Corey Graves weighs in on the backlash that followed Pat McAfee into WWE WrestleMania 42.
Along the road to WrestleMania 42, many WWE fans expressed frustration with, and outright chastised, the decision to insert Pat McAfee into the Undisputed WWE Championship program between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. A number of WWE stars echoed the feeling, with Rhodes himself even comparing McAfee to the popular meme of a clown lining up amongst soldiers for a battle.
According to WWE commentator Corey Graves, any other celebrity involvement in the storyline would have likely produced the same reaction.
“I truly believe it was the timing of it. Again, there are decisions made far above my pay grade. I don’t know the ins and outs and truthfully I don’t care to these days, but I think if there had been a little more time and maybe it had been in a different match,” Graves told Bill Apter. “Obviously, WrestleMania and celebrities have been synonymous since the beginning. Pat and Jelly Roll caught a few strays. I think it was just a matter of people have been waiting for Cody and Randy for so long. They wanted to see that story told and unfold organically, and you get these other players that don’t necessarily fit. You get a couple square pegs and round holes. I think that was the biggest problem.”
Had McAfee’s involvement in the Orton-Rhodes WrestleMania program started at an earlier point, such as the Royal Rumble or even Elimination Chamber, Graves believes it wouldn’t have felt so forced. With extra time allotted, fans might have potentially embraced it instead.
“I understand the skepticism; I understand the confusion,” Graves said. “Truly believe that had this begun back at Royal Rumble or at Elimination Chamber or there had been a little bit more runway, it wouldn’t have felt so inorganic. I think that’s what sort of caused the backlash. I think you could have put anybody in that position and it would have had the same result.”
Heading into WrestleMania 42, McAfee aligned himself with Orton, with both of them promising to save the wrestling business. McAfee also promised that if Orton lost on the grand stage, he’d disappear from wrestling. Orton ultimately turned on McAfee, only for Rhodes to capitalize with a Cross Rhodes and retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.
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