“WWE Raw” commentator Corey Graves has detailed why fans were unhappy with the inclusion of Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll in the storyline between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton ahead of WrestleMania 42. 

The two celebrities faced backlash from the WWE fanbase, which felt that their addition wasn’t necessary. Graves said in an interview with Bill Apter for “1WrestlingVideo” that the timing worked against the two.

“I truly believe it was the timing of it. I think if there had been a little bit more time to work with — and again, I don’t know that there are decisions made far above my pay grade, I don’t know the ins and outs and truthfully I don’t care to these days — but I think if there had been a little more time and maybe it had been in a different match,” said Graves. “I mean, obviously, WrestleMania and celebrities have been synonymous since the beginning. I think, you know, Pat and Jelly Roll caught a few strays. I think it was just a matter of people have been waiting for Cody and Randy for so long, and they wanted to see that story told and unfold organically, and you get these other players that don’t necessarily fit, you get a couple of square pegs and round holes.”

He feels the fans wouldn’t have minded if the two celebrities had been involved in another match on the WrestleMania card. Graves pointed to the addition of Lil Yachty to the Trick Williams-Sami Zayn storyline to highlight how fans were on board with him being in that story. He believes that any celebrity put in the McAfee or Jelly Roll spot would’ve got criticism from the fans, just because of how it was set up. 

The commentator, though, feels that WWE did a great job of navigating through the whole situation. Graves praised the match between Rhodes and Orton, calling the match worthy of being the main event of WrestleMania.

WWE’s Cody Rhodes has spoken of his desire to be a part of management again, following his stint as executive vice president in AEW.

Rhodes was one of the many executive vice presidents that AEW had when the promotion was started, but he believes that his stint was a failure, having vowed never to be in management again. He recently spoke with Kit Wilson on his “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast about wanting to learn the executive side of things in WWE, and revealed that he has an itch to be part of that side of the pro wrestling business once again.

“I wanted to go to the office to see what life would be like at the office at WWE HQ. I had a career before as an executive vice president. I failed at it — but I had some success along the way, but failed, ultimately. Learned a great deal from said failure as we do. But I wanted to go, I said, ‘Oh man, I’m gonna treat it like I’m going there for a job.’ I’ll write a sample format. I’m gonna write a full tech format, times and everything, and not a dreamer one, and put one together,” he said. “I’m gonna go and share that with Bruce Prichard and the creative team, and I’m gonna sit with them. I’m gonna meet with Lee Fitting and his team. I’m gonna meet these departments and not the, ‘Hi, I’m such and such,’ not that. We can do that in three minutes. I’m gonna actually [say], what can I really do for you? Like, [the] community. What can I really do for you? Do I fit in anywhere? ‘Cause I got the bug.”

Rhodes said he went into the meeting well-equipped because he rarely goes into matches without doing his homework. He revealed that he spoke to many people in the locker room about the ideas they had, with some wrestlers offering suggestions. However, Wilson took the assignment seriously, sending Rhodes nine PDFs filled with ideas, a level of detail that surprised “The American Nightmare.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Former WWE star Lance Storm isn’t quite convinced by the logic behind the John Cena Classic, questioning whether main roster stars would actually want to face “WWE NXT” wrestlers.

In the John Cena Classic, announced by John Cena at Backlash, main roster and “NXT” stars will go head-to-head, with the champion chosen by fans, rather than what happens in the ring. Storm, in his appearance on “Wrestling Observer Live,” pointed out a major flaw in the format of the tournament, questioning how it could benefit main roster stars.

“If I’m a $500,000 main roster talent and I’m in there with a $75,000 a year NXT guy, why would I use my skill and my experience to make him look good? If he wins the popularity contest and wins and gets the push to the championship, I could lose my job because there is going top be a TKO executive saying, ‘Well, why are we paying this guy that lost the fan vote and is less over than this NXT guy that works for way less money?'” he asked.

Storm believes that main roster stars have no incentive to elevate their “NXT” counterparts in the ring when a fan poll determines the outcome of the match. WWE has reportedly been toying with such an idea for the last 15 years, with veteran journalist Dave Meltzer claiming that WWE is unsure how the competition will unfold.

WWE, over the last few months, has been trying to create and push new stars from “NXT,” with several talented stars like Sol Ruca, Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Joe Hendry making their splash on the main roster. WWE has yet to announce when the John Cena Classic will begin and which stars will feature in the competition.