JBL is loving the work of Pat McAfee.
The addition of the former NFL star in the WrestleMania feud between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton has not been well-received by the fans. People have criticised the focus of the rivalry being the involvement of celebrities instead of the long history between the two WWE veterans. The involvement of McAfee doesn't appear to have helped the problem of ticket sales either, as the company is still offering huge discounts for the Show of Shows.
Though the WWE Hall of Famer gave a very different opinion on the whole thing. While speaking about the angle on the latest Something to Wrestle With podcast, JBL explained that the hate Pat McAfee has been getting is actually the effect desired by the company:
He is a bad guy. And the idea that fans online are hating that Pat McAfee is involved and don’t want him near the main event—that’s the desired result as a heel. Don’t you think? You think it’s just—it blows me away when a guy gets heat like this and people go, ‘Oh, no, no, no—it’s go-away heat.’ No, it’s not.
That's When You're Winning: JBL
JBL claimed that if Pat McAfee had 'go away' heat as people claim, then nobody would even be talking about it. According to the former WWE champion, the fact that people can't stop discussing the twists to this story means that the former Raw commentator is doing an incredible job:
When you come out there and you’re able to strip away the veneer of that person playing a heel to that person just being an asshole and you don’t like them—that’s when you’re winning. The key to being a heel is when they take away the fact that you’re playing a character and they don’t just say, ‘It has nothing to do with Killer Tim Brooks as a wrestler—I don’t like that man. I hate him. I think Pat’s doing an incredible job.’
Pat McAfee is expected to continue to be involved in the story between Orton and Rhodes after the Show of Shows. You can check out a report on where this feud is headed after WrestleMania here.
