Bully Ray Defends Cody Rhodes’ ‘Real’ Promo on Pat McAfee, Randy Orton Angle: ‘That Was Genuine Angry’
“That was Cody’s genuine angry voice. That’s not pro wrestling mad, that’s real-life mad” — WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has come to the defense of Cody Rhodes’ controversial worked-shoot promo on “SmackDown,” arguing that the authenticity of Rhodes’s anger made the segment work, even as the wrestling world remains divided over Pat McAfee’s surprise role in the Randy Orton-WrestleMania 42 storyline.
Nearly a week after McAfee revealed himself as Randy Orton’s mystery caller — helping Orton attack his WrestleMania opponent Cody Rhodes — the angle remains wrestling’s biggest talking point. McAfee’s promo bashing WWE’s current product and WrestleMania ticket sales drew sharp criticism from fans and insiders alike. Rhodes’s retort, which referenced the NWO, Disco Inferno, and TKO executive Ari Emanuel, was equally polarizing.
But Bully Ray sees things differently — at least when it comes to Rhodes’s performance.
‘The Words Don’t Matter — It’s the Tone’
On Monday’s “Busted Open Radio,” Bully Ray presented his case for why Rhodes’s promo mostly worked, aside from a clunky line about Disco Inferno. For the ECW and TNA legend, the key was authenticity.
“What’s the one word that I said I need my pro wrestling to be? Real,” Bully said. “Everything that Cody said was very real. The words don’t matter to me. It’s the tone. That was Cody’s genuine angry voice. That’s not pro wrestling mad, that’s real-life mad.”
Bully pointed to Rhodes’s opening salvo as particularly effective. “The whole front end of that promo is, ‘F you … whoever thought that Pat McAfee would be a good idea for this.’ It was actually F you to anybody who thought including anybody in this was a good idea.”
Why It’s Your Favorite Cody Promo
Bully argued that Rhodes’s closing line revealed the true source of his frustration — not just with McAfee, but with the entire creative direction of the angle.
“How do I know that’s an eff you to anybody that thought this was a good idea to include anybody? Because at the end he said, ‘This is about two guys with 20 years of history and a pro wrestling match. You should’ve left it alone.'”
“That’s why that’s your favorite Cody promo,” Bully continued, “because it’s real. It’s genuine. It’s from the heart. It’s passionate. There’s nothing canned about it.”
The Backstory: McAfee’s Surprise Role
The angle in question unfolded on last week’s “SmackDown.” Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter turned WWE commentator and media personality, revealed himself as the mystery caller who had been conspiring with Randy Orton. McAfee then helped Orton attack Cody Rhodes, cutting a promo that criticized WWE’s current product and questioned WrestleMania 42 ticket sales.
The worked-shoot elements — real-world criticism of WWE business metrics mixed with storyline violence — divided fans. Some praised the unpredictability and edge. Others called it confusing, self-indulgent, or simply bad television.
Rhodes responded later in the same show with a promo that name-dropped the NWO (the legendary stable that popularized worked-shoots in the 1990s), Disco Inferno (a former WCW wrestler turned vocal critic of modern wrestling), and Ari Emanuel (the very real CEO of TKO, WWE’s parent company). The references blurred the line between storyline and reality even further.
The One Line Bully Hated
Even Bully Ray, for all his defense of Rhodes’s performance, admitted that one line fell flat.
“Aside from the line about Disco Inferno,” Bully said, acknowledging that the reference to the former WCW star felt forced or out of place.
Disco Inferno, whose real name is Glenn Gilbertti, has become a controversial figure in wrestling media for his frequent criticism of modern WWE and AEW. Naming him in a worked-shoot promo on “SmackDown” was an inside-baseball reference that likely confused casual fans while delighting hardcore followers of wrestling podcasts and social media drama.
The Bigger Debate: Worked Shoots in 2026
The McAfee-Orton-Rhodes angle has reignited a long-running debate about the role of worked shoots in modern professional wrestling.
Proponents argue that the line between reality and fiction has been blurred for decades — from the Montreal Screwout to CM Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo to the recent wave of meta-storylines in AEW and WWE. When done well, worked shoots create must-see television that feels dangerous and unpredictable.
Critics counter that worked shoots are lazy writing that substitutes shock value for coherent storytelling. When every promo is a “shoot,” nothing feels real anymore. And when real-world business metrics — like ticket sales — are publicly criticized in a storyline, it can undermine confidence in the product.
Bully Ray’s defense of Rhodes falls squarely in the proponent camp — but only because he believes Rhodes’s anger was authentic.
What This Means for WrestleMania 42
Regardless of opinions on the promo, the angle has succeeded in one key way: fans are now intensely interested in Rhodes vs. Orton at WrestleMania 42.
The match features two of WWE’s most decorated performers, with 20 years of combined history. Rhodes is the defending champion and face of the company. Orton is the legendary veteran and “Legend Killer” who has reinvented himself multiple times. Adding McAfee as a wild card introduces uncertainty — and uncertainty drives interest.
Whether Rhodes’s “real” anger was a performance or genuine frustration with creative direction, it has added a layer of tension to the match that standard promo battles could not achieve.
The Bottom Line
Bully Ray’s defense of Cody Rhodes’s promo boils down to one word: authenticity. He believes Rhodes was genuinely angry — whether at McAfee, at the creative team, or at the situation — and that genuine emotion translated through the screen.
For fans who felt the promo was confusing or self-indulgent, Bully’s argument may not persuade. But for those who value emotional honesty over polished execution, Rhodes’s “real-life mad” voice was exactly what the angle needed.
As WrestleMania 42 approaches, one thing is certain: Rhodes vs. Orton — with McAfee lurking — will be one of the most talked-about matches on the card. And for better or worse, the worked-shoot promo got everyone talking.
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Writer: Sam Michael