A new report suggests that WWE fans' outcry about the company's excessive use of celebrities has scared Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll out of taking part in a planned match next month.
While the Night 2 main event of WrestleMania 42 will be celebrated as a classic, the Night 1 headliner was controversial for many WWE fans. A few weeks before the event, occasional announcer and wrestler Pat McAfee was involved in a storyline between Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel reportedly made the random move in an effort to boost sluggish ticket sales for the two-night event.
McAfee's surprise addition was loudly condemned by WWE fans. However, one reason for the backlash was audiences becoming tired of the company's excessive use of celebrities at WrestleMania 42. Country music star Jelly Roll made a splash over the past month, and rapper Lil Yachty has been heavily used over the past few weeks.
Pat McAfee faces defeat in the face of WWE fan protests
Well, that loud disappointment has been heard loud and clear, and it looks like WWE fans won't be seeing McAfee or Jelly Roll again for a very long time. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, McAfee has refused to be the focus of the Night 1 main event and is planning a Rhodes-Jelly Roll vs. Orton-McAfee tag match at Backlash in May.
Meltzer claimed, "The thing is, they were both very aware of what was said about celebrities in wrestling." "They both love wrestling, and I think they realized there was a lot of negative sentiment about it."
So if you were one of those passionate fans loudly protesting WWE's overuse of celebrities, the campaign was successful, and celebrities will be away from the company's content for a while.
