Summary

Pat McAfee has answered the fan reaction to his reveal as Randy Orton's mystery caller in the build to WrestleMania 42.

After weeks of teases around who had been advising Orton following his betrayal of Cody Rhodes, the answer was revealed on the April 3 episode of WWE SmackDown when McAfee appeared, kicked Rhodes, and aligned himself with Orton ahead of the Undisputed WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 42.

McAfee later used his own show to address viewers who had hoped the mystery role would go to a bigger shock name like The Rock or Vince McMahon.

Quote from Pat McAfee

"'How come it was McAfee on the phone?' Because I fucking called him and told him, tha'ts why. 'I wanted it to be The Rock.' You think The Rock wants to do anything for you? 'I wanted it to be Vince McMahon.' Vince? Sorry. It was me. It was me."

What McAfee's Reveal Changes For Cody Rhodes Vs. Randy Orton

The immediate effect is on WrestleMania 42 itself. Randy Orton now has McAfee in his corner when he challenges Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, and that gives Rhodes one more problem to account for after McAfee already physically inserted himself into the feud on SmackDown.

McAfee also used the reveal to push back on the fantasy-booking element around the angle. The Rock has been off WWE television since Elimination Chamber 2025, while Vince McMahon's name still hangs over company discussion, including in Triple H saying McMahon was still influencing WWE creative before WrestleMania 40. In this case, WWE's story choice was not a late celebrity twist. It was McAfee becoming an active part of Orton's title fight with Rhodes.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.