close Night 1.
The former NFL punter will likely be away for some time, if not for good, to keep his on-screen word.
McAfee was less involved than anticipated, when Rhodes and Orton went toe-to-toe in the ring at Allegiant Stadium.
He ate a beatdown from ‘The American Nightmare’ before the bell rang and was put through an announce table by Jelly Roll.
When he ran down the ramp in the late stages of the match to act as referee and help Orton win the match, his plan backfired.
McAfee was instead RKO’d by ‘The Viper’ — and seemingly written out of WWE.
Meltzer has since noted that there was backstage ‘chaos’ around the main event, and that any potential summer program for McAfee has been shelved.
“So when (McAfee) asked out, the decision was made to go in the direction of Punk vs Rhodes as a big match (perhaps for SummerSlam although I don’t know that) and thus not go with Orton as champion,” he wrote.
“There were those who said the decision was part of all the chaos taking place behind-the-scenes on Saturday before the first show and the call was made the day of.
“However, those in the know, confirmed the chaos, even saying it was like WCW, but we were told the decision to go with Rhodes over Orton was made prior to the day of the show.”
Following WrestleMania, Jelly Roll admitted that he and McAfee had no business being involved in the feud in the first place, and it seems it might be some time before the celebrity ‘stars’ make another appearance.
Stay up to date with the latest from WWE across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.
Pat McAfee might be done with WWE for good.
The former NFL punter had been a longtime favorite on broadcasts, having climbed his way up from a pre-show analyst for NXT, all the way to the SmackDown and Raw commentary desks.
During his rise, McAfee often found himself involved in storylines too, but the most recent of which rubbed some fans the wrong way.
With WrestleMania 42 ticket sales said to be waning, he returned to WWE and inserted himself into the feud between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, having previously been on a months-long hiatus.
McAfee ran down the product in a move that was said to upset some in the locker room, and touted 25 per cent off seats for Night 1 of the big show, where Rhodes and Orton closed out.
He was also positioned alongside another celebrity, rapper Jelly Roll, for the main-event feud.
WWE’s decision to have both men involved with two generational stars of the industry, both more than capable of carrying the main event, left many frustrated.
Pat McAfee pulled WWE storyline amid fan backlash
According to Dave Meltzer, McAfee was fully aware of the negative response, and pulled the plug on his storyline.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, the pro-wrestling insider shared some details behind the decision to hit the eject button for WrestleMania 42.
“With the Pat McAfee thing, he opted out, so that’s what actually led to everything changing,” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“That’s why the tag match from Backlash was taken off.
“Orton and McAfee against Jelly Roll and Cody Rhodes, which Cody Rhodes may not be okay for Backlash anyway, you know with that eye.”
Meltzer then revealed that both McAfee and Jelly Roll were aware their involvement was potentially damaging to the main event storyline, and future builds.
He added: “They were very cognizant of what has been said about celebrities in wrestling and both of them love wrestling and I think that they realized that there was a lot of negative sentiment about it.
“And they listened and they understood and I think they saw the fan side of it. And I think that that’s what led to this.
“I was told that the belief was that it was due to the reaction that he pulled out.
“It wasn’t anything else.”
What happened in the main event of WrestleMania 42?
In the build to Rhodes vs Orton, McAfee stated that he would ‘leave the business’ if the latter lost.
At WrestleMania, that’s exactly what happened, with Rhodes winning a bloody battle to close Night 1.
The former NFL punter will likely be away for some time, if not for good, to keep his on-screen word.
McAfee was less involved than anticipated, when Rhodes and Orton went toe-to-toe in the ring at Allegiant Stadium.
He ate a beatdown from ‘The American Nightmare’ before the bell rang and was put through an announce table by Jelly Roll.
When he ran down the ramp in the late stages of the match to act as referee and help Orton win the match, his plan backfired.
McAfee was instead RKO’d by ‘The Viper’ — and seemingly written out of WWE.
Meltzer has since noted that there was backstage ‘chaos’ around the main event, and that any potential summer program for McAfee has been shelved.
“So when (McAfee) asked out, the decision was made to go in the direction of Punk vs Rhodes as a big match (perhaps for SummerSlam although I don’t know that) and thus not go with Orton as champion,” he wrote.
“There were those who said the decision was part of all the chaos taking place behind-the-scenes on Saturday before the first show and the call was made the day of.
“However, those in the know, confirmed the chaos, even saying it was like WCW, but we were told the decision to go with Rhodes over Orton was made prior to the day of the show.”
Following WrestleMania, Jelly Roll admitted that he and McAfee had no business being involved in the feud in the first place, and it seems it might be some time before the celebrity ‘stars’ make another appearance.
Stay up to date with the latest from WWE across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.
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| đź“° PublicaciĂłn: | talksport.com |
| ✍️ Autor: | Oliver Browning |
| đź“… Fecha Original: | 2026-04-25 08:01:00 |
| đź”— Enlace: | Ver artĂculo original |
Nota de transparencia: Este artĂculo ha sido traducido y adaptado del inglĂ©s al español para facilitar su comprensiĂłn. El contenido se mantiene fiel a la fuente original, disponible en el enlace proporcionado arriba.
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