Summary

Wade Barrett said he had no advance warning that Pat McAfee would become part of Randy Orton's WrestleMania 42 program on SmackDown, and he said the surprise was real on commentary as the segment unfolded.

Barrett said the angle left both him and Joe Tessitore reacting in real time, with McAfee's comments adding to a story that has already kept attention on Orton's feud with Cody Rhodes. That ongoing build has included McAfee's latest verbal shot at Rhodes on SmackDown as WrestleMania gets closer.

Quote from Wade Barrett

Barrett said the segment genuinely caught the announce team off guard:

"Well, I was very surprised when Pat McAfee came out with the Randy Orton stuff on SmackDown. Sometimes there are blank pages on the sheet that I get as a commentator. That was blank. I had no idea Pat McAfee was coming out, I didn't know what he was gonna say, so it was a shock to me, and it was a shock to Joe Tess on commentary, too. We were caught just as cold as the entire audience, and I was scratching my head. I didn't really understand why Pat was saying certain things. He was taking shots at people who didn't deserve to have a shot taken at them. He was also coming up with some references to 40-minute Ironman matches, and I don't know what show he was watching there. So, yeah, I was caught cold by it. I enjoyed Cody when he came out and issued his immediate retort. And then I was laughing so hard when I watched CM Punk on Raw last Monday, one of the funniest promos and retorts that I think I've seen in a long time."

Barrett later said the uncertainty around the segment may be exactly why it is working:

"I think the brilliance of this whole situation, it's gone from an initial head scratcher to now the lines have been completely blurred, and I don't know what is storyline, what is real life. Are they angry? I think when you get to that point, it just creates buzz, and I think the three of those guys you just mentioned have created some serious buzz going into WrestleMania. I think some people are up in arms about it. Other people are angry that CM Punk said some things that he perhaps shouldn't have said, and went off-script, as people like to call it. I've been watching this game a long time, I've been behind the curtain for over 20 years at this point. I don't know where the reality ends and the story begins at this point, so they've got me too. So I think it's exactly what you need this time of year, heading into WrestleMania. You want buzz, you want people talking, you want eyeballs on it. Whether this is by design or by accident, whatever it is, it's worked."

What Barrett's reaction means for Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Pat McAfee

Barrett's comments reinforce that WWE is leaning into confusion around the Orton, Rhodes and McAfee story rather than trying to make every beat feel tidy. If that uncertainty keeps driving reactions from talent, commentators and fans, it gives the WrestleMania 42 main event another layer of attention beyond the title match itself.

It also shows how much McAfee has become part of the feud's presentation. Barrett's point was not that the segment made immediate sense to everyone, but that the noise around it has pushed people to keep talking about Orton, Rhodes and where McAfee fits when WrestleMania arrives.

Sources

Wade Barrett while speaking with Sporf