Cody Rhodes Buries Pat McAfee on ESPN Ahead of WrestleMania

ESPN might be Pat McAfee's territory, but Cody Rhodes believes that turnabout is fair play.

Cody Rhodes | Netflix

Cody Rhodes isn't pulling his punches when it comes to his thoughts on Pat McAfee ahead of WrestleMania 42.

The last couple of weeks of WWE programming heading into the company's biggest show of the year have been pretty controversial after Pat McAfee was injected into the storyline between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

Fans and wrestlers alike have voiced their displeasure with Pat McAfee's presence in a storyline that should have been able to pretty much write itself, but that hasn't stopped the powers that be at TKO from shoving McAfee's involvement down the throats of the WWE Universe. It's something Rhodes believes stems from the fact that people won't tell the ESPN host 'no'.

Pat McAfee | WWE

Cody Rhodes has choice words Pat McAfee

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was a recent guest on ESPN's Get Up to promote this weekend's WrestleMania event. When asked what the first thing that comes to mind is when he hears the name Pat McAfee, The American Nightmare didn't hold back on the ESPN personality.

"A rat, a full-blown, full-blooded rat who is surrounded by people that don't tell him no enough," Rhodes said. "And now he's fully involved in what we're doing. And Pat McAfee is on the marquee next to Randy Orton. No one expected that.

"So at least we can expect the unexpected with ESPN's own Pat McAfee. Also, I don't have the title because he took it to the Thunderdome, so I'm titleless here. I apologize."

When asked if he had a message for McAfee, Rhodes joked that he shouldn't show up and noted he'll be swimming in the deep end this weekend at the Showcase of the Immortals.

"Don't show up," Cody Rhodes said. "I think Pat right now is swimming. He's just in the shallows. He's treading water a bit. He'll be in the deep end on Saturday, and I look forward to seeing what he can do."

Has Pat McAfee killed interest in Rhodes v Orton at WrestleMania?

When Randy Orton won the Men's Elimination Chamber match and Cody Rhodes regained the WWE Championship days later from Drew McIntyre, many fans were excited to see Rhodes and Orton finally go one-on-one at the Showcase of the Immortals.

Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton | WWE

Anticipation was taken to another level when Orton went back to his old ways, listening to the voices in his head, turning heel on his long-time friend ahead of their main event encounter. While most fans continued to cheer Orton despite the heel turn, it was an added element that made the night one main event of WrestleMania 42 a must-see.

But since Pat McAfee's inclusion, interest in the match has seemingly wavered among fans over the last two weeks. So much so that a portion of fans online were using a hashtag in an attempt to have Stephanie Vaquer and Liv Morgan main event night one instead.

Will WWE be able to build some proper excitement for its night one main event this Friday on SmackDown? Or are things already too far gone? We'll find out soon enough.