Cody Rhodes and WWE Creative Reportedly Have Legitimate Gripes With TKO

Cody Rhodes was reportedly venting some real life frustrations Friday night when he cut his impromptu promo on WWE SmackDown.

The American Nightmare had a rough start to show. He marched down to the ring for a one-on-one fight with his WrestleMania 42 opponent, Randy Orton, only to find himself getting kicked below the belt by Pat McAfee.

It was then revealed that McAfee had been the one speaking with The Viper on the phone these past few weeks, and he proceeded to cut a heel promo as Orton continued to assault The American Nightmare with a steel chair in front of his hometown St. Louis fans.

.@PatMcAfeeShow is going OFF! 😳 pic.twitter.com/nPcbkdiwpF
— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2026

McAfee went off on the entire wrestling industry during his speech, essentially labeling Cody Rhodes as the poster boy for everything he now hates about the industry he once loved.

He's now aligned himself with Randy Orton, because The Viper is going to destroy everything Cody has created these past four years. And it starts with winning his 15th world championship at WrestleMania.

This was a massive swerve that no one saw coming, and that many people didn't want — at least according to the online commentary. It sounds like Cody Rhodes is in agreement with those people.

Cody Rhodes and WWE creative members have issues with TKO getting involved in storylines

It was reported late Friday night that the call to insert Pat McAfee into the Rhodes and Orton program did not come from Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque. This particular creative plot twist came straight from Ari Emanuel and others involved in TKO management.

The thought is that McAfee, one of the most popular ESPN personalities today, could help elevate the rivalry and improve ticket sales for WrestleMania 42.

Following the online backlash to the reveal Friday night, the folks over at BodySlam say that Cody Rhodes was instructed to go back out to the ring for an unannounced promo. It was also said that McAfee's promo earlier in the night was completely off script, which contributed to the decision to have Rhodes issue a rebuttal.

"What are you gonna do? Fire me? It sure worked out for you the last time." @CodyRhodes is NOT holding back 😳 pic.twitter.com/vH37jN5CB1
— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2026

"Sources indicate to BodySlam that Rhodes was told from members of creative to go to the ring and shoot from the hip regarding Pat McAfee and TKO. Rhodes and other members of the creative team have legitimate gripes with TKO for sticking their nose in storylines close to WrestleMania multiple years in a row."

If nothing else, Rhodes proved he still has his fastball when it comes to cutting a promo. He went right after McAfee, and presumably his backers with TKO management, and told them all to kiss his ass. Rhodes also said the McAfee reveal went over about as well as if the Disco Inferno had been the third man in the nWo instead of Hulk Hogan.

The WWE Champion then practically dared the powers that be to fire him, knowing full well how it worked out for the company the last time they parted ways. A message was clearly sent. How well it was received is unknown at this time.