WWE Rumors on Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Pat McAfee, Jelly Roll, WrestleMania Openers & NXT Call-Ups

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

Details on WWE's Plans for Rhodes, Orton, McAfee and Jelly Roll

Following Pat McAfee's surprising introduction into the rivalry between WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton last week, there are reportedly plans in place for both him and country music star Jelly Roll to be part of the program at and beyond WrestleMania 42.

During a segment involving Rhodes and Orton on last week's episode of SmackDown, McAfee shockingly showed up, hit Cody with a low blow and cut a scathing promo about Rhodes and the state of WWE.

With McAfee joining forces with Orton, it is seemingly a foregone conclusion that he be there to support The Viper at WrestleMania 42, but Rhodes reportedly may have some backup in his own right.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Ops), WWE is planning for Jelly Roll to be in Rhodes' corner at WrestleMania.

While that may prove to be an unpopular decision in the eyes of many wrestling fans, it does at least make some sense in terms of Jelly Roll having history with Orton.

They teamed together last year at SummerSlam, and Jelly Roll was on the wrong end of an Orton attack when he tried to reason with him after Orton turned heel on Rhodes recently.

WrestleMania reportedly won't be the end of the Rhodes vs. Orton rivalry, nor will it conclude the involvement of McAfee and Jelly Roll.

Per Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), plans call for a tag team match at the Backlash premium live event in May, pitting Rhodes and Jelly Roll against Orton and McAfee.

WWE still has some time to get people on board with the direction of the Rhodes vs. Orton storyline before the match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 on April 18, but early returns have largely been negative.

A source within WWE expressed their belief to Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists) that McAfee's promo last week was "very counterproductive" and "the most counterproductive thing in a long time."

Much of McAfee's promo focused on the shortcomings of WWE, which typically isn't something the company wants to highlight.

CM Punk did some similar things during a promo this week on Raw, mentioning the need for WWE parent company TKO to lower ticket prices.

While making those issues part of a storyline could potentially compel WWE to address them, it also runs the risk of alienating fans.

WWE Reportedly Chooses Openers for WrestleMania Night 1 and 2

After announcing which matches will be part of the Night 1 and Night 2 cards for WrestleMania 42, WWE has reportedly picked which bouts will open the show on each night as well.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), current plans call for the six-man tag team match pitting LA Knight and The Usos against Logan Paul, Austin Theory and IShowSpeed to open Night 1, and Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi to lead things off on Night 2.

While the main event is typically the most important match, a strong argument can be made that the opener is next in line in terms of significance.

The goal of any premium live event, let alone WrestleMania, is to get the live crowd involved and engaged from the start, and a quality opener goes a long way toward accomplishing that.

Although they are different types of matches, the two contests reported by WrestleVotes to be the WrestleMania 42 openers both have a chance to set a positive tone.

The six-man tag should get the crowd excited based on the fact that The Usos and Knight are some of the most popular Superstars in the company. Fans will also be invested in Paul, Theory and Speed getting their comeuppance.

As for Lesnar vs. Femi, that may be the most highly anticipated match on the entire WrestleMania card for many since it will see two of the most physically impressive Superstars in WWE lock horns for the first time.

Since Lesnar vs. Femi isn't a possibility for the Night 2 main event due to the presence of Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk, the leadoff spot may be the best spot for it, as it is a virtual guarantee to generate a hot crowd.

WWE Reportedly Considering Multiple NXT Call-Ups

After recently calling up several key performers from NXT, WWE is reportedly considering a handful of more call-ups for after WrestleMania 42.

According to Meltzer (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), the likes of Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, Blake Monroe and Jacy Jayne have all been "heavily discussed" for a call-up.

Meltzer added that Sol Ruca "made a very favorable impression" as well when she wrestled a match against Bayley at Saturday Night's Main Event in December.

Over the past few months, the WWE roster has raided NXT of some of its biggest stars, including Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans and Jordynne Grace.

That has forced NXT to adjust and push some different wrestlers, and it has also further elevated some of the veterans who remained in developmental.

If WWE calls up any or all of Page, Saints, Monroe and Jayne, it would result in NXT having to dip even deeper into its talent pool.

While none of them are current titleholders, both Page and Saints are former NXT champions, Monroe is a former women's North American champion and Jayne held the NXT Women's Championship twice.

NXT still has some established stars such as Tony D'Angelo, Joe Hendry, Lola Vice, Zaria and Ruca to pick up the slack, plus some younger, less-experienced performers who are clearly on the rise like Myles Borne and Kendal Grey.

Ultimately, NXT is meant to prepare WWE Superstars for the big time, so if the WWE decision-makers believe they are ready to get called up, that is what needs to happen in the near future.