Randy Orton & Pat McAfee Vs. Cody Rhodes & Jelly Roll Planned For WWE Backlash

Published: Apr 10, 2026 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Apr 10, 2026 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.

Randy Orton & Pat McAfee Vs. Cody Rhodes & Jelly Roll Planned For WWE Backlash

With WrestleMania 42 just days away, plans for Randy Orton & Pat McAfee Vs. Cody Rhodes & Jelly Roll at WWE Backlash are being made.

Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 will see Cody Rhodes defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton, with Pat McAfee there to support the challenger.

Regardless of the outcome of the match, it appears plans are in place for Orton and McAfee to team up at WWE Backlash, taking on Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel has plans for McAfee beyond just the WWE, with events at a “key match” set to take place at Backlash on May 9.

Dave Meltzer reports that Emanuel’s plans would see McAfee team with Orton at WWE Backlash, explaining:

“As part of the deal, McAfee will team with Orton against Rhodes & Jelly Roll coming out of WrestleMania and be a key match at the Backlash PPV on 5/9, at least as of plans that were confirmed to us by multiple people and were still in play at press time.”

Emanuel is also reportedly pitching McAfee as a “new Stallone-type action movie star for Hollywood”.

The involvement of McAfee is reportedly because Emanuel “wants to make sure ratings for WrestleMania on ESPN television are high so using a major ESPN personality in one of the main event angles makes sense.”

The TKO executive initially apparently wanted McAfee in Orton’s corner, while Jelly Roll, who recently competed in his second WWE match with a victory over Kit Wilson, would be in the corner of Rhodes at WrestleMania 42.

As previously reported, McAfee turned down the original attempt to secure his services for WrestleMania 42, before going on to accept the deal.

With McAfee previously stating that he will never appear on wrestling TV again if Randy Orton loses, these plans suggest that The Viper could win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42.

Of course, this isn’t a guarantee, with there being plenty of storyline ways to bring McAfee back in time or Backlash if Rhodes is victorious, the simplest being McAfee saying “I lied”.

Tarnishing The Pat McAfee Legacy

Okay, ‘legacy’ may be a stretch for a name associated with WWE since 2018, but Pat McAfee has had an arguably positive effect with his appearances, be they on commentary, as an analyst, or in the ring.

Clearly very enthusiastic about WWE, McAfee brings that energy to everything he has done, whether it be challenging GUNTHER at last year’s Backlash or sitting at the commentary desk alongside the veteran voice of Michael Cole.

This run, however, has been met with much less enthusiasm from the WWE fans, following weeks of teasing about who was on the end of the phone to Randy Orton. There were clues, including the “wrestling royal family” comment, which makes the reveal of McAfee even more of a curveball.

Maybe it’ll all work out, and we can look forward to a heel Randy Orton and a dastardly Pat McAfee, before he gets pushed into the “Stallone-type” that Ari Emanuel envisages.

There’s not long to wait, with WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas now just over a week away.