SURPRISE! Pat McAfee’s Alliance With Randy Orton Wasn’t Triple H’s Call
The new WWE SmackDown alliance of Randy Orton and Pat McAfee came from above Triple H, according to reports.
Going into WWE SmackDown in St. Louis, the evil Randy Orton was supposed to reveal who he had been speaking to on the phone, someone advising him on his recent heelish actions towards Cody Rhodes.
In the opening segment of the show, Orton got into a brawl with his WrestleMania 42 opponent, the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, and then former WWE announcer/wrestler and ESPN sports show host Pat McAfee went into the ring wearing one of Orton’s RKO shirts. When McAfee went into the ring, he kicked Rhodes in the groin. Since McAfee is a former NFL punter, the idea is that his kick to the groin might hurt more than an average person.
For the next five minutes or so, Orton beat up Rhodes with a steel chair while McAfee did a promo about how the pro wrestling business has changed and isn’t like it used to be, complaining about what WWE is like now.
During his speech, McAfee said that he was the one on the phone telling Orton he needed to kill everything. McAfee said that the business Cody is leading is terrible and Orton is going to “save the f**king business.” The fans cheered that and chanted “Randy” for Orton, even though Orton is supposed to be the heel in the story.
Pat McAfee Being Inserted Into Randy Orton-Cody Rhodes Story Came From TKO Boss
Following Pat McAfee’s shocking WWE return as a heel aligned with Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown, it was reported that the decision to go this route in the angle was made by somebody above WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
It was reported by PWInsider Elite that McAfee joining forces with Orton was a call made by top TKO officials, with Ari Emanuel’s name being mentioned by a source, although that is not confirmed. Emanuel is the CEO of Endeavor and the CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group, which owns WWE. Emanuel is also close to McAfee.
The report adds that the angle was pitched to WWE’s creative team by TKO’s upper management, and it was approved by Triple H, who likely was just doing what he was told by his bosses.
According to Bodyslam+ Patreon, TKO’s Ari Emanuel believes that McAfee is a huge star who will help elevate the Orton-Rhodes story to get even more attention on the rivalry. By involving McAfee, it would lead to McAfee putting over the story on his popular ESPN/YouTube sports show and generate more interest in SmackDown.
There will likely be more to the story in the days and weeks ahead. WrestleMania 42 takes place on April 18 & April 19 in Las Vegas.