Pat McAfee’s involvement in the feud between Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes and “The Viper” Randy Orton sparked considerable backlash from both fans and industry veterans. McAfee was slated to team up with Orton to face Rhodes and Jelly Roll at Backlash.
However, after Orton turned on McAfee during the WrestleMania 42 Night One main event, resulting in a loss for their team, a pre-match stipulation required the former RAW commentator to leave the wrestling business. Earlier this week, McAfee bid farewell to the pro wrestling world, stating that the business doesn’t need saving and confirming his official exit from the storyline.
Dave Meltzer discussed this in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, noting that it was McAfee’s decision to withdraw from the storyline due to the overwhelming backlash from fans. Meltzer mentioned that both Jelly Roll and McAfee recognized the negative sentiments surrounding their involvement and chose to step back.
Meanwhile, Jelly Roll, who sent McAfee crashing through a table with an elbow drop at WrestleMania, addressed the former WWE RAW commentator in a YouTube vlog. He admitted that neither man belonged in the WrestleMania main event and suggested they should focus on their strengths instead.
Meltzer said (courtesy of F4WOnline.com), “With the Pat McAfee thing, he opted out, so that’s what actually led to everything changing. That’s why the tag match from Backlash was taken off. Orton and McAfee against Jelly Roll and Cody Rhodes, which Cody Rhodes may not be okay for Backlash anyway, you know, with that eye. They were very cognizant of what has been said about celebrities in wrestling, and both of them love wrestling, and I think that they realized that there was a lot of negative sentiment about it. And they listened, and they understood, and I think they saw the fan side of it. And I think that that’s what led to this. I was told that the belief was that it was due to the reaction that he pulled out. It wasn’t like anything else.”
