Real Reason For Pat McAfee & Randy Orton’s Alliance; WWE Internal Reaction Revealed
Pat McAfee turned out to be Randy Orton’s secret ally.
For weeks, Orton had been talking to a mystery caller who had been advising him. On the April 3, 2026 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, it was revealed that The Viper’s secret ally was none other than former football punter and NFL star Pat McAfee.
According to reports, McAfee’s involvement in Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ storyline was a directive that came from TKO Executive Chairman Ari Emanuel. It is believed that Emanuel sees the popular ESPN personality as someone who could boost SmackDown ratings and generate more interest in the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton storyline.
WWE Had Mixed Internal Reaction To Pat McAfee & Randy Orton’s Alliance
On Saturday evening, following SmackDown, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that TKO made this move to “boost corporate synergy” between WWE and ESPN.
Sapp added that there was a mixed reaction to Pat’s involvement, and many people within WWE were not in favor of this direction and felt that this angle generated unnecessary heat from the WWE Universe.
“We’re told that the move was made in an effort to boost interest in the show, and for “corporate synergy” between WWE and ESPN.
“There were a number of people who weren’t in favor of the direction of the ‘this place sucks’ angle of the promo, and feel that those rarely if ever work in pro wrestling”.
“The response internally that we’ve heard was mixed, but the company was well aware of the reaction online. Some internally chalked the reaction up to ‘heat,’ while others said it wasn’t the kind of heat the company needed.” H/T Sports Illustrated
Pat McAfee’s return on WWE SmackDown saw him cut an unscripted promo, where he called the current WWE product “soft” and criticized low ratings and poor WrestleMania 42 ticket sales.
McAfee’s promo reportedly blindsided Triple H, and as a result, he was forced to send Cody Rhodes out to the ring for an unplanned segment later that night, where Rhodes delivered a shoot-style promo to regain control of the show’s narrative.
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