Pat McAfee’s alignment with Randy Orton against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42 on April 18 is, according to Mark Kaboly, set to save wrestling.
McAfee’s Message: Truth or Treachery?
Kaboly points out that if Cody Rhodes can deliver an impromptu mic moment, and CM Punk can drop one of his “pipe bombs” on it a few days later, he feels obligated to express his feelings. He’s stepping out of his safe space to lay out in the simplest terms that what McAfee is doing for WWE, and wrestling in general, should be appreciated.
Kaboly asks: what did McAfee say to the fans that they weren’t already expressing with their reaction videos to Raw, SmackDown, or a PLE? Kaboly states that not a single word McAfee said was untrue or out of line, and they know it. When McAfee said about Cody Rhodes, “A man that represents everything that we hate,” consider what fans have been saying about Cody for years. Kaboly argues this isn’t solely about Cody as WWE Champion but about a lifelong fan like McAfee drifting from the sport he’s always loved because of what it was and what it is now.
Unlike many who vent online, McAfee is actually doing something about it, and that’s what frustrates people, according to Kaboly.
Jealousy Behind the Backlash?
Kaboly suggests the reaction is driven by jealousy. The fans are upset that someone who “made sense” to them wasn’t on the phone with Randy Orton over the past month. They wanted it to be somebody who had grown up in the business and has a legacy in the business to deliver the message, instead of a “part-timer” who punted a football at the highest level and now is a successful businessman who everybody adores, except inside the wrestling world.
Kaboly poses the question: Why be jealous of the man who has taken time out of his busy life to donate his time to making the business he loves better? He doesn’t see anybody else stepping up and putting their reputation on the line like McAfee.
Mission: Accomplished?
Kaboly asks: Why Pat McAfee? He answers that to fix a problem, you have to acknowledge it. McAfee noticed Randy Orton being underutilized and marginalized in a business that once relied on such talent, at least, as McAfee sees it. The way to change that is to get people talking.
Kaboly declares: Mission accomplished. People are mad, disappointed, and the Dirtsheets are buzzing. Most importantly, people are interested. Kaboly questions when was the last time a seven-minute promo created such feedback just by stating the obvious?
McAfee noticed a 14-time Champion, Randy Orton, being underutilized and marginalized in a business that once relied on such talent, at least, as McAfee sees it.