Report: Pat McAfee Initially Turned Down WWE Return, Promo Was Scripted

Last Friday on "WWE SmackDown," WWE and ESPN broadcaster Pat McAfee surprised viewers when he revealed himself as the person on the other end of Randy Orton's recent mysterious phone calls. According to a new report, despite the numerous other possibilities teased, McAfee emerged as the internal primary candidate for the spot. Still, that doesn't mean that McAfee himself was always on board with it.

"Pat McAfee was the first choice and it was [a call] from Ari Emanuel," journalist Dave Meltzer said on "Wrestling Observer Radio." "That's where it came from. They wanted celebrity involvement ... Originally, from what I was told, Pat McAfee was the choice and he turned it down and then they were scrambling to get somebody else on the spot. Then obviously they were able to make a deal with him, so he did it and he was there."

Before the official reveal, Orton claimed that the mystery person reminded him of his status as a "killer" in WWE. Furthermore, Orton reiterated that wrestling has more than one royal family, referencing his own familial ties to the business and the opening words in the entrance theme of Cody Rhodes, his WWE WrestleMania 42 opponent.

The decision to input McAfee into the Orton-Rhodes storyline reportedly stems from TKO CEO and Executive Chairman Ari Emanuel, who believes that McAfee will help boost interest in the Undisputed WWE Championship program and WrestleMania 42 in general. "Corporate synergy" between WWE and ESPN was said to be a driving factor as well.

"This was not a WWE creative move. It was not a Paul Levesque move," Meltzer said. "It came over their heads, and there's a lot of people who were not happy about it at all. One person even told me it was the single most counterproductive thing in a long time that the company has done."

Upon his official reveal as Orton's new ally, McAfee claimed that he, Orton, and the "forgotten" WWE fans weren't fond of WWE's current direction, which sees Orton in the background while "two five-five guys [did] a 45-minute Iron Man match 10 weeks straight for no rhyme or reason." McAfee additionally questioned the lower-than-expected ticket sales surrounding WrestleMania, especially considering that Orton, who is potentially on the cusp of his 15th world title, is still around.

According to BodySlam+, McAfee's promo on "SmackDown" was one done entirely off script. Based on what he's heard from WWE sources, however, Dave Meltzer believes the opposite to be the case.

"This is scripted for him by somebody. He's not coming up with this one on his own." Meltzer said, referring to McAfee's line about seeing shorter talents competing in an Iron Man Match. "... If he did that one on his own, that was very, very bad business. Now, I will say this. I didn't hear anyone saying he went off script. When people complain to me internally about this, it was the idea is bad, not that Pat McAfee was bad or that Pat McAfee went off script and said something really stupid. It was like the idea is bad."

In order to "save" the wrestling business he's loved since he was a kid, McAfee further asserted that Orton needed to kill everything, including Cody Rhodes, the current Undisputed WWE Champion. Rhodes later clapped back at McAfee in an unlisted promo of his own, promising that the former NFL punter would get a receipt for his actions.

Rhodes and Orton will clash over the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, with McAfee now backing "The Viper." 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.