Corey Graves Weighs In On Backlash Against WrestleMania Celebrities: ‘It Was the Timing’

Corey Graves believes that the fan pushback against the celebrities at WrestleMania 42 was less about the celebrities and more about timing. WrestleMania 42 was overloaded with celebrities, with the bulk of the backlash against the involvement of Pat McAfee in the feud between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. McAfee’s involvement was reportedly a TKO mandate and fans took issue with how he felt inserted into the story.

Graves appeared on Apter Chat and spoke about the pushback from the fans over McAfee and Jelly Roll, the latter of whom was also part of the build. He noted that if there was more time to work it in organically or it had been in a different match, it wouldn’t have gone over as poorly. You can see the highlights below:

On the Backlash Against Pat McAfee At WrestleMania:

I truly believe it was the timing of it. I think if there had been a little bit more time to work with. And again, I don’t know — there are decisions made far above my pay grade. I don’t know the ins and outs, and truthfully I don’t care to these days.

“But I think if there had been a little bit more time, and maybe if it had been in a different match. I mean obviously, WrestleMania and celebrities have been synonymous since the beginning. And I think Pat and Jelly Roll caught a few strays. I think it was just a matter of, people have been waiting for Cody and Randy for so long and they wanted to see that story told and unfold organically. And you you get these other players that don’t necessarily fit. You get a couple square pegs and round holes, I think that was the biggest problem. I don’t think it was that anybody didn’t want to see Pat, or that anybody was upset that Jelly was involved. I think it was in that particular circumstance. But again, it was what it was.”

On the Match Itself:

“I think they did a fantastic job with what the circumstance was. I think Randy and Cody, two of the best in the business of all time, and they delivered a WrestleMania-worthy main event. I thought it was fantastic. Again, I understand the skepticism, I understand the confusion. I truly believe that had this begun back at Royal Rumble or at Elimination Chamber or there been a little bit more runway, it wouldn’t have felt so inorganic. And I think that’s what sort of caused the backlash.

“I think you could have put anybody in that position and it would have had the same result. It wasn’t a Pat thing, it wasn’t a Jelly Roll thing. I think you could have you could have put Jason Momoa in there and someone been like, ‘What’s he doing here? He doesn’t belong here.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Apter Chat with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.