Pat McAfee made a shocking return to WWE on Friday's SmackDown from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, revealing himself as the mystery person who has been on the phone with Randy Orton for weeks.
McAfee came out wearing an RKO t-shirt and attacked Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, inserting himself into the WrestleMania 42 main event picture in stunning fashion.
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McAfee Explains His Heel Turn
McAfee wasted no time running down the St. Louis crowd before launching into his reasoning. He referenced an interview from about a month ago where he said the business had "passed him by" and that the product had become unwatchable. That interview took place during an Instagram Q&A on March 8, when McAfee announced he was stepping away from WWE indefinitely.
According to McAfee, it was Orton who called him and told him the business hadn't passed him by. Instead, Orton told McAfee that WWE had gone in a direction that neither of them liked.
McAfee Takes Aim at Today's WWE Product
McAfee declared that he represents the Attitude Era fans who grew up loving Steve Austin and The Rock. He said that lately, he has had to watch "5-foot-5 guys doing lucha moves" while someone like Randy Orton is still around.
He called the current WWE roster "scrubs" who are not in Orton's league, then confirmed that he is the person Orton has been talking to on the phone for weeks. McAfee said Cody Rhodes' version of WWE is bad, and that Orton is going to "save the business."
What This Means for WrestleMania 42
The reveal adds a major new layer to the Rhodes vs. Orton Undisputed WWE Championship feud heading into wrestlemania-42" class='tag-link'>WrestleMania 42. McAfee's alignment with Orton gives The Viper a vocal mouthpiece at ringside, while also closing the door on speculation that The Rock, Vince McMahon, or Kevin Owens was the mystery caller.
WrestleMania 42 takes place on April 18-19 from Las Vegas, with Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Orton in the Night 1 main event.
