Overview
- Security video played on Wednesday’s Pat McAfee Show shows Cody Rhodes entering McAfee’s Thunderdome studio, taking back the WWE championship belt, and smashing parts of the set with a baseball bat.
- McAfee had seized the belt after the April 3 SmackDown reveal where he low‑blowed Rhodes, aligned with Randy Orton, and vowed to leave pro wrestling if Orton loses the title match at WrestleMania 42.
- Rhodes has blasted McAfee’s role, calling him a “full‑blooded rat” and labeling the image of McAfee holding the championship as the most offensive in wrestling, while CM Punk called McAfee a tourist who can have his invite rescinded.
- McAfee mocked fans who wanted The Rock or Vince McMahon as the mystery caller, and Stephen A. Smith said Nick Khan sounded him out for an on‑air role as he praised McAfee’s willingness to participate, with outlets reporting the move as TKO and ESPN cross‑promotion.
- Rhodes vs. Orton headlines Night 1 in Las Vegas with McAfee in Orton’s corner, and the belt now back in Rhodes’ hands could draw more ESPN viewers even as critics argue the celebrity angle overshadows the long Orton‑Rhodes story.