Pat McAfee’s involvement in the feud between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, culminating in their main event match at WrestleMania 42 Night One, led to significant backlash from fans and industry veterans.
In the closing stages of the match, Orton delivered an RKO to McAfee, effectively removing him from the equation. Before the match, McAfee had stated that he would not appear on a wrestling show if Orton failed to win his 15th World Championship at WrestleMania.
Following Orton’s loss to Rhodes, McAfee seems to be done with WWE, a situation he recently confirmed. There had been previous reports suggesting that WWE was planning a match featuring Randy Orton and Pat McAfee against Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll at Backlash on May 9. However, after the events of WrestleMania, that plan appears unlikely.
In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that sources within WWE indicated that the overwhelming negative reaction to Pat McAfee’s involvement led the company to reconsider this storyline. He also mentioned that Jelly Roll was present and participated but was not involved in the finish, and there was nothing to suggest that a tag match was forthcoming.
Bodyslam+ had previously reported that Orton was initially set to win his 15th WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 42, but those plans changed in the weeks leading up to the event.
