Cody Rhodes Destroys Pat McAfee's Set and Reclaims WWE Title in Video Ahead of WrestleMania

During Wednesday's episode of the Pat McAfee Show, Pat McAfee played footage of Cody Rhodes entering his Thunderdome studio and taking back the WWE Championship belt.

The security video show Rhodes walking up to McAfee's set, regaining possession of the belt and destroying pieces of the set with a baseball bat:

During last week's episode of SmackDown, Rhodes was on the receiving end of an attack from his WrestleMania 42 opponent Randy Orton and McAfee, and when Cody was incapacitated, Orton and McAfee left the building with the belt.

A couple of weeks ago on SmackDown, McAfee made his surprise return to WWE programming by hitting Rhodes with a low blow, which allowed Orton to viciously assault The American Nightmare.

McAfee revealed that he was the one Orton had been speaking to on the phone in prior weeks, and he declared his intention to help Orton save pro wrestling by beating Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

By taking Rhodes' title, McAfee and Orton added insult to injury last week, and McAfee rubbed it in holding the championship during Tuesday's episode of his show:

A fed-up Rhodes took it back and damaged McAfee's property in the process, adding some much-needed heat to the rivalry leading up to Saturday's match against Orton in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 42.

McAfee's inclusion in the storyline has been controversial among fans and pundits given that Rhodes and Orton already had plenty of history to pull from and didn't necessarily need involvement from anyone else.

One potential positive, though, is the fact that McAfee has a hugely popular, daily show on ESPN, and he has been spotlighting the upcoming Rhodes vs. Orton match throughout the week.

Many potential viewers who may not be wrestling fans have now been exposed to the storyline, perhaps creating some interest among those viewers in seeing what happens at WrestleMania.

Rhodes' invasion of the Thunderdome figures to be an important plot point during the go-home episode of SmackDown on Friday, which will be the appetizer for Rhodes vs. Orton at WrestleMania on Saturday night.