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Pat McAfee References AEW While Calling WWE Fans “Dumb Marks”

By John Canton • Published Apr 17, 2026 15:50 EDT
Pat McAfee WWE SmackDown
Pat McAfee WWE SmackDown - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 3 during SmackDown at Enterprise Center (Photo by WWE/WWE)

Pat McAfee is riling up WWE fans again, and this time, he even mentioned AEW.

It was two weeks ago, on the April 3rd edition of WWE SmackDown, when ESPN host/former WWE announcer Pat McAfee returned to the company as a heel ally of Randy Orton.

The story is that McAfee has gotten into Orton’s head by telling him he needs to be The Viper again and save WWE from Cody Rhodes becoming the WWE Champion.

Many fans have complained about the McAfee story because it came out of nowhere, and McAfee had been a babfyace in WWE in the past.

At WWE World in Las Vegas, Pat McAfee appeared on the video screen from his sports show in Indianapolis. McAfee delivered a promo that not only insulted WWE fans but also mentioned AEW as well.

“Surprise, nerds! The surprise that you thought was maybe going to be your favorite wrestler of all time. Maybe, maybe somebody from AEW was going to sign with WWE at WrestleMania and you marks were going to get zipper burn all over yourself. Instead, Well, well, well, Pat McAfee is smarter than all of you dumb marks yet again.

Well, I got another surprise for you. What me and Randy are about to do to your entire WrestleMania weekend is something that you can’t prepare for, you can’t control, and you fat slob sitting right up close on the gate You’re gonna be crying your ass off as you leave WrestleMania knowing that what was, what you all let happen, is over. And Randy Orton is about to run this industry back to what it’s supposed to be out of your dumbass hands. Have a great WrestleMania weekend.”

It’s obviously a rare thing for somebody in WWE to mention AEW in any capacity, so the fact that McAfee did it could upset other wrestlers in the company.

JBL Supports Pat McAfee As A Heel In WWE

WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield, aka JBL, knows what it is like to get booed on WWE TV since he was a terrific heel WWE Champion. During a recent podcast appearance, JBL praised Pat McAfee for what he’s done as an ally of Orton.

“It just blows me away when a guy gets heat like this, people go, ‘Oh, no, no, no. It’s go away heat.’ No, it’s not. You’re talking about it. If it was go away heat, you would not be talking about it because you would not like it. You would not even mention it.

It’s real heat. And people look out there, they want to have heels to my fans. They want to have heels, but they want to be in on it. They go, ‘Hey, listen. I, you know, he’s a great heel.’

If you’re saying somebody is a great heel, they’re not a heel because you realize they’re playing something. When you come out there, and you’re able to strip away the veneer of that person’s playing a heel to that person’s just an a***ole, and I don’t like them, that’s when you’re winning.”

It’s not known whether Pat McAfee will appear on SmackDown again this week, since he could fly from Indianapolis to Las Vegas and make it in time.

Here’s a full rundown of the SmackDown lineup for April 17th in Las Vegas,

  • Cody Rhodes has a message for Randy Orton one night before WrestleMania
  • How will Jacob Fatu respond to Drew McIntyre’s brutal attack before WrestleMania?
  • Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal returns
  • Tiffany Stratton faces Jordynne Grace to determine the next challenger for the Women’s US Title
  • The Wyatt Sicks battle The MFTs in an Eight-Man Tag Team Street Fight
  • Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss team up to face Bayley & Lyra Valkyria

That will lead into WrestleMania 42 on April 18 & 19, also in Las Vegas.