Cody Rhodes has opened up about the evolving WrestleMania storyline with Randy Orton, and it is clear one particular addition caught him off guard.

Speaking on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, Rhodes reflected on the deep history he shares with Orton, a relationship that stretches back nearly twenty years. He explained that their rivalry already carried real weight due to their time together in WWE, including their days in Legacy, as well as personal ties involving their families. Rhodes made it clear that, in his view, the story between them did not need extra elements to feel meaningful.

“Randy Orton, who I'm wrestling at WrestleMania, we have like almost two decades of history between each other. He was my mentor. I had Cena, who I drove around. I had Randy very different opinions but also really helped shape me. We were on screen together as part of his group Legacy. He had my dad's last match, my first match in the company's Randy. There was a lot of rich story material and then we inserted Pat McAfee and that's we are literally in that part right there.”

Rhodes then shifted focus to Pat McAfee’s sudden rise within the storyline, suggesting that the situation raises concerns about how quickly things have developed. While not directly criticising McAfee himself, Rhodes pointed to the environment around him and questioned whether there is enough pushback behind the scenes.

“What I would say is right now what I've seen is everyone around Pat McAfee his orbit probably someone needs to say no every now and then. That seems like a dangerous group of people you need that one guy in the room to be like I don't know man. Jumping into the WrestleMania main event also while I was getting my ass kicked in the ring the other night, looking up and he's wearing shades like he put the shades on to go out there. It's a different era of wrestling.”

The comments come after McAfee aligned himself with Orton on SmackDown in a segment that left Rhodes laid out, further fuelling discussion around his growing presence on WWE television. There has also been talk that parts of McAfee’s promo may have gone off script, adding another layer to the situation.