Exactly one week ago, WWE finally delivered the grand reveal of the mystery caller Randy Orton had been speaking to. To say it fell flat with the general audience would be an understatement; it was an absolute failure. It’s fairly safe to say that with all the speculation swirling online, absolutely no one had Pat McAfee on their bingo card.
Just as Orton and his WrestleMania 42 opponent Cody Rhodes were colliding, much like they had one week prior, former NFL punter and WWE commentator Pat McAfee stormed the ring and delivered a low blow to the “American Nightmare.” McAfee then grabbed a microphone to explain his actions, proclaiming that Rhodes represents everything that is wrong with the product today, while Orton is the solution.
And while some of what McAfee said might have been true, the audience’s issue wasn’t necessarily what he said, but rather who was saying it. The biggest critique from fans is that there is zero past story alignment tying McAfee to either Orton or Rhodes.
An important thing to note is that there have always been celebrity appearances in WWE. Still, the most effective involvements are those that make sense and feature a connective, entertaining storyline. A notable recent example is IShowSpeed. Not only has he appeared at PLEs over the last few years, but he has also brought a level of humor to The Vision storyline, providing a much-needed reprieve from the more intense matchups at WrestleMania 42.
In the aftermath of the McAfee debacle, many fans were left wondering who was behind the decision. Notable sources have indicated that TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, who also happens to be McAfee’s Hollywood agent, played a significant role in the decision.
Reports suggest that Emanuel wanted McAfee involved for two specific reasons: first, to expand WWE’s reach by leveraging McAfee’s ESPN following. The second was to market McAfee as a “disruptive” star while proving his versatility as a heel and main-event-level personality.
But perhaps the most ridiculous part of this reveal is the fact that Emanuel, according to reports, wants to position McAfee as the next Sylvester Stallone. Trying to transform a brash sports media mogul into a Stallone-like persona feels more like corporate branding of what a movie star should be, rather than what one truly is, and a WWE ring is no place for McAfee to be kick-starting his acting career.
There are a number of reasons why fans are angry to see McAfee inserted into the feud between the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and “The Viper,” Randy Orton; TKO’s rumored interference in WWE creative’s storylines is at the forefront of the backlash.
Making the Same Mistake
First, fans only recently dealt with a high-profile celebrity involvement in the WWE Undisputed Championship match just one year ago with Travis Scott. The hip-hop artist appeared in the WrestleMania 41 match between Rhodes and John Cena, playing a crucial part in the final moments of the bout.
While fans were looking forward to seeing Cena’s final WrestleMania match and the potential for him to make history as a 17-time World Champion, that moment felt ruined by Scott’s unnecessary appearance. Rather than the match being about a legend of the past versus the star of the present, Scott’s involvement added unneeded glitz and glamour.
The Scott insertion felt forced and unnecessary, in part because The Rock had abandoned the storyline he created about Rhodes becoming his champion and relinquishing his soul to “The Final Boss.” Once The Rock removed himself from the picture, Scott’s involvement should have been scrapped. According to reports, however, TKO and Emanuel specifically made the call to keep Scott in order to boost ticket sales.
Given the backlash that the company received over last year’s decisions, you would have thought TKO had learned its lesson about forcing unnecessary celebrity cameos. But what makes the McAfee inclusion even worse is that he has zero ties with either competitor. At least Scott had a prior appearance at Elimination Chamber, where Cena turned heel, delivering a slap to Rhodes’ ear.
