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Pat McAfee’s Reveal As Randy Orton’s Ally Left WWE Official Stunned: “It Was A Shock To Me”

By Harikesh Shekhar • Published Apr 17, 2026 10:08 EDT
Pat McAfee WWE SD
Pat McAfee WWE SD - Photo by WWE via Getty Images

This WWE Official witnessed Pat McAfee’s surprise entrance a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown and, like the live crowd and his colleague, was left in shock.

Former WWE commentator and NFL Punter, Pat McAfee, shocked the WWE Universe when he came out to attack WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and aligned with Rhodes’ WrestleMania 42 opponent Randy Orton.

He revealed that he was the mystery caller Randy Orton was seen speaking with and the one who facilitated Orton’s heel turn, unleashing the Viper’s darkest side.

He then made a business-related statement, saying that WWE’s current product isn’t as good as its glory days during the Attitude Era and pointed a finger at Cody Rhodes, naming him the number 1 reason behind it because, according to him, The American Nightmare is a “corporate champion”.

Rhodes came out later that same night to cut an impromptu promo in which he bashed McAfee and WWE owners TKO, who helped include the former NFL star in the WWE Title feud, in an attempt to shift more WrestleMania 42 tickets.

The following week, CM Punk blasted McAfee in a signature “pipebomb” promo, asking McAfee’s bosses, TKO, to lower WrestleMania 42 ticket prices. The internet backlash from fans and critics has been severe as well, with McAfee’s inclusion quickly becoming the most ill-received storyline in the company’s history.

With so many of the business’s internal problems being discussed openly via promo segments involving McAfee, Punk, and Rhodes, it has become hard for fans and even WWE employees to discern what’s real and what’s fake.

One such WWE name who is facing this problem is RAW color commentator Wade Barrett, who spoke on the matter recently.

Wade Barrett Says Pat McAfee Angle Shocked Him

Barrett revealed that he had a blank sheet for the Pat McAfee segment and was in shock to see him being included.

He was also surprised at some of the statements McAfee made, in which he threw shade at people that Barrett said didn’t deserve to be derided. He said that his co-commentator Joe Tessitore was also in shock.

He went on to say that he enjoyed Rhodes and Punk’s rebuttals that followed.

I was very surprised when Pat McAfee came out with the Randy Orton stuff on SmackDown. Sometimes there are blank pages on the sheet that I get as a commentator. That was blank. I had no idea Pat McAfee was coming out. I didn’t know what he was gonna say, so it was a shock to me, and it was a shock to Joe Tess on commentary, too.

Barrett said that he didn’t understand Pat McAfee’s statement about 40-minute Iron Man matches taking place weekly on WWE TV.

We were caught just as cold as the entire audience, and I was scratching my head. I didn’t really understand why Pat was saying certain things. He was taking shots at people who didn’t deserve to have a shot taken at them. He was also coming up with some references to 40-minute Ironman matches, and I don’t know what show he was watching there. So, yeah, I was caught cold by it. I enjoyed Cody when he came out and issued his immediate retort.

And then I was laughing so hard when I watched CM Punk on Raw last Monday, one of the funniest promos and retorts that I think I’ve seen in a long time. “I think the brilliance of this whole situation, it’s gone from an initial head scratcher to now the lines have been completely blurred, and I don’t know what is storyline, what is real life. Are they angry?

Barrett concluded that the entire thing was probably done to create buzz, and in that, WWE succeeded.

I think when you get to that point, it just creates buzz, and I think the three of those guys you just mentioned have created some serious buzz going into WrestleMania. (source: Sporf)

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