Pat McAfee reportedly turned down his WWE return plans at first ahead of WrestleMania 42.
After a lot of speculation, WWE revealed Pat McAfee as the voice behind Randy Orton’s mysterious phone calls on last week’s episode of SmackDown. The segment received negative reaction from fans, who questioned the logic behind McAfee’s inclusion in the storyline.
Following the segment, reports noted that the company’s creative team didn’t decide to insert Pat McAfee into the Undisputed WWE Championship storyline for WrestleMania 42. Instead, the decision reportedly came directly from corporate leadership at TKO Group Holdings, possibly from CEO Ari Emmanuel. Now, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline has also reported the same.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Pat McAfee was the first choice for the storyline and that Ari Emmanuel made the decision because he wanted celebrity involvement. However, Meltzer noted that McAfee initially turned down the role, leaving WWE scrambling for a replacement until they were able to reach a deal with the ESPN personality.
“Pat McAfee was the first choice and it was from Ari Emanuel, that’s where it came from. They wanted celebrity involvement.
“Originally, Pat McAfee was the choice and he turned it down, and 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.” [H/T WrestleTalk]
Cody Rhodes appeared to take a shot at TKO and Ari Emmanuel when he addressed Pat McAfee’s inclusion in the storyline in a promo using an nWo reference on SmackDown. McAfee then took to social media to announce that if Randy Orton loses at WrestleMania 42, he will never return to WWE.
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