‘The Business Doesn’t Need To Be Saved After All’ – Pat McAfee Says Wrestling Is Now Behind Him After Randy Orton Loss To Cody Rhodes At WWE WrestleMania 42

WWE/The Pat McAfee Show

Pat McAfee has bid farewell to the wrestling business after Randy Orton’s loss to Cody Rhodes at WWE WrestleMania 42.

Despite having two decades of history together as friends and rivals, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship WrestleMania 42 feud became centred around Pat McAfee, after the former NFL star revealed himself to be the one who had fuelled The Viper’s heel turn from the shadows.

This reveal was met with widespread negativity from the WWE audience, talent in the locker room and Cody Rhodes himself, who described it as the “worst received thing in wrestling” ahead of WrestleMania 42.

Despite the backlash to McAfee’s involvement, WWE still pushed ahead with having him corner Orton for his main event match with Rhodes at WrestleMania 42 Saturday.

Thankfully for fans however, McAfee’s influence was nullified as he was both out through a table by Jelly Roll before the match began, and later RKO’d by Orton after he had returned in a referee shirt in an attempt to replace the downed Charles Robinson.

The distraction of McAfee led to Cody hitting a Cross Rhodes on Orton, with “The American Nightmare” retaining his Undisputed WWE Title over his mentor.

With McAfee vowing several weeks ago that he would leave wrestling for good should Orton fail to defeat Rhodes, all eyes were on today’s Pat McAfee Show to find out what he would say regarding Cody’s win, Randy Orton’s betrayal and his own future in WWE.

Reflecting on the events of the weekend, McAfee said:

“It was quite the Vegas weekend you know. The thing I didn’t think was possible was actually possible. Randy Orton lost. And in doing so, tried to break my neck after my neck had already been busted by Jelly Roll’s big ass, crashing through the commentator’s desk, just feet away from Michael Cole and the boys…

“Cody Rhodes is clapping obviously everybody thinks he’s a hero and he might be. This guy just might be. I don’t know how he was able to get that win over Randy Orton who’s everything perfect with professional wrestling.

“Cody Rhodes somehow hits the Cross Rhodes on Randy. You know why? Because Randy was a little bit distracted. Because Randy wanted to snap my neck in half. I’m already in a neck brace. In the back the doctor said, “You need to keep stability in your neck.’ I said, ‘Well I’m gonna go ref just in case something happens.’ Charles Robinson goes down, Randy attacks me, maybe he didn’t know it was me. (It) Felt like he knew. (Points to RKO Everybody shirt) It said everybody.

“First phone call after we decided we have to save the business I told him kill everybody. That’s what I told Jelly Roll, Jelly Roll was like, ‘You told him to attack me,’ I was like, ‘No I told him to kill everybody, I didn’t know you were gonna be sitting out there.’ He killed me too.

“That’s what happens when you dance with The Viper, The Apex Predator. All I was trying to do was motivate and inspire. I was trying to tell him that for future generations of wrestling, we need you to go ahead and get the strap, get the title, get to the top of the card so that everybody else can follow then bam and it ends with that (an RKO).

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McAfee, who was still sporting a neck brace, would then share an update on his health, saying:

“People are asking and I appreciate, C2 to C5 we got scans coming back tomorrow morning… I’ve been wearing this thing since I got Jelly Rolled. They ran scans I’ll get them back tomorrow morning, I’m very grateful and hopeful that I’ll be completely healthy but there’s some soreness obviously. Got some cuts and bruises too, hand right here (is) cut I think that’s because the table exploded. Ok I’ve got some shrapnel. Somehow got a splinter in my crotch, I think it’s because of what happened with the table. There’s a lot that happened out there.”

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While he had spoken so passionately about how much the wrestling business needed to be saved before WrestleMania 42, McAfee admitted that the business was in fact fine after all, and in good hands with Cody Rhodes:

“So I would like to let everybody know, although the mission was supposed to be Randy Orton saving the business. I think what happened instead was Cody Rhodes proved he is the one.

“Cody Rhodes is obviously very admirable. Randy Orton is still everything I said he was, but the good news is, the business doesn’t need to be saved after all, and good for them.”

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McAfee then closed the book on his wrestling journey, recalling his path from the independents, to NXT, to WWE, before heaping more praise on Cody Rhodes:

“And for me, I finished my story. I came up in the indies IWA East Coast. I was a wrestler, trained by Rip Rogers. Trampoline wrestling, indie wrestling, undefeated. I went through developmental, NXT, commentated and wrestled down there. Get (to) WWE, commentated, lucky to do that. Did pre-shows, lucky to do that. Wrestled, lucky to do that. Reffed, lucky to do that. Managed, lucky to do that. It’s been a hell of a run, thank you wrestling. 

“It’s my fault, because as I was trying to motivate Randy all I wanted him to know was everything else was s**t and he was the king. And it turns out The American Nightmare has still got the throne. That guy’s the real deal brother. I won’t press any charges (for Cody Rhodes trashing his studio). That whole thing’s done. All behind us.

“The wrestling business (is) kind of (in the) rear-view mirror. To the wrestling business I’d like to say: thank you.”

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• pat mcafee
• WrestleMania 42
• wwe
• WrestleMania
• Randy Orton
• Cody Rhodes

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