Tag: Pat McAfee WWE return

Je’Von Evans on Pat McAfee’s WWE return: ‘Selfish business out here’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Je’Von Evans recently addressed the current situation in WWE following Pat McAfee’s return and addition to the Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes feud.

Appearing on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast ahead of his Intercontinental match at WWE WrestleMania, Evans was asked about his thoughts on how McAfee’s return has affected the business.

“I feel like there’s certain things that people that are not familiar or don’t come from the wrestling business don’t understand. And they tend to express that in a certain way. I feel like wrestling isn’t like a regular sport. We take this very serious because our bodies and lives are on the line. There’s legacy behind all this. People feed their families because of this,” Evans said.

“So I feel like there are things that some people do say or have an opinion on, and they tend to express that in a certain way… publicly. Why can’t we just have fun? Why can’t we just have fun, make money? It’s a selfish business out here. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. But also, you can’t be talking crazy and expect nobody else to talk crazy back,” Evans continued.

He further opened up and claimed that one cannot expect not to receive “receipts” from some of the veterans in the business after “talking crazy.”

“You cannot not expect receipts. Especially from the OGs that have been doing it for a long time, that have been through a lot to get to where they’re at. And now you’re dissing them. Hey, [CM] Punk was talking. Said what he had to say.“

After McAfee’s return on SmackDown, CM Punk also went on a rant on RAW, where he went on to call McAfee, “Pat MAGAfee.”

Report: Pat McAfee’s WWE return tied to corporate synergy

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

A recent report has emerged on Pat McAfee’s return to WWE SmackDown.

The latest episode on Friday, April 3, SmackDown saw McAfee make his surprising return as Randy Orton’s mystery phone call friend and aid him in attacking Cody Rhodes. However, the segment was extremely poorly received and helped SmackDown record one of its lowest-ranked episodes in the show’s history, per Cagematch.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that McAfee’s return was an effort to boost interest in the show and for “corporate synergy” between WWE and ESPN. The report further noted that there were several people who were not in favor of the direction of the “this place sucks” angle of the promo, and felt that those rarely work in pro wrestling.

Fightful Select also claimed that the internal reaction to the return was mixed, and WWE was well aware of the online reaction. Some internally suggested that the reaction was “heat,” others claimed that it was not the kind of “heat” the promotion needed.

Previously, Wrestlevotes had reported that McAfee was set to return soon, although the former NFL punter denied those rumors. WWE sources informed Fightful Select that “McAfee is also figured into upcoming WWE programming through WrestleMania.”

Moments after McAfee’s return, PWInsider reported that McAfee’s comeback was an Ari Emanuel call. Emanuel has been very high on McAfee as well as the entertainment space. This created the notion that Triple H was no longer leading the creative team. However, such is not the case, and the Hall of Famer is still leading the “week-to-week creative and the vast majority of the program.”

Later, Bodyslam also reported that Rhodes’ promo that happened later in the evening was instructed to be a shoot one and “from the hip.”