Clarification on Triple H's Role in WWE Creative Following Pat McAfee Angle

As revealed Friday night on WWE SmackDown, it was Pat McAfee who's been talking with Randy Orton on the phone, and the revelation has garnered a mixed reaction at best.

In addition to a tidal wave of online opinions, the angle has also apparently stirred up some frustrations behind the scenes.

Multiple outlets have reported that the call to insert Pat McAfee into the WWE Title program two weeks out from WrestleMania 42 was made by TKO Executive Chairman Ari Emanuel. It's been said that he thinks very highly of the former NFL punter and current ESPN personality.

"We're told that the move was made in an effort to boost interest in the show, and for "corporate synergy" between WWE and ESPN," reported Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select on Saturday evening.

A separate report Saturday afternoon that said that both Cody Rhodes and members of the WWE creative team have taken issue with TKO getting involved with storylines, and The American Nightmare was instructed to cut an unscheduled, shoot-style promo in response to McAfee's words earlier in the night.

"There were a number of people who weren't in favor of the direction of the 'this place sucks' angle of the promo, and feel that those rarely if ever work in pro wrestling," Ross Sapp said in his report. "The response internally that we've heard was mixed, but the company was well aware of the reaction online. Some internally chalked the reaction up to 'heat,' while others said it wasn't the kind of heat the company needed."

Paul "Triple H" Levesque is still in charge of WWE Creative

As soon as word got out that Pat McAfee's return storyline came from above Triple H's head, there were some online who began to question how much say the company's Chief Content Officer truly has on the direction of the onscreen product.

Sean Ross Sapp has confirmed that he's still leading the week-to-week operations, and overall, the vast majority of WWE Raw, SmackDown and Premium Live Event creative.

There have reportedly been a number of adjustments along the road to WrestleMania 42, which is now just two weeks away. Pat McAfee's arrival is the latest curveball that's been thrown into the booking process for the show. According to Fightful, McAfee is being figured into upcoming WWE programming, at least through the conclusion of this year's 'Showcase of the Immortals.'