標籤: McAfees

WWE is planning a celebrity tag team match for Backlash, which fans are sure to be eyeing given the inclusion of Pat McAfee in the company’s WrestleMania 42 plans.

According to Dave Meltzer in Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan for PLE is Randy Orton and Pat McAfee vs. Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll, with multiple sources confirming that plans were still in place at press time.

Meltzer wrote, “McAfee will team with Orton against Rhodes and Jelly Roll coming off WrestleMania and have an important match at the Backlash PPV on 5/9, at least those are the plans that were confirmed to us by multiple people and were still in play at press time.”

Jelly Roll’s pairing with Rhodes is notable considering the country star’s current relationship with WWE. Jelly Roll has appeared at WWE events before and has a connection to the fanbase, making him a better fit for the WrestleMania season storyline than any casual celebrity. It also fits since Jelly is coming to the aid of a fellow babyface.

McAfee’s involvement in the story has not been without controversy. Reports earlier this week indicated that WWE has scaled back on parts of its creative plans following the negative reaction to McAfee being revealed as Orton’s ally.

Fightful reported that CM Punk’s comments on Raw reflected a change in direction that was not part of the plan since Friday McAfee was recently introduced into the angle. WWE is adjusting its approach to the storyline in real time, and the Backlash match reflects where these adjustments are currently pointing.

This angle is set to continue this Friday on SmackDown from San Jose. WWE has been advertising that Rhodes will answer to McAfee on the show, and McAfee revealed on Thursday that he will have a “big surprise” for the broadcast.

According to WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, WWE has gone back to the drawing board on parts of its SmackDown creative after negative reaction to Pat McAfee’s involvement in the Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton storyline. The changes have been made in real time, with the company reevaluating its direction for the storyline, while McAfee is confirmed for this week’s SmackDown in San Jose.

The report states that additional outside partnerships were discussed as part of the original plans, including celebrity names like Jelly Roll, but those ideas are now part of a broader rethink currently underway. WWE is said to be actively assessing any possibilities for how the storyline progresses leading up to WrestleMania 42.

One of the more telling things about the report is how quickly the change happened. Sources told Fightful that CM Punk’s comments on Monday’s Raw reflected the new creative direction and were not part of the plan for Friday, when McAfee was revealed as Orton’s ally on SmackDown.

That timeline shows that WWE creative has been operating in reactive mode all week, adjusting to audience reaction and recalibrating on the fly rather than executing a lock-in plan.

With less than two weeks to go until WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18 and 19, the speed at which WWE is ready to move forward with its plans for one of the event’s premier matches is remarkable. Rhodes defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Orton on the card, and how the storyline resolves between now and then will be significantly shaped by whatever direction SmackDown takes this week.

It has been reported that the idea of ​​bringing Pat McAfee back to the company and teaming up with Orton came from TKO, possibly also from TKO President Ari Emanuel. This was not part of what WWE creative had originally planned for the feud.