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WWE Opinion

WWE Is Talking About Pat McAfee Instead of Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton — And That’s a Problem

By Matt Published April 13, 2026 at 8:12 am Updated April 15, 2026

WrestleMania 42 is days away, and somehow the biggest talking point isn’t Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton — it’s Pat McAfee. That alone tells you something is off. This is supposed to be a generational main event, built on 20 years of history, and yet the loudest reaction coming out of SmackDown is frustration over a “big announcement” that turned into discounted tickets.

Let that sink in.

Last Friday, WWE teased a major reveal from McAfee. Instead, fans got a 25% discount on WrestleMania tickets. That might make sense from a business standpoint, but from a storytelling perspective? It completely undercut the moment. This is WrestleMania week. You’re supposed to be selling the biggest match on the card — not reminding people tickets aren’t moving fast enough.

And that’s where this whole thing starts to fall apart.

Because this isn’t just about one bad segment. It’s about what WWE has chosen to focus on during the most important week of the year.

Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton should be carrying this entire show. This is mentor vs. protégé. Legacy vs. legacy. A full-circle moment that even Rhodes himself has called deeply personal — “incredibly real” and “as real as it gets” heading into WrestleMania. This is the kind of story WWE used to build entire eras around.

Instead, it feels like background noise.

The actual storyline hasn’t been bad on paper. Orton winning his way into the match. The betrayal angle. The attack. The championship stakes. Even the recent SmackDown angle where Orton and McAfee left Rhodes laid out had real potential.

And then McAfee walked off with Cody’s Undisputed WWE Championship belt.

Not Orton. McAfee.

Think about that for a second. Randy Orton is the challenger. Randy Orton is the one who spent weeks dismantling Cody Rhodes physically and mentally. Randy Orton is the former 14-time world champion trying to make history at WrestleMania. And the guy parading around with the title belt is the commentator.

That’s not a minor detail. That’s the entire problem with this build in a single image. The championship — the literal physical symbol of what’s at stake in the main event of WrestleMania 42 Night 1 — has been turned into a prop for a man who isn’t even competing for it. Orton didn’t need the belt to make a statement. The history made the statement. The blood made the statement. But instead of letting that land, WWE handed the spotlight to McAfee and let him carry it out of the building.

If that image doesn’t tell you everything about where the focus is right now, nothing will.

Because McAfee’s heel turn, his promos, the “industry-saving” narrative, the constant shots at Rhodes — it’s all become the center of attention. And instead of elevating the feud, it’s hijacking it.

There’s a difference between adding heat and stealing the show. And right now, McAfee is doing the latter. Literally.

Even within WWE, there seems to be a split on whether this is working. Some are calling it real heat, the kind that gets people emotionally invested. Others are questioning whether it’s just turning people off completely. And judging by the crowd chanting “go home, Pat” on SmackDown, it’s hard to argue this is helping Rhodes.

If anything, it’s making the entire build feel messy.

And here’s the bigger issue: this feels less like a wrestling storyline and more like a corporate one.

You’ve got TKO influence being referenced on TV. You’ve got McAfee positioned as this outside force tied to executive power. You’ve got promos that blur the line between storyline and real frustration about the direction of WWE.

That can work — when it enhances the product.

Right now, it feels like it’s distracting from it.

Because at the end of the day, fans don’t tune into WrestleMania for Pat McAfee. They tune in for moments like Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton. And this should be one of the biggest matches WWE has built in years.

It’s literally headlining Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.

But ask most fans what they’re talking about this week, and it’s not the match. It’s the confusion around the build. It’s the weird tone. It’s a commentator walking around with a championship belt he has no business touching.

And that’s where the frustration really comes from.

This didn’t need to be complicated.

You had everything you needed. History. Stakes. Emotion. A clear story. A natural main event. Instead, WWE inserted layers that don’t add clarity — they add noise.

And the worst part? It’s starting to feel like the match itself is secondary.

That’s how you end up with WrestleMania week conversations centered around a ticket discount instead of a championship fight.

That’s how you lose the room.

And honestly, it raises a bigger question: does WWE even trust this feud to stand on its own?

Because if they did, the challenger would be the one with the belt — not the guy who isn’t even in the match.

This is where the concern about WrestleMania 42 starts to creep in. On paper, this card is stacked. Rhodes vs. Orton. Punk vs. Reigns. Multiple high-profile matches across both nights. The show itself should be great.

But none of that matters if the build doesn’t connect.

And right now, it doesn’t.

There’s still time to fix it. A strong final promo. A focused segment heading into Las Vegas. Let Rhodes and Orton actually carry the narrative. Strip everything else back and let the story breathe.

But if WWE keeps going down this path, it’s hard not to see where this is heading.

A WrestleMania that looks incredible on paper… and ends up being remembered as a missed opportunity.

And yeah, that might sound dramatic.

But when you take a 20-year story like Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton and somehow make it feel like the second-most important thing heading into WrestleMania, you’ve already missed the point.

The belt is supposed to represent what’s at stake.

Right now, it’s just a prop in someone else’s act.

#Cody Rhodes #Pat McAfee #Randy Orton #SmackDown #WrestleMania 42 #WWE

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