Summary

Cody Rhodes addressed Pat McAfee's sudden role in his WrestleMania 42 program with Randy Orton, and he did not exactly sound convinced it fits. Speaking on Matt & Shane's Secret Podcast, Rhodes pointed to the long history he shares with Orton and suggested McAfee's insertion has raised the same question many fans have been asking.

That tension is now part of the feud heading into WrestleMania 42, where McAfee is set to be in Orton's corner for Orton's Undisputed WWE Championship match against Rhodes. The setup follows McAfee's reveal as the mystery caller on the April 3 episode of SmackDown, where he also attacked Rhodes.

Rhodes also referenced the broader reaction to McAfee's presence in the angle. That reaction has already become part of the WrestleMania build, including Pat McAfee unloading on Cody Rhodes before Randy Orton's latest SmackDown attack.

Quote from Cody Rhodes

Asked about McAfee's involvement, Rhodes said:

"I've been told some of the people in his orbit, his circle, think he's the next Sylvester Stallone in terms of TV and film. I don't know if I'm getting that. From what I've watched, I have very limited knowledge on that. I love me some College GameDay, he's very good on College GameDay. I'm glad there are people who like to pitch themselves in WrestleMania and big moments. I'm flattered."

"This is the first time I've been asked about him. Hencefourth, I'm just going with the Mariah Carey, 'I don't know him.'"

Rhodes later went on to say:

"Randy Orton, we have almost two decades of history. There is a lot of rich story material. Then, we inserted Pat McAfee. We are literally in that part right there. Your question is literally everybody else's question. You know the troops all outside and there is that clown? I'm not saying he's the clown, but it's an interesting fit. We're going to see where it goes. You can't have that much success and be ground up like he is without being a serious person. What I would say is, from what I've seen, everyone around Pat McAfee, his orbit, probably someone needs to say 'no' every now and again. You need that one guy being like, 'I don't know, man. Jumping into the WrestleMania main event.' Looking up while I'm getting my ass kicked, he's wearing shades. It's a different era of wrestling. It's like watching a guy at a bar doing a Stone Cold (Steve Austin) impression. I'm going to stick with 'I don't know him.' I heard him talk about the Attitude Era. I don't think he knows. Almost 30 years ago. Love it and it was the most prolific era of the business until the last four years. If you're part of the last four years, you're kind of talking like, 'Why are we talking about this?' I'll stick with 'I don't know him.'"

What Cody Rhodes' comments mean for WrestleMania 42

Rhodes has now made McAfee's presence a story point of its own, and that gives the Orton title match another layer beyond their shared history. Because McAfee is already scheduled to be in Orton's corner, his involvement looks less like a one-off surprise and more like a factor WWE wants viewers to keep watching.

It also tells fans that Rhodes sees the core feud as Rhodes versus Orton, not Rhodes versus a celebrity-style addition to the match build. Whether that turns into direct physical involvement at WrestleMania 42 or simply more verbal escalation on SmackDown, Rhodes made clear that McAfee's fit in this program is still very much under scrutiny.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.