Summary

Pat McAfee responded to the backlash over his alignment with Randy Orton on the April 3 edition of WWE SmackDown, brushing off critics and framing the segment as part of a bigger WrestleMania 42 moment.

McAfee had already become a central figure in the Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes story when he was revealed as Orton's mystery phone caller after attacking Rhodes on SmackDown. That angle was the same chaotic opening covered in this earlier April 3 WWE SmackDown result story, and McAfee has now doubled down on it while speaking on his podcast.

McAfee leans fully into the Randy Orton alliance

Rather than backing away from the criticism, McAfee praised Orton in emphatic terms and said the WrestleMania payoff is meant to be a major moment for the business.

He also made it clear that he sees Orton as the standard for what the top of the card should look like, while teasing that more is still to come in Las Vegas.

Quote from Pat McAfee

"Number one story coming out of the weekend, you guessed it. Randy Orton saving the business at WrestleMania. You know, it was a fun time on Friday night letting the world know that, yeah, you remember when Randy Orton came on the show at the Combine? Then you remember shortly after that I say I thought the business passed me by, and then all of a sudden Randy's on the phone with somebody motivating, dominating everybody. Oh yeah, maybe it was me telling him, hey bud, my daughter is about to turn 3 years old."

"I would like her to be a wrestling fan, but I would like wrestling to be what wrestling's supposed to be, especially at the top of the card. 6'5", 275 pounds of perfection from the wrestling gods has been sitting here this whole time. And is he on TV all day, every day? Absolutely not. He was actually sent home for about 6 months recently."

"It's like, what? How is this guy being sent home? So we're saving a business when Randy wins his 15th world title at Mania, and the future of the business is going to be led by what the wrestling gods deemed perfection in Randy Orton. Now, it was a blast. People got loud."

"Yeah, I was just asking, I was just asking, hey, why are we doing this when Randy Orton is around? Anything that doesn't involve Randy, in my eyes, Shite."

"Agreed. If Randy Orton's involved, good. Randy Orton's going to be there. Somehow tickets are still available for WrestleMania. Just know that we got some things cooking and you're going to want to be in Las Vegas. It's going to be spectacular. It's going to be special. And future wrestling generation fans will have to look back on the night that was in Las Vegas and say that was the moment that that GOAT saved the entire business. By becoming 15-time world champion."

"Shout out to Randy Orton. I thank you, Randy, for doing that. Love you, Randy."

McAfee later addressed the online reaction directly:

"I was asking the wrestling fans this weekend, hey, did you thank Randy Orton yet for what he's going to do at WrestleMania for the future of wrestling? And you know, these IWC dipsh*ts, they have no idea. This is for the good of them. They have no idea what they've been missing."

"They have no idea what it's supposed to look like. Now we change that. That's the internet wrestling community. They're not the biggest fans of what happened. They're pretty upset about it, you know, but they are a part of the problem. They're the ones that said, yeah, this is what it's supposed to be, all this stuff. It's like, nah, let us show you what it's supposed to be. Whatever Randy Orton is at the top of the marquee."

What McAfee's comments mean for Randy Orton and WrestleMania 42

McAfee's comments keep Randy Orton's side of the feud pointed squarely at WrestleMania 42, and they reinforce that WWE is presenting this alliance as more than a one-night shock reveal. By continuing to talk up Orton as the answer at the top of the card, McAfee is helping frame Orton's push against Cody Rhodes as a centerpiece story heading into Las Vegas.

The other takeaway is that McAfee is not trying to soften the fan response. That matters because the segment has already generated heavy discussion, including reporting that TKO backed McAfee's alliance with Orton. If WWE keeps leaning into that divide, McAfee looks set to remain an active voice in the build rather than just a surprise cameo.

Sources

As reported by NoDQ.