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.
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