Cody Rhodes is not mincing his words.
The initial reveal of Pat McAfee as Randy Orton's mystery caller was one of the worst-received segments in WWE history. Things have only gone from bad to worse from there. The company has failed in their attempt to salvage the story and release the anger of fans with worked shoot promos targeting TKO officials.
The American Nightmare gave his unfiltered thoughts on how the whole thing is going during his appearance on the SI Media podcast, only days before WrestleMania. Cody Rhodes claimed that it's the worst-received thing in the history of wrestling, comparing it to angles like the Shockmaster's failed debut and the reveal of Gobbledy Gooker:
This is the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling. Gobbledy Gooker was one, Shockmaster was up there, but that was kind of funny. This is, the entire fandom, your fans, my fans, independent wrestling fans, casual fans, cinema fans, every single fan who has ever said ‘wrestling,’ has received this with, ‘Huh? What? Okay.’ Worst received thing in the history of wrestling.
He's Just Trying to Help: Cody Rhodes
Though later, Cody Rhodes seemed to express sympathy with the former NFL star. The WWE Champion said that he has to be an optimist and noted how Pat McAfee is a huge star who is only trying to help:
He’s just trying to help our party. I respect him and that. On the other side of it, I’m in tune with the online audience, but it’s everybody in the audience. We all see it. I look at that and ask myself, kind of like when I was doing Stardust or given a bone on my way up, ‘How can we make this something?’
The former AEW star also talked about Randy Orton getting cheered despite his heel turn before the Pat McAfee reveal. Rhodes noted that fans respect The Viper because he has stuck around wrestling.
