Media personality Bootleg Kev has shed more light on Jelly Roll’s reported involvement in the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton storyline leading into WrestleMania 42, suggesting the singer himself preferred a very different direction creatively.
Speaking on his podcast, Bootleg Kev claimed Jelly Roll was fully aware that WWE was placing him into a much larger WrestleMania storyline than he personally expected or necessarily wanted. “I’m pretty comfortable in saying this because I think Jelly wanted his story out,” Kev explained.
According to Kev, Jelly Roll repeatedly pushed for involvement in a more comedic wrestling angle rather than the serious, high-profile Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton feud. “He was being very vocal about wanting to be involved in a storyline that is still playing out currently that was more comedic.”
Kev said Jelly Roll believed strongly in the alternate idea and tried pitching it directly backstage. “He was like, ‘Guys, if you put me into this thing, I promise you it’s going to cook. It’s going to f*ck.’”
Kev claimed he personally witnessed Jelly Roll having creative discussions backstage at an episode of WWE SmackDown in Phoenix.
At the same time, Kev acknowledged that turning down a featured WrestleMania role would have been difficult for anyone in Jelly Roll’s position. “If you’re him, you’re like, ‘Hey man, if you’re going to push me into the main event at WrestleMania, I’m not going to say no.’”
Kev also criticized the eventual inclusion of Pat McAfee in the angle, saying the direction never fully clicked for him creatively. “The McAfee thing was just weird. It just made no sense.”
He referenced Orton teasing “more than one family” during a promo and admitted he initially expected a wrestling-related reveal instead. “I’m like, ‘Is it going to be Ted DiBiase Jr.?’ Like, I just didn’t get the McAfee thing.”
The comments add further context to reports that the WrestleMania 42 Rhodes-Orton storyline underwent multiple late creative changes internally, including plans involving Jelly Roll, McAfee, and even shifting directions surrounding Orton’s role after the event.
