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According to several talents we spoke with today, Pat McAfee was hidden before the first segment on Smackdown and no one seemed to be aware he was going to be revealed.
Michael Hayes and Bobby Roode produced the segment while writer Christian Scovell was internally listed as well.
The Cody Rhodes promo responding to the attack was not listed internally on the planned rundown for the show.
There is a belief among some that some of Rhodes' comments were him shooting about TKO having inserted McAfee into the storyline.
PWInsiderElite.com reported last night, "Those we have spoken to believe this was an edict from TKO brass to WWE Creative, not a creative idea that originated in the WWE writing room and was approved by Paul Levesque. One source believed the edict may have come from as far up as Ari Emanuel (who is also McAfee's agent), but we have not yet confirmed that belief. The idea seems to be that including McAfee in the scenario gives ESPN a new promotional dimension for Wrestlemania, given McAfee's importance and popularity on their platform, giving the ESPN audience something additional leading into their first-ever Wrestlemania broadcast."
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