Cody Rhodes Takes Aim At Pat McAfee For WrestleMania 42 Involvement
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently criticized Pat McAfee's involvement in his WrestleMania 42 storyline with Randy Orton. 'The American Nightmare' expressed frustration with the broadcaster's sudden insertion into a storyline built on nearly two decades of history.
Speaking on Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast, Rhodes invoked the famous Mariah Carey meme when asked about McAfee.
"I'm just going to do the Mariah Carey answer moving forward on Pat McAfee. I don't know him."
Cody Rhodes emphasized the rich history between himself and Orton that made the NFL legend's addition feel out of place.
"Randy Orton, who I'm wrestling at WrestleMania, we have like almost two decades of history between each other. He was my mentor."
He continued:
"We were on screen together as part of his group, Legacy. He had my dad's last match, my first match in the company is Randy. There was a lot of rich story material, and then we inserted Pat McAfee."
The WWE champion suggested McAfee's team needs someone willing to push back on his ideas.
"What I would say is right now, what I've seen is everyone around Pat McAfee, his orbit, probably someone needs to say no every now and then. You need that one guy in the room to be like, 'I don't know, man. Jumping into the WrestleMania main event?'"
Rhodes also questioned McAfee's references to the Attitude Era during the segment.
"I heard him talk about the Attitude Era and I'm thinking oh man, I don't think he knows. [It was] almost 30 years ago," Rhodes noted. "If you're part of the last four years, you kind of feel like why are we talking about this? We're playing in this game. Why are we talking about this?"
McAfee's involvement has drawn criticism from fans who cite his lack of connection to either Rhodes or Orton. His SmackDown appearance was viewed by many as more focused on promoting WrestleMania ticket sales than advancing the world title storyline.
Rhodes faces Orton for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42.
