Backstage Update on Pat McAfee Dropping Out of WWE Storyline with Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes and TKO Having “Complete Control” of WWE Creative

This past Saturday’s WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1 event in Las Vegas, Nevada featured Cody Rhodes defeating Randy Orton to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship. This match was notable for Pat McAfee declaring during its build that he would completely leave the wrestling business if Orton lost to Rhodes at WrestleMania 42. McAfee was later revealed to have been the one who made the decision to drop out of the storyline causing plans for a tag team match at Backlash 2026 to be dropped as well.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that after McAfee had opted out of continuing with WWE, the decision to no go with Orton as champion was part of “chaos” described to be “like WCW” that took place behind the scenes on Saturday prior to the start of the Night 1 event. Meltzer reported that WWE officials had made the decision to have Rhodes win the match and retain his title before Saturday.

In regards to McAfee’s decision to drop out of the storyline, Meltzer reported that those spoken to stated that the current belief is that it wasn’t just the negativity from fans but also the negative response from a lot of WWE talent that led to McAfee’s decision.

Meltzer also reported that there were WWE talent who felt that Rhodes and Orton had a strong storyline dating back to Orton serving as Rhodes’ mentor in during their time in the Legacy group. Those same talents reportedly felt that McAfee and Jelly Roll being involved took away from the stronger story.

Meltzer also reported that WWE officials’ decision to go in the direction of CM Punk vs. Rhodes as the next big match and potentially for SummerSlam was made in response to McAfee dropping out.

In regards to TKO’s involvement in WWE’s creative and impact on the creative plans for WrestleMania 42, Meltzer reported that while TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO CCO and President Mark Shapiro do have final say in creative, they almost never use it. Those spoken to reportedly stated that in this situation, they used it at the most inopportune time.

Those spoken to reportedly stated that there was a ton of chaos regarding those on the wrestling side who didn’t want McAfee and Jelly Roll involved in the Undisputed WWE title match that they had been slowly building for months and were upset at how the celebrities took the focus away from it.

Meltzer also reported that one person spoken to stated they saw conflict between TKO and WWE over creative decisions coming a year in advance. This same person reportedly stated that “there was a lot of internal jockeying going on and that it was encouraged by Ari Emanuel and Shapiro.”

Meltzer also reported that everyone within WWE acknowledges that at the end of the day, Emanuel and Shapiro have complete control but they rarely use it. Meltzer reported that the complaint this year was that when they use it it was at the worst time possible.