‘The Worst Received Thing In Wrestling’ – Cody Rhodes Addresses Fan Reaction To Pat McAfee’s Addition To WrestleMania 42 Storyline

Published: 2 hours ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 2 hours ago by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

‘The Worst Received Thing In Wrestling’ – Cody Rhodes Addresses Fan Reaction To Pat McAfee’s Addition To WrestleMania 42 Storyline

Cody Rhodes has shared his honest thoughts on the fan reaction to Pat McAfee being added to the WrestleMania 42 WWE Championship storyline.

The Night 1 main event of WrestleMania 42 will see Randy Orton challenge for Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship.

Leading into the match, Orton was seen having telephone conversations with an unseen individual, with hints aplenty dropped as to who that name could be.

Despite speculation that it could be a prominent name, particularly with references to a wrestling royal family, it would be revealed as Pat McAfee.

Fan reaction has been rather negative to the inclusion of McAfee, and Rhodes has addressed this backlash in an interview on SI Media with Jimmy Traina.

Believing that, in terms of fan reaction, McAfee’s addition to the storyline has been the worst-received thing in the history of wrestling, he explained why he’s not worried heading into WrestleMania 42, saying:

“This is the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling. Gobbledy Gooker was one. Shockmaster was up there, but that was kind of funny.

“Your fandom, my fandom, independent wrestling fans, casual fans, cinema fans. Every single fan who’s ever seen wrestling has received this like ‘Huh? what?’

“Okay, so, worst received thing in the history of wrestling, but I want to say something on the bright side because I have to be an optimist in general.

“On the bright side of this, Pat McAfee is a huge star, and Pat McAfee is one of the faces, if not the face of ESPN. His College Game Day stuff is legendary, he’s a great athlete, and he loves wrestling. He’s just trying to help our party out, so I respect him and I respect that.

“On the other side of it, I am attuned to the online audience. Not just the online audience, every bit of the audience.

“I look at that and ask myself – like when I was doing Stardust or when I was getting a bone here and there on the way up – I look at that and ask myself, how can we make this something? Why I’m not worried about it at all, is because Randy Orton is the guy I’m wrestling.

“Randy Orton is arguably the best he’s ever been. In the last year, before even Randy turned on me, there were crowds that were reacting to Randy in such an insanely positive way because they were feeling love. It was a respect thing.

“They saw John (Cena) go. Randy’s not going yet, but you can tell he’s the hottest he’s ever been. I watched him wrestle The Undertaker the other day where he wrestles so differently… he might be the best he’s ever been. That, to me, means, bell-to-bell, we’re gonna be just fine.

“Now, Pat. Where that fits in? I am like you. I’m excited to stand at the plate and, we’re talking about these guys, if you want that spot, that’s it. There’s others who run from that. John Cena dealt with this for years and years and years, and I’m dealing with it, too.

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The Worst Received Thing In The History Of Wrestling

Not everything to come out of the creative process is going to be a hit, no matter which company happens to be delivering their plans to the fans.

With Rhodes referencing The Shockmaster, it’s worth looking back at that particular moment and how it brought a rapid end to a WCW character portrayed by Fred Ottman, better known to WWE fans of old as Tugboat or Typhoon.

The fall through the door wasn’t Ottman’s fault, nor was it WCW creatives, but it has formed a lasting memory and a touchstone for moments that, literally in this case, fell flat on their face.

McAfee is making the most of the opportunity presented to him through his words and actions, promising to leave the wrestling world if Orton doesn’t win (and become the new Undisputed WWE Champion) at WrestleMania 42, but already has ‘nuclear heat’ among the fandom, according to Joe Tessitore.

There was no doubt a role that McAfee, who had been a respected commentary partner on WWE television and competed in the ring on a handful of occasions, at WrestleMania 42, but the fan reactions strongly indicates that this wasn’t it.

A past report has noted that McAfee wasn’t a shoe-in for WrestleMania 42, with Ari Emanuel, the TKO CEO, playing a part in securing the star’s services. Being inserted into proceedings from up on high hasn’t gone down well, with the same report suggest that, internally, the reaction in WWE was “this is stupid”.

Regardless of how fans or those inside WWE may reflect upon McAfee in a main event position, it’s happening, and April 18 will be the night where we either never see him again or he sticks around for months to come.