Tag: pat mcafee

Cody Rhodes: Pat McAfee storyline ‘most ill-received thing’ in wrestling history

Posted on by Ian Carey

Cody Rhodes says that the recent WWE storyline involving Pat McAfee is “the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling.”

Rhodes is preparing to defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas this weekend, and McAfee will be in his opponent’s corner for the bout.

During a recent appearance on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina show, Rhodes was asked about the fan reaction to the angle. Rhodes said that every part of the wrestling fandom has reacted negatively to it.

Rhodes said:

“This is the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling. Gobbledygooker was one. Shockmaster was up there, but that was kind of funny. This is the entire fandom. Your fandom, my fandom, independent wrestling fans, casual fans, cinema fans. Every single fan who’s ever seen wrestling has received this with, ‘Huh? What?’

Okay, so worst received thing in the history of wrestling, but I want to say something on the bright side because I have to be an optimist in general. On the bright side of this, Pat McAfee is a huge star and Pat McAfee is part of, he’s one of the faces, if not the face of ESPN. His College GameDay stuff is legendary. He’s a great athlete and he loves wrestling. He’s just trying to help our party out. So I respect him and I respect that. On the other side of it, I am attuned to the online audience, but it’s not just the online audience, every bit of the audience.”

Rhodes continued to say that he’s not worried about the match at Mania, however, as he feels his opponent is the best version of himself he’s been in a while.

Rhodes continued:

“Why I’m not worried about it at all is because Randy Orton is the guy I’m wrestling. Randy Orton is arguably the best he’s ever been.”

“Pat, where that fits in, I am like you and I’m excited to stand at the plate and you know we’re talking about these guys, if you want that spot that’s it. There’s others who run from that and oh no, that John Cena dealt with this for years and years and years and I’m dealing with it, too.”

Rhodes’ full appearance on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast is available below. The video is queued to his comments about the build to his match with Orton at WWE WrestleMania 42 and the fan response to McAfee’s involvement.

WWE fan backlash altered creative plans before, so is Pat McAfee next? | Opinion

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Pat McAfee’s involvement in Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ feud for WWE WrestleMania 42 has stirred much debate among fans and the wider wrestling community.

His sudden addition to the storyline and siding with Orton has questioned narrative relevance. Fans and wrestlers alike have expressed dissatisfaction with the situation. However, WWE is yet to proceed in the creative direction amid growing concerns. 

This isn’t the first time fans have pushed back on creative decisions or forced WWE to alter the direction of feuds. Over the years, several moments have provoked protests from fans, both online and at arenas.

Here’s a few notable instances when it happened: 

Daniel Bryan’s ‘Yes Movement’ implodes in 2014 

In 2013 to 2014, Bryan had become a fan favorite. Arenas erupted with ‘Yes’ chants every time he appeared. 

So, it came as no surprise when his absence from the 2014 Royal Rumble sparked an uproar. When Rey Mysterio entered as the 30th entrant, the crowd reacted with heavy boos despite him being a face. 

It became worse when Batista won the Rumble to secure his spot at WrestleMania XXX against Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, the backlash was so severe that it forced WWE to add Bryan into the fold. 

Bryan was then given the ultimate hero’s challenge to earn his spot in the WrestleMania main event. He had to defeat Triple H earlier in the night with the stipulation that if he lost, he would not be added to the main event. Bryan not only defeated Triple H, but also won the WWE World Title later that night. 

CM Punk chants taking over arenas after WWE walkout 

CM Punk’s 2014 departure triggered one of the most ruthless crowd protests in WWE history. 

While 2014 seemed to peak with fans unhappiness on WWE’s creative booking surrounding Bryan, Punk’s exit worsened it — although his situation intensified the overall sentiment among fans. 

Punk walked out of WWE in January 2014 due to creative differences and lack of respect among other reasons. A few months later in June, he was fired by WWE on his wedding day.

The dissatisfaction of his absence in the ring led arenas to chant for Punk at almost every WWE event for years. Even if major stars were featured on the card or competing in the ring, his name would still be heard from the crowd.  

Punk was viewed as a representative of the fanbase. His departure sparked a rare moment in wrestling history which created sustained pressure on how deeply audiences were invested in his presence. 

Punk eventually returned to WWE at Survivor Series 2023 to a thunderous reaction at the Allstate Arena. 

John Cena hatred at ECW One Night Stand 2006  

At ECW One Night Stand, Cena walked into one of the most hostile wrestling crowds in history. 

ECW was revived in 2006 after being purchased by WWE a few years earlier. To promote the merger WWE produced ECW’s second edition of their One Night Stand pay-per-view. But it turned out to be more chaotic as WWE stars were featured on the match card which drew strong negative reactions from hardcore ECW fans. 

The main event featured Rob Van Dam against Cena for his WWE Championship. The reaction was brutal and the atmosphere at Hammerstein Ballroom was intense. The champ walked out to boos, obscene gestures and jeers. 

This event featured the viral ‘If Cena wins, we riot’ poster along with explicit laden chants directed at him.

Edge’s interference in the match did not go in vain. After the referee was knocked out, Paul Heyman took over and counted the pinfall which made RVD the new WWE Champion that night. 

Given that Cena was positioned as WWE’s babyface at the time, this moment remains a notable example of fan reactions determining the crowning of a new champion. 

#WeWantCody taking over social media 

Cody Rhodes won the 2024 Royal Rumble and chose to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania that year to ‘finish his story’.

Despite facing off in the WrestleMania 39 main event, Rhodes was still on a mission – to win the undisputed WWE Championship. 

On the February 2, 2024, edition of SmackDown, The Rock returned and confronted his cousin. For quite a while, it was marked a blockbuster match by many for Rock to battle Reigns at WrestleMania.

The Rock shook hands and embraced Rhodes who gestured for him to proceed in his confrontation indicating that he was stepping down from his Mania match.

Fans were baffled and instantly expressed discontent at the next few events and online. Almost instantly, #WeWantCody began trending worldwide on social media. 

This forced WWE to adjust plans and re-align Rhodes in his coveted spot in the WrestleMania 40 main event. 

It steered the rivalry into Rock and Reigns uniting against Rhodes. And eventually led to Seth Rollins backing Rhodes for having a common enemy in The Bloodline. 

R-Truth’s 2025 Money in the Bank return  

On June 1, 2025, R-Truth announced on social media that he was released from WWE, ending his 17-year association with the company. It instantly received a jarring reaction online and on the following editions of Raw and SmackDown. 

At Money in the Bank, Cena teamed up with Logan Paul against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. During the bout, Paul hit a moonsault on Uso through the announcer’s table while Cena and Rhodes were in the ring. With the referee distracted, Cena grabbed the WWE title belt and hit Rhodes with it. A hooded figure jumped into the ring and attacked Cena and later revealed himself – it was R-Truth. 

Everyone at the Intuit Dome were on their feet, rooting and embracing the return of their beloved star. And it all transpired within a week. 

Later, reports revealed that the overwhelming backlash forced Nick Khan to step in and renegotiate Truth’s WWE contract for a return. 

Final Thoughts

These examples prove the influential role fans play in WWE storytelling. While creative decisions lie in the hands of the promotion, sustained negative reactions and protests can detour the original plans. WWE history has shown a consistent pattern of altering feuds and storylines based on fans pushing back. It also proves that audiences are not just reacting to it but also actively shaping it.

This trend could be reflected in the ongoing discussions on McAfee’s integration in Rhodes and Orton’s WrestleMania 42 clash. The growing retaliation could sway WWE’s creative booking.

Cody Rhodes: There’s ‘a lot of sincerity’ to WWE WrestleMania 42 main events

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Cody Rhodes sees a common theme among the two WWE WrestleMania main events this year.

Taking place this weekend, WrestleMania 42 will be headlined by Rhodes vs. Randy Orton and CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns. Both bouts have been built around long-standing personal issues. With that — and the recent addition of Pat McAfee to the Rhodes vs. Orton rivalry — Rhodes believes that it’s easy for viewers to suspend their disbelief and buy into what they’re seeing on screen.

“When wrestling is done right, the best thing ever is when you can just have a little bit of doubt on, ‘Oh, seems like those guys do hate each other.’ And we have a lot of that in both main events this year,” Rhodes said on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast. “There’s a lot of sincerity to the suspension of disbelief.”

The history between Rhodes and Orton dates back nearly 20 years to when they were members of The Legacy together. Given that, a lot of fans have been disappointed about McAfee’s involvement, feeling that it’s unnecessary to the story. Rhodes leaned into that sentiment on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, comparing McAfee’s inclusion to the popular meme where a clown is trying to blend in among a group of soldiers.

“Randy Orton, who I’m wrestling at WrestleMania, we have almost two decades of history. He was my mentor,” Rhodes said. “We were on screen together as part of his group Legacy. He had my dad’s last match. My first match in the company was against Randy. There is a lot of rich story material.

“And then we inserted Pat McAfee. We are literally in that part right there. So your question is everybody else’s question. You know the troops all outside and there is that clown? I’m not saying he’s the clown. It’s just an interesting fit. And we’re going to see where it goes.”

Rhodes did say that he believes McAfee is a serious person and not a clown. He just wishes the people around McAfee would say “no” to him more often — including telling him that it’s a bad idea to get involved in the main event of WrestleMania.

McAfee will be in Orton’s corner when Orton challenges Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship this Saturday. If Orton loses, McAfee has promised to leave the wrestling industry forever.

WOL: AEW Dynasty preview & the bizarre build to WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Andrew Zarian

Andrew Zarian is back with another episode of Wrestling Observer Live’s Sunday edition, featuring the latest news in professional wrestling.

He kicks off talking about Pat McAfee’s interjection into the main event of WrestleMania 42 and speculating why WWE is going in this direction.

He then breaks down this week’s SmackDown where McAfee doubled down on his promo from last week and tries to make sense of this direction heading into the biggest shows of the year.

AEW Dynasty is today. He does a final preview of the card and discusses the direction they are heading towards All In this summer. Will MJF still be the World champion, and which match will be pivotal in setting their plans in motion going into Double or Nothing?

Plus, mask vs. mask in AAA, Gable Steveson in UFC, and more!

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube

WOL: Corporate wrestling & the backward psychology of SmackDown

Posted on by Jim Valley

It’s the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

As backward as WWE SmackDown was last week, this week’s psychology was just as puzzling if not worse. The heel gets discount tickets for fans, tells fans not to buy WrestleMania Sunday and rips the main event wrestlers without saying anything positive about them.

This build is breaking virtually every rule when it comes to promos.

Plus, Danhausen, WCW 1998, AEW Collision, Dynasty, TNA Rebellion, AAA, and more.

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Pat McAfee responds to CM Punk, announces WWE WrestleMania 42 Saturday sale

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Pat McAfee is not done talking.

McAfee took time on Friday’s SmackDown to address the response from his reveal last week, first taking aim at CM Punk, who called out the famed ESPN host on Monday. McAfee, upset about being called ‘Pat MAGAfee,’ highlighted Punk’s comments from Monday asking WWE to lower ticket prices so families could watch him defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

“When that TKO merch check comes through, which account does it go through? Does it go to the needy wrestling families that can’t afford WrestleMania tickets? Or….I have a sneaking suspicion that money from the TKO merch account goes right into the bank account titled ‘I’m sorry Saudi Arabia,” McAfee said. Punk, who had a history of critical comments regarding WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia before his return to the promotion, took time to apologize to the country prior to his match against John Cena last year.

McAfee then addressed WrestleMania’s high ticket prices. He announced he had talked to Ram, a sponsor for WrestleMania, and announced that a 25% off sale for WrestleMania Saturday would start on Friday and run through the end of Monday’s Raw.

“WrestleMania Sunday night? A**. I wouldn’t recommend anybody spend money on that,” he said.

Cody Rhodes came out and told McAfee that these people were not marks but customers, borrowing a line from famed promoter Paul Boesch. He told McAfee to go home. McAfee responded by calling him a fake and a cosplay champion. As Rhodes tried to leave, Randy Orton appeared on the screen, showing he had taken out Jelly Roll backstage. He dragged Jelly to the stage. This was a ploy for McAfee to cause a distraction, leading to a two-on-one beatdown. The segment ended with McAfee stealing Rhodes’ WWE Championship.

The next segment saw McAfee with the WWE Championship leaving the arena with Orton. But he had one last message for fans upset by his actions.

“Hey IWC and wrestling fans, marks if you will…you’re welcome,” he said before driving away.

WWE SmackDown live results: Pat McAfee speaks

Posted on by Marc Quill

On last week’s SmackDown, Pat McAfee revealed himself as Randy Orton’s mystery caller as he aligned with Orton to attack Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. McAfee claimed that he wanted to restore the Attitude Era to its former glory as the reason why he chose to help Orton.

Tonight, McAfee has promised he has a “huge surprise,’ though Rhodes will certainly be looking for a bit of revenge against him as WrestleMania 42 looms closer with only a week to goo.

Also tonight, ahead of his unsanctioned match against Jacob Fatu, Drew McIntyre has promised to reveal to the world “the real” Fatu.

Royce Keys is set to officially make his debut on SmackDown tonight after last appearing in the 2026 Royal Rumble and a few Main Event matches.

On Friday afternoon, WWE also announced that Rhea Ripley will be on tonight’s show. She is set to address Jade Cargill’s attack on IYO SKY.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.

**********

– Joe Tessitore welcomed us to tonight’s show as he set the stage for WrestleMania 42 next week. We then got a recap of last week’s series of events featuring Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Pat McAfee. Following that, we saw Rhodes walking backstage and asking Nick Aldis where Pat McAfee is. Rhodes was told by Aldis to not go after Pat McAfee, under strict orders from above (i.e. TKO management). Jelly Roll showed up and was looking for Orton and McAfee, and was told the same thing by Aldis. Jelly then told Rhodes that this wasn’t about McAfee or himself, but twenty years of friendship between Orton and Rhodes being flushed down the toilet. Jelly encouraged Rhodes to keep his focus.

Rhea Ripley opens SmackDown

Ripley got right down to business and said that Cargill made things personal by attacking IYO SKY on Raw this past Monday. Ripley challenged Cargill to come down and fight her. Instead, IYO SKY made her way down to the ring to talk to her friend. SKY wanted to face Cargill, and said that she’d talk to Nick Aldis if she had to for this match to get made.

Mr. Aldis showed up afterwards and decided to make it official as our main event tonight.

Just a standard main event set-up segment, not really much else to say. As for the opening bits with Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll… I get the feeling we’ll be in for a long night and road to WrestleMania soon. Stay tuned…

**********

Bayley (w/ Lyra Valkyria) vs. Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair)

Hometown heroine Bayley got loud cheers from the San Jose crowd as the match got underway. Bayley got ahead on Bliss with a sliding elbow, as she reversed an early Sister Abigail DDT attempt from Bliss. Nobody had the upper hand early on. In the corner, Bayley missed with a running knee attack as Bliss dodged at the last second. Bliss tepped on Bayley and pounded on her head with her boot, much to the disdain of the crowd. Bliss got a little cocky and ate a clothesline from Bayley, followed by the sliding dropkick to the outside. This took us into the commercial break.

We returned from break as Bliss leveled Bayley with a dropkick, followed by the modified Natural Selection for a near-fall. Bayley recovered and connected with the sunset flip right into the middle turnbuckle on Bliss. One, two… not yet. Bliss had Bayley trapped in the corner in a tree-of-woe position, and made no mistake with the dropkick. As Bliss headed to the top rope, Bayley tried to intercept her, but to no avail. Bliss connected with the tornado DDT for another near-fall.

Bayley countered another Sister Abigail DDT attempt from Bliss with the Bayley-to-Belly. Both women recovered and hit each other with furious strikes before it turned into an exchange of pin attempts. Bliss tried to get a rope-assisted pinfall, but the referee saw it. Another sunset flip into the turnbuckle from Bayley to Bliss, as the hometown favorite headed to the top rope and connected with the diving elbow. One, two…. 2.99999999!!!!!!!!!

Bliss rolled out of the ring and tried to catch her breath with Charlotte Flair, but Bayley went right after Bliss. Lyra Valkyria got into Flair’s face and argued, this allowed Bliss to get the sneaky roll-up pin and win.

Alexa Bliss def. Bayley via pinfall

Well, it just wouldn’t be WWE if they didn’t have the hometown hero eat the pin, I suppose. Otherwise a good enough match to start us off.

**********

– Carmelo Hayes was in the medical room as Trick Williams and Li’l Yachty showed up to taunt him. Hayes promised to go after Williams if he got past Sami Zayn at WrestleMania. After Hayes left, Matt Cardona had some words for Williams, and that led to a match between the two made.

– We got a video package from Drew McIntyre where he was speaking behind bars, to talk trash about Jacob Fatu’s checkered past. McIntyre insulted Fatu for “choosing” a life of crime over providing for his family. He promised to be Fatu’s judge, jury, and executioner at WrestleMania.

– Backstage, we saw Fatu watching McIntyre’s promo as he was asked about it. Fatu said that McIntyre was going to find out something, but he was interrupted by Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s. Sikoa mocked Fatu for being in the same place that he got his teeth knocked out all those months ago. Sikoa said that Tama Tonga was going to step up to Fatu, though Tama seemed to not be happy about it.

– We got a video package introducing us to Royce Keys, as he talked about his own past before heading to WWE. Keys stated that he wanted to be defined by where he was going rather than where he started from. Keys’ debut was said to be coming up next.

Royce Keys vs. Berto (w/ Angel)

Berto hit Keys in the back, but it wasn’t very effective. Keys responded with a fierce clothesline that crushed Berto before he lifted him from the ground with a powerslam. With Berto stunned in the corner, Keys tried to run, but Berto made a quick escape. Outside the ring, Angel provided a distraction for Berto to push Keys into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Berto landed a nice dropkick to Keys. Berto attempted a diving crossbody, but he was caught by Keys for the fallaway slam. Keys hoisted Berto on his shoulders for the running powerslam. Angel tried to run at Keys, but got hit with a clothesline. Straps were down and Keys hit his spinebuster for the win on his SmackDown debut.

Royce Keys def. Berto via pinfall

How they’ve not really used Royce Keys (fka Powerhouse Hobbs) since his Royal Rumble debut has been baffling, to say the least. Hopefully with this official debut, they use him more moving forward because Keys is too good of a talent to be just left on the sidelines the way he’s been so far.

**********

– Pat McAfee arrived at the arena and was told by Nick Aldis about the directives of not being touched. Jelly Roll confronted McAfee and demanded to know if he told Randy Orton to RKO him. Jelly got into McAfee’s face but was told to back off by Aldis as McAfee was off to address the crowd.

– Backstage, Royce Keys was interviewed about his successful debut. Keys said he was glad to do it in front of his people. Before he could continue, Solo Sikoa confronted Keys, and said that his door was always open.

Pat McAfee addresses his actions

McAfee headed to the ring as the crowd booed him. Once McAfee entered the ring, he called San Jose a “shithole”, as he stated that he was the “hero” in this entire thing. McAfee called CM Punk a “spineless bum” that the crowd cheer for. Did we like it when Punk called McAfee “Pat MAGAFee” on Raw, he asked?

McAfee said that it was hard for him to get past that Punk was wearing WWE-licensed merchandise under his shirt, and it made him wonder that when the TKO cheque comes through, to the needy wrestling families, or the bank account titled “I’m sorry, Saudi Arabia”. McAfee called Punk a fraud, someone who was all talk, no action. McAfee put himself over as an agent of change, a man of action, someone who decided to be everyone’s hero.

McAfee said that he decided to call Ram Trucks to help fans get to WrestleMania, with 25% tickets off the Saturday show tickets from now until Monday’s Raw. This was supposedly because for us to see a once-in-a-lifetime event of Randy Orton saving this business by winning his 15th World Title. Before McAfee’s tirade could continue, the music of Cody Rhodes interrupted him, and out came the Undisputed WWE Champion.

Rhodes entered the ring and stood face-to-face with McAfee as he took a microphone to address the situation. Rhodes started by stating that he was going to go out on a limb and say that McAfee doesn’t belong here. He knows that he couldnt’ touch him, but they can get a Fanatics WWE Title and live out his WWE experience before McAfee got sent back to whoever put him here to say “thank yo, daddy.”

Rhodes pointed out that McAfee was a play wrestler because of how he didn’t know Orton wasn’t part of the Attitude Era, before talking about an old promoter by the name of Paul Boesch, who said that wrestling fans were “customers”, not marks. Rhodes talked about how the fans weren’t customers to him, but they were family. Rhodes said that McAfee had a gift, and that it was getting the entire wrestling fandom to agree on one thing: they wanted to see Randy Orton, and not Pat McAfee. “Go home, Pat,” said Rhodes.

McAfee said that he was home, as he was born to be in this business, and that Rhodes was the fakest dude on Earth. McAfee called Rhodes a cosplay champion, one that he was going to get rid of at WrestleMania, alongside with Randy Orton. He had a message for Rhodes: if Randy Orton didn’t walk out of WrestleMania as champion, we’d never see Pat McAfee ever again.

Rhodes called out McAfee for being too tired as he said that maybe we should get Gunther to put McAfee’s ass to sleep once again. As Rhodes tried to leave, McAfee talked trash to him, but before Rhodes could come to him, Randy Orton appeared on the TitanTron and said that Rhodes should come get his “boy” (i.e. Jelly Roll).

Orton dragged out Jelly Roll to the stage, as McAfee attempted a sneak attack. Rhodes turned to face McAfee, but got hit by Orton attacked him from behind. McAfee and Rhodes laid a two-on-one attack on Rhodes, but Jelly recovered and had McAfee by the throat. Orton punched Jelly Roll, as McAfee gave Orton the WWE Title. Orton struck Rhodes with the title. McAfee stole Rhodes WWE Title and had it on his shoulder.

I cannot list the many ways how much I hate this entire thing. From McAfee yelling about ticket prices and the fact that he doesn’t belong anywhere near this major main event angle being incorporated into the story, and all the worked shoot nonsense that I honestly despise. It’s getting ridiculous, and dragging Jelly Roll into this mess has turned what should’ve been a sure-fire angle with Orton and Rhodes’ sharewd history into celebrity-filled nonsense led by some schmuck on ESPN just because TKO executives are dead set on making WrestleMania 42 a must-miss event.

Then there’s the rumored direction where this is all going with a tag match with the featured players from this segment we just saw presumably happening at Backlash. It’s just leading into a ridiculous mess and I can’t think that this is going to draw new viewers to WWE as TKO might hope. Just nothing short of terrible and increasingly more embarrassing with each passing week.

**********

– Nick Aldis was chatting with a referee before The Miz and Kit Wilson showed up to complain about what happened with Dan Engler last week. There needed to be consequences for what happened with Engler. Aldis said that Kit Wilson will face Dan…. hausen in action tonight.

Jacob Fatu vs. Tama Tonga

Tama and Fatu locked up in the middle of the ring before the former was backed into a corner. Fatu withstood a shoulder block from Tama before he hit him with a throat strike. Tama tried to get ahead, but he was hit with more strikes from Fatu, as a headbutt punctuated that barrage. Fatu connected with a handstand moonsault on a downed Tama, before he launched himself through the middle ropes for a suicide dive, which took us to the commercial break.

Our match returned from commercial as Fatu and Tama traded strikes. Tama struck Fatu with two pump-up punches, but that only fired up Fatu. Tama was hit with the running splash in the corner by Fatu, followed by 10 headbutts. With Tama stunned, Fatu hit him with a running hip attack. A second hip attack was intercepted by a forearm from Tama. Underhook powerbomb by Tama got a near-fall. Pop-up Samoan Drop attempt by Fatu was countered into a sort-of rolling cutter by Tama for another near-fall.

Tama looked for the Cutthroat, but a kick from Fatu met him instead. Pop-up Samoan Drop, followed by the moonsault from the top, and Fatu got the win here.

After the match, Fatu got on the microphone until Drew McIntyre attacked him from behind. Fatu recovered with a superkick, but a Claymore Kick left him down and out. McIntyre threw Fatu out of the ring, as he then sent him head first into the steel steps. McIntyre grabbed a chair from the timekeeper as he hit Fatu across the back with it. McIntyre hoisted Fatu and planted him with the Future Shock DDT. McIntyre had handcuffs as he put them on Fatu’s left arm. He threw him into the ring post twice. McIntyre then locked had Fatu cuffed against the ring post, as he hit him with a boot against the post.

McIntyre again cuffed Fatu against the ringpost, as he pummeled him some more. Back in the ring, one final Claymore Kick from McIntyre was it.

Jacob Fatu def. Tama Tonga via pinfall

Pretty much a standard match, but the McIntyre beatdown segment afterwards was a decent way to get heat on him before next week, so there’s that.

**********

– We got another segment of R-Truth explaining how to work with the ESPN App to watch WrestleMania next week. Truth was telling this to Kit Wilson. Rhea Ripley threw B-Fab against a cargo case while this was happening, stating that she only had one more to take care of.

Sami Zayn addresses the crowd

The U.S. Champion made his way to the ring amidst a sea boos, which he stated was an “interesting reaction”. He said that maybe it was time to nip this in the bud. Zayn said that he had talked to close friends like Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, who wanted to see some change from Zayn.

Zayn said that throughout his career, he had tried to give himself something more than just a catchphrase or a viral mment. Zayn said that the fans who cried for him, who bought his stuff, or had his back since day one, that’s who he cared about. Zayn declared that he’d never betray those people. As far as the people booing him, Zayn didn’t know why they were booing him, but he didn’t care. Zayn praised the ride or die fans who have been with him since day one, and that he’d walk out of WrestleMania as champion for them.

Trick Williams interrupted him to huge cheers from the San Jose crowd, as he was accompanied by hypeman Li’l Yachty. Once they got in the ring, Williams said that the people were tired of hearing Sami Zayn talk. Someone who was “whining like a donkey” and couldn’t get it done. Williams said that the truth was, Zayn just hated him. Williams said that whether Zayn liked it or hate it, he was going to whoop Zayn’s ass at WrestleMania, because everyone loves Trick Williams.

Zayn responded by saying that the crowd didn’t love Williams, but they did like him and had a crush on him. Here’s the thing, however, Williams could make all the jokes he could want, but he was going to be in the ring with a WrestleMania main eventer who would drag him in to deep waters. Zayn said that we’d find out at WrestleMania if Williams could walk the walk or just be nothing but talk.

Li’l Yachty hyped up Williams a bit more before Matt Cardona interrupted, as he was set to face Williams in singles action coming up next.

I think Zayn’s slow-burn heel turn is actually one of the better things of an otherwise dire SmackDown scene as of late, so his promo was good in that regard. On the other hand, I think Trick Williams can stand on his own, and that Li’l Yachty’s addition doesn’t really add to him.

**********

Trick Williams (w/ Li’l Yachty) vs. Matt Cardona

This match resumed from commercial as Williams avoided Cardona’s strikes in the corner and taunted him. Cardona got slammed on his back by Williams. With the ref’s back turned, Li’l Yachty grabbed at Cardona’s head.

Cardona avoided Williams’s jumping kick, as he then hit him with a clothesline. Cardona followed that with a missile dropkick to the jaw of Williams. With his foe out of the ring, Cardona hit the rope-assisted dropkick on Williams. Back in the ring, Cardona got tripped up by Williams while he was on the top rope, which took us to the break.

Our match continued from the break as Williams knocked Cardona down with a kick. Cardona recovered with a jawbreaker, followed by the back suplex. This gave Cardona the opportunity to mount a comeback, at least until he was floored by a punch from Williams. Cardona got back into it with a running facebuster as he lined Williams up for the Broski Boot. Cardona pulled from Chelsea Green’s playbook with an Unprettier for the two-count. Williams responded by sending Cardona’s face into the top turnbuckle, followed by a neckbreaker for the two.

Williams missed with a running splash, but Cardona failed to capitalize as he was sent over the top rope when he went for a running attack. At ringside, after he clotheslined Cardona, Zayn stared down Williams and got a shove for his troubles. As Williams got back in the ring, he challenged Zayn to fight him. When Zayn got on the apron, Li’l Yachty tripped him up. This led to Yachty eating a Helluva Kick from Zayn. In the ring, Williams avoided a roll-up pin from Cardona, as he then finished him off with the Trick Shot.

Trick Williams def. Matt Cardona via pinfall

Another match that just felt like it just happened without much purpose. I honestly couldn’t get into it much at all. Also, it’s hard to take Matt Cardona as much of a serious threat if he’s mostly just lost his matches since returning.

**********

Danhausen vs. Kit Wilson

Danhausen sized himself up to Wilson’s face, and got shoved. In response, Danhausen hit a dropkick, followed by a bridging suplex for a two-count. Wilson recovered with a kick to the gut, followed by a kick. Miz was playing to the crowd, as Danhausen slid out of the ring and posed beside him. This left Danhausen open to the flying elbow attack from Wilson. Back in the ring, Wilson battered Danhausen with repeated running elbows to the corner.

As Wilson got bounced with a jawbreaker, he rebounded and hit Danhausen with a lariat. Wilson headed up top for the elbow drop. Danhausen perked up and did the “You Are Cursed” poiint. This caused pyro to shoot out from the ringpost, which sent Wilson crashing to the ground. Miz got punched from the apron by Danhausen, who then finished Wilson off with a running kick.

After the match, Miz tried to sneak attack Danhausen, but the lights turned off. Once the lights turned back on, Danhausen ran away to the stage to escape Miz.

Danhausen def. Kit Wilson via pinfall

Well, Danhausen is probably a gimmick that isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but I kinda find him inoffensive and even entertaining at times. In this match, we did get to see some moves from Danhausen that showed that he’s more than just a meme character, so that was nice to see(hausen).

**********

– Backstage, Jade Cargill was looking for Michin to back her up against IYO SKY in her match coming up next. However, Michin was found laid out with a broken kendo stick over her. Rhea Ripley had gotten to Michin.

Next Week on SmackDown

  • Andre The Giant Battle Royal
  • Wyatt Sicks vs. M.F.T.s in a Street Fight

– IYO SKY requested that Rhea Ripley stay behind for her match with Jade Cargill now that the odds have been made even after B-Fab and Michin got taken out.

Jade Cargill vs. IYO SKY

SKY was hot to start with a dropkick to Cargill. She avoided a running splash from Cargill and hit her with a forearm. However, the WWE Women’s Champion quickly recovered with a shoulder block, as she then slammed SKY down to the ground. SKY answered with a pop-up dropkick on Cargill, but got hit with a right hand from her foe as she headed for a dive, as we took a commercial break with about seven minutes of show left.

We returned to our main event as both women were down following an armbreaker counter from SKY during the break. The former Womens’ World Heavyweight Champion connected with the dropkick from the top rope as Cargill suddenly found herself on the backfoot. SKY struck with the Bullet Train attack into the corner on Cargill. SKY tried to go up the top rope, but was caught by Cargill in an overhead press position. SKY reversed that into a sleeper that got broken out of. SKY avoided the pump kick from Cargill and turned it into a roll-up pin for the two. Blue Thunder Bomb by Cargill, but taht wasn’t enough for the win. Cargill had SKY in a chokeslam position, but that turned into a double stomp.

As Cargill rolled out of the ring, she was hit with a moonsault from the apron by SKY. With both women out of the ring, Cargill dropped SKY onto the steel steps with a wheelbarrow face slam. That was followed with the pump kick. One Jaded later, and that’s it, over.

After the match, Cargill got a chair, but Rhea Ripley ran in immediately before her WrestleMania opponent could do any damage.

Jade Cargill def. IYO SKY via pinfall

**********

An okay main event that ended a really baffling SmackDown overshadowed by the sad saga of Pat McAfee hijacking the WrestleMania main event. If Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and/or Paul Levesque’s idea of selling people to their biggest show of the year is having Pat McAfee trash one of the nights for being mediocre, other wrestler call McAfee’s involvement terrible, and things of that nature, then God help this company. It’s a lousy and pointless exercise and you don’t even have to be a “hater” of WWE to admit that they kinda screwed up here.

As far as the rest of the show is concerned outside of the McAfee/Rhodes/Orton/Jelly Roll stuff, everything just felt like they kinda happened. Nothing important, no big hook to get us to tune into next week. And when next week is literally the final go-home before WrestleMania 42, it’s really kind of sad. By the time April 18th and 19th roll around, it’ll be like that time The Simpsons took the “shortcut” to get to Itchy and Scratchy Land. That’s an apt descriptor for this Road to WrestleMania, at least from my view of it over these last few months.

Wrestling Weekly: Wreck on the road to WrestleMania plus AEW Dynasty predictions

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Plenty of people have had strong reactions to Pat McAfee being the mystery man behind Randy Orton, and Les Thatcher & Victor Sosa will share their thoughts on this edition of Wrestling Weekly.

But it’s more than just McAfee; it’s the reporting indicating who made this happen and why. We’ll discuss why we think it’s an overreaction to a problem that was created in house.

We’ll also run down the card for Sunday’s AEW Dynasty and give our predictions for the show.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click here to listen (sub needed)

Pat McAfee & Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes & Jelly Roll planned for WWE Backlash

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE is currently planning a tag team match involving celebrities for Backlash.

In Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, our own Dave Meltzer wrote that the plan for the May 9 PLE in Tampa is for Randy Orton and Pat McAfee to face Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll.

Meltzer wrote:

“McAfee will team with Orton against Rhodes & Jelly Roll coming out of WrestleMania and be a key match at the Backlash PPV on 5/9, at least as of plans that were confirmed to us by multiple people and were still in play at press time.”

The angle involving McAfee, Orton, and Rhodes will continue on WWE SmackDown from San Jose on Friday. WWE is advertising that Rhodes will respond to McAfee on the show, and McAfee revealed Thursday that he will have a “massive surprise.”

Meltzer’s featured story in this week’s Observer also covers what led to McAfee’s involvement in the angle, the role Ari Emanuel played, and speculation on what else could happen in the storyline before WrestleMania. Subscribers can click here for the full edition.

April 13, 2026 Observer Newsletter: AEW Dynasty preview, much discussed Pat McAfee WrestleMania 42 angle, TNA talent controversy

Posted on by F4W Staff

It was another huge news week and Dave Meltzer’s new Wrestling Observer Newsletter recounts it all and then some.

He previews this Sunday’s AEW Dynasty card, headlined by AEW World Champion MJF vs. former champion Kenny Omega.

Dave looks back at last Friday’s much discussed angle that introduced Pat McAfee into the Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes mix, whose idea is what, and what could mean creatively for the future. He also gives a look at the final week before WrestleMania 42 next weekend.

Dave also delves into the controversial moves by TNA pulling talent from indie shows where they were set to face AEW talent.

He also recaps NJPW Sakura Genesis and the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion being crowned, NXT Stand & Deliver, CMLL, and the rest of the news in another wild pro wrestling and MMA week.

Click here to read (sub needed)

Pat McAfee says he’ll announce a ‘massive surprise’ on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ian Carey

Pat McAfee says he has a massive surprise to reveal on WWE SmackDown.

McAfee released a statement on social media on Thursday regarding his plans for Friday’s show in San Jose.

McAfee wrote:

“Randy Orton is gonna save the business for future generations of wrestling fans. That’s so incredible to think about.. Very rarely do these types of obviously monumental moments happen in our lifetime.

My daughter and baby boy on the way are gonna have a WWE that is thriving.. a WWE that is the greatest form of entertainment on Earth, bar none, because the top of the company is gonna be exactly what it’s supposed to be.

A man sent DIRECTLY from the Wrestling AND Sports Entertainment Gods will be properly leading the business once again.

It is my honor to serve the future generations of wrestling fans as I motivate The 🐐, Randy Orton to not only become 15 TIME WORLD CHAMPION but also, become a man who saved his family’s business.

WrestleMania Saturday Night is gonna be The most Historic Night in the HISTORY of sports.. SO MUCH ON THE LINE. Multi-Generational pressure comes to a head. Randy will prevail… for all of us 🙏🏻

See also… I have a MASSIVE SURPRISE to announce tomorrow night.

You’ll start thanking me and Randy soon enough for all of this.

SEE YOU IN SAN JOSE“

Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown is set for the SAP Center in San Jose, California. WWE has advertised that Cody Rhodes will respond to Pat McAfee’s attack from last week on the show. The lineup is below.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, April 10) —

  • How will Cody Rhodes respond to Pat McAfee?
  • Pat McAfee has a “massive surprise”
  • Drew McIntyre promises to expose the real Jacob Fatu
  • Sami Zayn is out for payback on Trick Williams
  • Royce Keys debuts

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.”

Pat McAfee will have ‘some things to say’ on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ian Carey

Pat McAfee says he will have “some things to say” on WWE SmackDown this week.

On Wednesday, McAfee revealed that The Pat McAfee Show will not air on Thursday and Friday this week as he will be in San Jose for SmackDown.

McAfee said:

“Friday night, live from San Jose. I think I got some things to say. I think we will have a good time there on SmackDown.”

McAfee was revealed as Randy Orton’s ally on SmackDown last week and assisted in an attack on Cody Rhodes. He also claimed that Orton will “save the business” by winning his 15th championship at WWE WrestleMania 42. McAfee has continued to comment on the angle during episodes of The Pat McAfee Show this week.

This week’s episode of SmackDown will take place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. No matches or segments have been announced for the show.

WWE SmackDown April 10, 2026:

  • Pat McAfee has some things to say

How Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42 has been built for 18 years but somehow still feels rushed | Column

Posted on by Jake Skudder

Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42 should’ve been the easiest match to build to on the entire card. Rhodes joined the Legacy faction in December 2008 and he has at least in part been linked with the 14-time World Champion kind of ever since. It’s student has become the master level stuff, but somehow WWE (and TKO) have managed to make this natural slow build turn into a convoluted mess just weeks before ‘Mania takes place in Las Vegas. How, HOW do you manage that? It’s almost impressive levels of neglect when it comes to creative.

Rhodes vs Orton – Legacy vs Legacy

We all know the story of why Cody decided to leave WWE in 2016 during his run as Stardust. Rhodes managed to build himself outside of the company on the indies, New Japan, ROH and of course, All Elite Wrestling. Orton however was a made man in the company from the early to mid-2000s and he has stuck around since.

It’s two completely different trajectories from a second and third-wave generation of performers that are now meeting for the biggest prize in the game at the biggest event of the year. The story writes itself, yet WWE creative has insisted on trying to rewrite that story with twists and turns they did. not. need.

Cody Rhodes wins the WWE Championship

One of the big issues with this build towards Cody vs Randy is how much it has affected another star on SmackDown, namely Drew McIntyre. The Scottish former WWE Champion has never really had the full backing from the back office; he’s used as a guy that faces “the guy” (see CM Punk, Roman Reigns et al) or as a placeholder until something better comes along.

Orton vs Rhodes appeared to be that “something better” in the company’s eyes, but Rhodes winning the WWE Championship and bringing that into this feud just felt extremely forced and (pardon the pun) outta nowhere. American Nightmare vs The Viper did not need the WWE Championship, except the poor ticket sales for WrestleMania 42 thus far prompted the company to hit the panic button and put both Cody and Roman Reigns back in the main event in some fashion across Night 1 and Night 2.

WWE or TKO isn’t seeing the problem

WrestleMania isn’t selling out tickets because they cost too much. Yes you can look at the card and say it’s not exactly stacked, but ‘Mania shows have often sold a decent amount of allocation before even the Rumble has taken place and we know the main feuds heading into the grandaddy of them all. Hell, I bought WrestleMania 29 tickets in November the year prior (what an excellent life decision that was) and watched in genuine pain as I realised we were getting Twice in a Lifetime.

I paid $150 dollars for that ticket, which wasn’t exactly close to the ring but it was close enough that I could see what was actually going on. That price now will either get you full on nosebleeds or a half decent seat at the Hall of Fame. Oh, and that’s just for one night, you’ll be paying double that if you want to see everything that weekend.

Last Minute “Saves” don’t work here

TKO (meaning UFC), has been a business that can “save” a PPV event in the dying embers by adding a fight that fans genuinely want to see. Although a natural storyline can massively add to the allure of a fight card (think McGregor vs Khabib or Jones vs Cormier), if you can add a big name at the last second then sometimes it can feel like it has saved the entire night. Pro Wrestling, however, is not the same as combat sports, because as fans we treat the build to an event as part of the enjoyment of the match that is then presented to us.

Shoehorning Pat McAfee will not sell more tickets to the show, at least not in a big or meaningful way. There was a natural story to tell here, and instead of just letting it happen, TKO decided that they needed to throw everything at the wall because it worked for Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor or Anderson Silva vs. Daniel Cormier. Forget saying this isn’t ballet (which is a dumb phrase btw)…this isn’t MMA.

So what has happened here is WWE dropping years and years of natural build because they wanted to try and sell far-too-expensive tickets. They could get away with it last year when it was billed as John Cena’s last ever WrestleMania match, but there’s nothing on that level to get away with exceedingly expensive tickets in 2026. Making the focal point of a Cody vs Randy an NFL kicker turned commentator turned part-time wrestler won’t fix anything.

Adding “and this and this and this” to a natural storyline has made it rushed over the past few weeks:

  • Cody beats Drew for the title after Randy wins at Elimination Chamber
  • Randy turns Heel
  • Randy reveals he was on the phone with Pat McAfee this whole time
  • Cody compares the reveal that same night to Disco Inferno being the nWo third man.

That’s all since March 6th. That’s 4 major twists in a storyline in a month and we’ve still got a week or two left. Didn’t need it. Didn’t want it. Who is this even for?

Pat McAfee responds to CM Punk’s WWE Raw promo

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On his ESPN show today, Pat McAfee offered a brief response to CM Punk’s WWE Raw promo.

Punk appeared on the April 6 episode of Raw and cut a promo where he mentioned Vince McMahon, advocated for lower WWE ticket prices, and referred to Pat McAfee as “Pat MAGAfee” — calling him a “no-brain hillbilly” after McAfee was inserted into the build for Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42.

The first response from McAfee came via a tweet this morning where he described Punk as “a Punk ass bitch.” McAfee then addressed the promo on The Pat McAfee Show, claiming that — by wanting WWE to lower prices — Punk is admitting that he cannot sell out WrestleMania.

“I open my phone, go to X, go to trending. Is that me? Pat MAGAfee? What? What is that about? CM Punk, last night, called me Pat MAGAfee and attacked a lot of things,” McAfee said. “And then he would lay out why he is not worth the price of admission to WrestleMania. ‘Lower the prices now! I’m not worth that much!’ No worries, Mr. Punk. Randy Orton is here to save everything.”

The “MAGAfee” nickname is in reference to McAfee having President Donald Trump as a guest on The Pat McAfee show on Veteran’s Day last year.

McAfee will be in Orton’s corner for the WrestleMania 42 night one main event when Orton challenges Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The second night’s main event will then see Punk defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns.

In storyline, McAfee wants to save pro wrestling by elevating Orton back to the card, saying Rhodes has failed as champion with WrestleMania not being sold out. The event is being held in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.