According to PWInsider Elite, there is speculation surrounding Pat McAfee’s return to WWE SmackDown. A source told the publication that McAfee turning heel and aligning with Randy Orton, was an edict from TKO to WWE’s creative team.
The report also notes that another source in particular, claimed the edict actually came from TKO’s Chief Executive Officer Ari Emanuel.
PWInsider Elite further add there are sources however, that insist it was the WWE creative team, specifically WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque who approved the idea and began to flush out the storyline/angle that would lead up to WrestleMania 42.
McAfee was revealed as the person Randy Orton has been talking to on the phone. His last appearance for WWE was at Wrestlepalooza in September 2025. He had initially stepped away last summer from the company, noting that with all his other commitments, he was experiencing mental exhaustion.
The angle on Friday’s show, saw McAfee come in from behind a low-blow Cody Rhodes, allowing Orton to further attack him. Later in the episode, Rhodes cut a promo, comparing McAfee to Disco Inferno saying, “We got all dressed up in St. Louis tonight to find out who Randy Orton was talking to on the phone. And color me surprised, it was Pat McAfee. That’s like if Scott Hall and Kevin Nash talked about the third man in the NWO, and instead of Hulk Hogan, it was Disco Inferno.”