Pat McAfee WWE Exit Scrapped Backlash Main Event Plans

Pat McAfee pulling out didn’t just tweak WrestleMania — it blew up WWE’s next main event and cut short a long-term plan.

New details from Dave Meltzer and Billi Bhatti show McAfee’s decision forced WWE to scrap a planned Backlash tag match and rethink everything tied to Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton. Meltzer made it clear that once McAfee stepped away, the dominoes started falling immediately — including the Backlash main event.

“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 also pointed to fan reaction as the driving force, noting both McAfee and Jelly Roll were paying attention to how people felt about celebrity involvement.

“The thing is that both of them… realized that there was a lot of negative sentiment about it.”

Even without a single confirmed reason, the belief backstage was simple — the reaction changed everything.

“The reason that was believed was, in fact, the reaction… it wasn’t like anything else.”

Bhatti’s update via the Dirty Sheets Wrestling Informer podcast connects the dots even further. The original WrestleMania plan had Orton going over, but that was tied to the McAfee storyline continuing into Backlash.

“I was given the information that Randy Orton was going to win… Randy Orton's injury was an issue… but that didn't factor into them actually changing a result. The McAfee thing did.”

Once McAfee backed out, WWE didn’t just change the finish — they killed the entire follow-up. This also wasn’t meant to be a quick cameo. McAfee was supposed to stick around for months.

“They would be ending the storyline and the tag match with McAfee teaming up with Orton against Jelly Roll and Cody Rhodes wouldn't be happening at Backlash.”

“McAfee was due to stay on TV… all the way up until SummerSlam… but… wasn't happy with the fans reaction.”

With that gone, WWE pivoted fast — dropped the celebrity angle, scrapped the Backlash main event, and shifted to a straight Cody vs Orton story with Rhodes getting the win. One decision didn’t just change a finish — it wiped out an entire storyline.

Do you think WWE made the right call dropping the McAfee angle, or should they have stuck with the original plan? Let us know what you think.

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