WWE Talent Reportedly Have No Restrictions On Criticising The Pat McAfee Storyline
WWE talent are reportedly free to criticise Pat McAfee.
On April 3, after weeks of wondering who was on the phone to Randy Orton, it was revealed that Pat McAfee was the one working with ‘The Viper’ from afar. The former NFL punter ran down the state of the industry today, blaming Cody Rhodes for WrestleMania’s low ticket sales and pushing for a return to the Attitude Era. However, the angle received immediate pushback from fans, and some of the company’s stars have even expressed concern over the storyline. Now, an update has emerged on what talent are allowed to say with regard McAfee’s involvement on SmackDown.
According to an update from Fightful Select, it’s believed roster members have no restrictions when talking about the Pat McAfee storyline in the media.
“Based on what we’ve heard, there are no restrictions on talent expressing displeasure in media about the Pat McAfee angle or comments.”
-Fightful Select
With McAfee’s reveal taking place in the opening segment of the April 3 SmackDown, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was afforded the opportunity to come back out to the crowd to address the earlier angle. Here, he compared the former RAW commentator’s appearance to if Disco Inferno was the NWO’s third man, with some reports believing ‘The American Nightmare’ was told to shoot from the hip. You can read more information on his recent promo here.
Not only that, CM Punk began the next episode of RAW by interrupting his verbal assault on his WrestleMania opponent Roman Reigns to rundown Pat McAfee, criticising his claims around ticket sales. Given how the Chicagoan tore into Pat, TKO, and the wider power structure of WWE, many were left wondering how much of the promo had been agreed upon beforehand. You can read more on how the company may not have known everything Punk was going to say here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the reaction to Pat McAfee’s involvement at WrestleMania 42 as soon as we hear more.
