Overview
- Randy Orton’s weeks-long phone angle paid off Friday in St. Louis as Pat McAfee was unmasked as the caller, low-blowed Cody Rhodes, and helped Orton leave the Undisputed WWE champion laid out.
- On the microphone, McAfee blasted the current product and said Orton would 'save the f—ing business,' citing slumping ratings and ticket chatter as he justified the ambush.
- Hours after the segment, McAfee posted that if Orton does not win at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas on April 18–19, he will never appear on wrestling television again.
- Fan response and trade coverage skewed sharply negative, with social clips and write-ups calling the reveal underwhelming and questioning a celebrity’s central role in a world title feud.
- Reporting from Wrestling Observer and others says WWE adjusted earlier plans for the caller and that The Rock was not involved, while separate outlets report TKO leadership, not creative, pushed McAfee into the storyline.