Pat McAfee was first choice for WWE WrestleMania 42 angle, more details emerge as to why
While some fans weren’t thrilled with the reveal of Pat McAfee as the mystery confidante to Randy Orton on this past Friday’s WWE SmackDown, there is some new information out Monday as how it came together and why.
On Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that the ESPN sports talk host and occasional WWE broadcaster was “the first choice” for the spot and that it came directly from TKO head and McAfee agent Ari Emanuel. However, McAfee turned down the offer at first.
“That’s where it came from. They wanted celebrity involvement. Originally from what I was told, Pat McAfee was the choice and he turned it down. Then, they were scrambling to get somebody else in the spot, and then, obviously, they were able to make a deal with him. So he did it and he was there,” Meltzer said.
That follows reporting from both PWInsider and Fightful that said Emanuel was involved and that the deal was done for “corporate synergy” purposes between WWE and ESPN.
McAfee attacked Cody Rhodes on Friday’s SmackDown during a segment with Orton, then cutting a promo in which he referenced a record-low SmackDown rating (apparently talking about Cagematch data), that WrestleMania 42 still had tickets left, and that he and Orton were going to save the wrestling business.
“This was not a WWE creative move. This was not a Paul Levesque move. It came over their heads and there’s a lot of people not happy about it at all. One person told me it was the single most counterproductive thing the company has done in a long time, but there you go,” Meltzer said.
As referenced earlier, McAfee’s show is on ESPN, the same network which will air next weekend’s WrestleMania 42 as part of their domestic premium live event contract. McAfee is expected to be a major promotional hub for the PLE, raising questions as to how he will handle his heel persona when he is doing interviews.
McAfee said after Friday night’s show that is Orton didn’t win the WWE title from Rhodes at WrestleMania 42, he will never be seen in WWE ever again.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.