WWE Rumors on Pat McAfee, Triple H and Cody Rhodes After Randy Orton's Mystery Caller Revealed

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

New Details on Pat McAfee's Surprise Return

After being revealed as the mystery man Randy Orton had been talking to, Pat McAfee finds himself heavily involved in one of the two main-event matches at WrestleMania 42.

Per PWInsider (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), WWE kept McAfee hidden backstage prior to the first segment of the show:

"According to several talents we spoke with today, Pat McAfee was hidden before the first segment on Smackdown and no one seemed to be aware he was going to be revealed. Michael Hayes and Bobby Roode produced the segment while writer Christian Scovell was internally listed as well."

The show opened with a Randy Orton-Cody Rhodes promo that turned physical, with Rhodes getting the advantage until McAfee showed up and attacked the American Nightmare before delivering a promo about TV ratings and needing to "save the f--king business."

Per BodySlam.net (h/t Carrier), it turns out that McAfee's promo was completely unscripted and led to a change in the show when Rhodes came out later to issue a response.

There's no indication in the reporting that WWE was angry or unhappy with what McAfee said, though it hasn't historically been good for wrestling promotions when someone is cutting a promo telling the audience what they are watching is bad and needs changed.

Update on Triple H's Role in Creative

Even though the McAfee reveal appears to have come from above Triple H's head, the Game remains in charge of the overseeing WWE's creative.

Per Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), Triple H is "still leading the week-to-week creative and the vast majority" of WWE programming.

The report came out after PWInsider Elite (h/t Carrier) reported on Saturday that Ari Emanuel, CEO of WWE's parent company TKO, pushed for McAfee to be featured in a key role for the Orton-Rhodes program leading up to WrestleMania.

Fightful's report also mentioned McAfee was brought in to "boost interest" in WrestleMania and for "corporate synergy" with ESPN, which airs McAfee's show and broadcasts WWE premium live events.

Emanuel, who is also McAfee's agent, is reportedly trying to elevate his client's profile by getting him acting roles in movies and television shows.

Adding him into one of the top matches on WWE's biggest show of the year will also increase the spotlight on McAfee. It was definitely a curveball that came out of left field, but Triple H and the creative team have two weeks remaining to build up the storyline before the payoff at WrestleMania.

Cody Rhodes' Improvised SmackDown Promo

Per BodySlam.net (h/t Carrier), Rhodes was told by people on WWE's creative team to "shoot from the hip" about McAfee and TKO after people in the company began seeing backlash to the McAfee reveal because the promo wasn't on the initial rundown for the show.

In the aftermath of the attack on Rhodes at the start of Friday Night SmackDown, he posted on X midway through the show that he wanted to respond.

Rhodes followed through by cutting a fiery promo comparing the McAfee reveal to if Disco Inferno had been the third man in the nWo instead of Hulk Hogan and making an oblique reference to the start of AEW by saying it "worked out for you last time" when he was released by WWE in 2016.

It was also noted that Rhodes and some within WWE creative have "legitimate issues" with TKO and the way corporate decisions have affected storylines leading up to WrestleMania for the past few years.

Rhodes closed his promo by saying that he is "hearing those voices in his head" and "you don't want to hear what they have to say."

All of this corporate interference has certainly overcomplicated a story that seemed very simple with Orton being attached to Rhodes as part of Legacy when Rhodes was starting his WWE career in 2008, but he never took off and eventually left to become a top guy on the indie scene before returning to WWE as a main-eventer.

Now that the cards have been laid out with this being the final direction for WrestleMania, it's up to Rhodes and Orton to figure out how to make it work. It may not be perfect, but it wouldn't be the first wrestling angle that started out rough and turned out fine on the night of the big show.