Pat McAfee’s SmackDown Promo Reportedly Not Written By WWE Creative Team

Pat McAfee shocked one and all when he showed up to the ring during a brawl between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton in the opening segment of last week’s SmackDown and kicked The American Nightmare in the nuts before revealing himself as Orton’s mystery caller.

The former NFL punter then got on the microphone and buried the WWE product, the creative team, the roster, and Cody Rhodes. McAfee also brought up SmackDown’s “lowest-ever” ratings a week prior and questioned why WrestleMania 42 tickets were still available when Randy Orton was around.

On this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) (via WrestlingNews.co), Dave Meltzer reported that McAfee’s promo was not written by the creative team and that the entire angle originated above Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Regarding McAfee’s claim that the March 27 episode of Friday Night SmackDown was the lowest-rated show in the brand’s history, Meltzer questioned if the former RAW commentator was referring to the Cagematch ratings.

Meltzer further added that there is a belief that McAfee came up with those lines himself and was given permission to do so. However, the eventual promo was not something that the writer for the segment, Christian Sowell, told Levseque beforehand. The report adds that “Nick Khan was right there for all of it.”

Meanwhile, McAfee has teased a “massive surprise” on tonight’s SmackDown. It will be interesting to see what he has in store for fans on the show.