WWE Not Restricting Talent From Speaking About Pat McAfee Segment Amid Ongoing Backlash
WWE isn’t shutting anyone up over the Pat McAfee situation — even as the fallout from his involvement in the Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton storyline continues to draw strong reactions.
The segment has sparked plenty of conversation among fans and talent alike, especially after Damian Priest publicly addressed the angle during a recent interview. That led to speculation that WWE might try to control who could speak about the situation. That doesn’t appear to be happening.
Sean Ross Sapp explained via Fightful Select Q&A that he followed up internally after Priest spoke out and was told WWE has not placed any restrictions on talent discussing the segment publicly. According to what he heard, the company seems comfortable letting the conversation play out — even when it brings criticism.
After being asked whether WWE was limiting what talent could say about the McAfee situation, Sapp made it clear that wasn’t the case.
“Yeah, I asked after Damian Priest interview on the Gabby AF podcast, which was a very good interview, and I was told there were no restrictions on talent speaking about it. For whatever reason, they seem to like the buzz around like anything now. So we’re hearing what we’re hearing. But last year I had asked about all the politic talk and they said, yeah, there were a few talent who came out as basically voting for Trump, but we didn’t want to muzzle them and we didn’t want to muzzle people like CM Punk when they spoke their mind as well.”
That approach could explain why discussion around the McAfee angle hasn’t slowed down. With talent speaking openly and WWE continuing to tweak creative plans behind the scenes, the situation remains one of the most talked-about topics heading into SmackDown.
WWE appears willing to let the reaction unfold in public instead of trying to contain it, which could keep attention locked onto whatever happens next when McAfee shows up on television again.
Do you think WWE should let talent openly talk about controversial storylines like this, or would it be better to keep things quiet behind the scenes? Let us know what you think.
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