WWE is currently in the midst of WrestleMania week and will culminate it this weekend in Las Vegas, with two nights of their biggest show of the year. But the excitement of the night, one main event, has dwindled in recent weeks, ever since Pat McAfee got involved on the April 3rd edition of SmackDown.
Now, celebrities involved with WWE’s biggest show of the year isn’t new, but what is new is the overusage of Pat McAfee on WWE TV.
Wrestlemania’s history of celebrities
Now, having celebrities involved in WrestleMania and overall pro wrestling isn’t new, as it dates back to the first WrestleMania, when Mr T teamed up with Hulk Hogan in the main event. In the years that have gone by, we’ve seen the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Bad Bunny, Logan Paul, Mike Tyson, Johnny Knoxville, and even the current U.S. President, Donald Trump, along with other high-profile names, make appearances at the Grandest Stage of them all.
But none of these names has taken the attention away from the main event matches or become the centre of attention during the build to the show of shows.
A rivalry no longer based on history.
As the current WWE Champion put it above, he and Randy Orton have at least two decades of history; Rhodes had his first televised match with Orton. The Apex predator had Dusty Rhodes’ final match, not to mention they were in the same faction, with Orton being a mentor for the American Nightmare.
There was an opportunity here for WWE to tell that history leading up to WrestleMania weekend. Still, the forced insertion of McAfee has taken the focus away from Orton and Rhodes, making it look like McAfee is facing Rhodes for the WWE Title.
Outside names involved with WWE’s biggest show of the year aren’t new, but no celebrity has been inserted into a main event programme like McAfee. They went from having one of the most hyped matches of the entire weekend to an overbooked match with interference from Jelly Roll and McAfee.
WWE has now boxed itself into a corner with this because, since McAfee’s involvement, it has lacked direction. Why is McAfee bringing up the Attitude Era? What is the point in his mentioning the low ticket sales for Mania on SmackDown?
It’s caused a lack of direction and interest. The history of this rivalry is gone, and all WWE has left is McAfee taking up screen time by bringing up topics that were never relevant, making his presence there unnecessary. Yet again, for its biggest show of the year, WWE have failed its superstars and gone for an outside name to draw casual interest, but, in hindsight, has ruined their main event for night one.
