Ari Emanuel Has Inadvertently Entered the Main Event of WrestleMania 42

The following contest is … one of the strangest we’ve seen in pro wrestling in a while. WrestleMania 42 is a few weeks away, and a surprise entrant has inserted himself into the Las Vegas action — and I’m only tangentially talking about Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter-turned-podcaster and part-time Monday Night Raw commentator. More from The Hollywood Reporter ESPN Considering Pat McAfee 'Field Pass' Alt Cast for 2027 Super Bowl Guile's Hair Is the Star of the 'Street Fighter' Movie Teaser Trailer, and That's Not a Good Thing Hulk Hogan, Pro Wrestler Who Became a Household Name, Dies at 71 On Friday night’s SmackDown , longtime WWE Superstar Randy Orton’s secret adviser putting even more voices in his head was revealed to be none other than McAfee, for some reason.

For many fans, it felt out of left field, to borrow an analogy from a legitimate sports competition. Orton and McAfee don’t seem to share any particularly meaningful connection and they generally don’t even work on the same WWE show. In wrestling parlance, McAfee wasn’t even a heel until the reveal — a turn — he worked as Raw ‘s babyface announcer.

But McAfee is (storyline) guiding Orton’s wicked attempt to take down the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, the company’s top face, in the (first) main event of WrestleMania 42. Per promotional materials, McAfee will be in Orton’s corner on Saturday, April 18. (WrestleMania 42 both continues and concludes the following night.

) Consider Rhodes displeased. In a scathing promo on USA Network, Rhodes called McAfee a “stoner, grifter, Logan Paul-without-muscles, human hat rack fly-by-night,” and pretty much all in one breath. “You and everyone who represents you, and I know who I’m talking to, can kiss my ass,” Rhodes added.