Pat McAfee WWE

Pat McAfee Teases Massive Surprise on WWE SmackDown

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Zack Heydorn | Last updated Apr 9, 2026 8:30 PM ET

Pat McAfee made waves last week on SmackDown when he revealed himself to be the voice behind the voices in the head of Randy Orton leading up to WrestleMania.

Orton won this year's Elimination Chamber match and that victory earned him a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania . At the time that he won, Drew McIntyre was the champion, but soon after, Cody Rhodes regained the title and Orton vs. Rhodes was booked as the main event.

When both men signed the contract for their WrestleMania title match, Orton snapped. He beat Rhodes within an inch of his life and left him lying in a bloody heap on top of the steel steps. In promos that followed the attack, Orton alluded to another voice in his head that was advising him in the lead-up to WrestleMania.

Orton was shown talking to someone on a cell phone during an episode of Raw and referenced this person on SmackDown. Last week, that person revealed themselves to be Pat McAfee.

McAfee had been away from WWE for quite some time and this return was met with a mixed reaction. TKO Group CEO Ari Emanuel reportedly made the call to bring McAfee back into such a high-profile position in a major match at WrestleMania. McAfee took heat from Cody Rhodes later in the night, but also had a promo cut on him by CM Punk during this week's episode of Raw.

Pat McAfee bringing massive surprise to SmackDown

IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

After Raw, McAfee announced on his show that he would appear on this week's episode of SmackDown. On Thursday, McAfee said that he had a massive surprise for the show.

"Randy Orton is gonna save the business for future generations of wrestling fans," McAfee wrote on X. "That’s so incredible to think about. .. Very rarely do these types of obviously monumental moments happen in our lifetime. My daughter and baby boy on the way are gonna have a WWE that is thriving. A WWE that is the greatest form of entertainment on Earth, bar none, because the top of the company is gonna be exactly what it’s supposed to be.

"WrestleMania Saturday Night is gonna be the most historic night in the HISTORY of sports. SO MUCH ON THE LINE. Multi-Generational pressure comes to a head. Randy will prevail … for all of us. See also… I have a MASSIVE SURPRISE to announce tomorrow night. You’ll start thanking me and Randy soon enough for all of this."

Randy Orton is gonna save the business for future generations of wrestling fans. That’s so incredible to think about.. Very rarely do these types of obviously monumental moments happen in our lifetime.

My daughter and baby boy on the way are gonna have a WWE that is thriving.. a… pic.twitter.com/B3XpvhMZFx
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 9, 2026

Prior to this role alongside Orton, McAfee was an announcer for the company on various shows like Raw, SmackDown, and NXT. McAfee had been on hiatus from the company due to what he called burnout.

WrestleMania is a little over a week away from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The main event of the night is Orton vs. Rhodes. Night two is scheduled to be headlined by CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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