More details have emerged regarding Pat McAfee’s return to WWE for one of the top storylines heading into this year’s WrestleMania.
As seen on WWE SmackDown last week, the former WWE Raw color-commentator made a surprise appearance on the show, being revealed as the ‘mystery caller’ that Randy Orton had been talking to for the past few weeks.
Following the show, reports surfaced regarding the call for McAfee’s return came from TKO CEO and McAfee’s agent, Ari Emanuel, not the WWE creative team.
In an update, Dave Meltzer shed some more light on the behind-the-scenes dealings that led to McAfee’s return during the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio at F4WOnline.com.
“That’s where it came from,” Meltzer confirmed. “They wanted celebrity involvement. Originally from what I was told, Pat McAfee was the choice and he turned it down. Then, they were scrambling to get somebody else in the spot, and then, obviously, they were able to make a deal with him. So he did it and he was there.”
The reaction to McAfee’s return and some of the comments he made during the promo, such as the two-five-foot midgets having Iron Man matches every week, as well as how WrestleMania ticket sales are struggling and SmackDown ratings are dropping.
“This was not a WWE creative move,” Meltzer continued. “This was not a Paul Levesque move. It came over their heads and there’s a lot of people [are] not happy about it at all. One person told me it was the single most counterproductive thing the company has done in a long time.”
Pat McAfee will be in Randy Orton’s corner for his match against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in what is expected to be the main event of night one of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18, 2026, live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV.
As noted, McAfee upped the ante heading into the bout, declaring that WWE fans will no longer see or hear from him if Orton loses to Rhodes on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 4/18 and 4/19 for live WrestleMania 42 Results coverage.
