Steve Carrier on April 23, 2026
Pat McAfee’s WrestleMania plans didn’t just change at the last minute — they were scrapped after he decided to step away amid negative fan reaction.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer addressed the situation and explained that McAfee choosing to opt out played a major role in changing WWE’s creative direction around WrestleMania weekend. That decision led to the removal of a previously planned tag team match that had been expected to take place at Backlash.
According to Meltzer, the shift came after both McAfee and musician Jelly Roll became very aware of the criticism surrounding celebrity involvement in wrestling. While both are known to be fans of the business, the reaction from the audience reportedly weighed heavily on the situation. Meltzer explained that the belief backstage was that fan reaction played a key role in McAfee stepping away from the plans.
“With the Pat McAfee thing, he opted out. That’s what actually led to everything changing. That’s why the tag match from Backlash was taken off.”
He added that both McAfee and Jelly Roll were paying attention to how fans were responding to celebrity involvement in wrestling storylines.
“The thing is that both of them (Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll) were very cognizant of what has been said about celebrities in wrestling. Both of them love wrestling, and I think they realized that there was a lot of negative sentiment about it.”
Meltzer also clarified that there wasn’t confirmation of a single specific reason, but the prevailing belief backstage was that fan backlash was the driving factor behind the decision.
“I don’t know the exact reason McAfee pulled out. There could have been many different reasons, but the reason that was believed was, in fact, the reaction. I was told that the belief was it was due to the reaction that he pulled out. It wasn’t like anything else.”
He also noted that WrestleMania weekend itself was filled with last-minute adjustments and confusion behind the scenes, which only added to the situation.
“There was a lot, a lot of chaos going on, especially on Saturday, for WrestleMania.”
McAfee had previously inserted himself into the WrestleMania conversation after revealing himself as Randy Orton’s mystery phone caller on the April 3, 2026 episode of SmackDown. He even made a bold public promise that if Orton failed to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42, he would never be seen or heard on wrestling television again. Cody Rhodes ultimately retained the title, and now new details suggest McAfee’s absence may have been tied to backstage reaction and shifting plans.
With fan reaction influencing creative decisions at such a major event, it raises questions about how much public opinion should shape WWE storylines moving forward.
Do you think fan backlash should influence celebrity involvement in wrestling, or should WWE stick to its plans regardless of online reaction?
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