On the back of criticism surrounding celebrity appearances at WrestleMania 42, AEW’s Swerve Strickland has shared his opinion on the matter and when such appearances make sense.

This year’s WrestleMania major storyline featuring Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes was overshadowed by the additions of Jelly Roll and Pat McAfee, which was not welcomed by the WWE fanbase. Strickland explained on the “REAL 92.3 LA” podcast that fan reaction should be the basis for bringing celebrities into pro wrestling.

“There’s a time and a place for it, for sure. Once again, it always comes back to the connection to the fanbase. Like, how much have you connected with the fanbase to warrant your level of involvement in said space in wrestling,” he said. “That’s all it’s going to tell you. You always got to listen to the fanbase. Like, they’re going to tell you like what they’re receiving. Well, they’re like children. They cry when they don’t, you know, getting something they don’t want or they’re going to cry when they want something, and then you feed it to them. They’re going to be like, ‘Oh, that satisfied me.’ It’s the same way. They’re going to tell you when something’s like, they don’t like it or they’re not digesting it well.”

Reports have alleged that TKO, WWE’s parent company, had a say in the storylines heading into WrestleMania 42, one of which was the inclusion of Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll. Reports also suggest that McAfee chose to opt out of the storyline, which was eventually set to see him team with Orton against Rhodes and Jelly Roll at Backlash. 

Some in WWE have openly stated that the McAfee-Jelly Roll pairing didn’t work, with WWE commentator Corey Graves conceding that the timing of their involvement was why fans didn’t buy into it.