5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (3 April - Results & Review)

2. Pat McAfee’s Turn Makes NO Sense

Listen, it’s clear that WWE knows their own road to WrestleMania 42 hasn’t been sparkling, but this was the best idea they had? Pat McAfee sticking up for the ‘Attitude Era’ etc when he’s a relatively new face who has been a huge supporter of WWE’s modern direction for years? Meh, not buying it. Yep, this is the latest panic move, and apparently TKO had a major say in it. That’s a problem.

They’re booking moments for the sake of moments, not cohesive stories.

On top of all that, fans in St. Louis booed Cody Rhodes for trying to fight back, and they cheered hometown hero Randy Orton. Could they have picked a worse place for this sort of fare?! Also, this writer isn't a fan of McAfee trashing the product either. It never works when WWE does that to themselves. Never. In 2026, a large part of the audience kinda agrees with everything Pat’s saying, which is counterproductive.

Also, as if to put a questionable bow on everything, Randy previously said the person he was talking to on the phone was part of ‘one of wrestling’s other royal families’. Nope, it's McAfee. Nobody remembers Daddy McAfee being a multiple-time World Champion or pulling up trees on countless 'Mania supercards, do they?

If the circumstances were different, then Pat could fly as a heel hype man/manager, but what can he teach Randy f'n Orton? All of the question marks in this entry sum up the confusion over Friday's decision making. It feels like something from latter day WCW more than a carefully thought out mega-angle.