Summary

A reported creative plan coming out of WrestleMania would see Cody Rhodes team with country music star Jelly Roll against Randy Orton and Pat McAfee at Backlash on May 9.

The source material says Ari Emanuel, the executive chairman of TKO, has been pushing McAfee as a crossover attraction, both for ESPN's WrestleMania 42 coverage and as a larger mainstream personality. As part of that push, McAfee was reportedly asked to take part in the Randy Orton mystery caller angle, with Jelly Roll aligned on Rhodes' side.

That reported direction follows WWE loading up Friday's show with Rhodes, Orton and McAfee for the fallout from last week's attack.

Pat McAfee's reported role in the angle

According to the source material, McAfee initially turned down the role in the angle, which forced WWE to look at other possibilities before he eventually agreed to do it.

If the plan remains unchanged, McAfee would move from being a reveal in Orton's orbit to wrestling a featured tag match alongside Orton, with Rhodes teaming with Jelly Roll.

Quote from Dave Meltzer

"As part of the deal, McAfee will team with Orton against Rhodes & Jelly Roll coming out of WrestleMania and be a key match at the Backlash PPV on 5/9, at least as of plans that were confirmed to us by multiple people and were still in play at press time."

What Cody Rhodes and Pat McAfee at Backlash would set up

If WWE follows this reported plan, Rhodes would immediately have a marquee post-WrestleMania program tied to Orton, while McAfee's involvement would give Backlash a celebrity-driven attraction match built around a current top champion. Jelly Roll being positioned opposite Orton and McAfee also suggests WWE sees crossover value in extending this angle beyond a one-night reveal.

Sources

As reported by NoDQ.