WWE Hall of Famer says Pat McAfee is doing an “incredible” job and is not getting “go away” heat
As seen during the April 3rd 2026 edition of WWE SmackDown, Pat McAfee was revealed as Randy Orton’s mystery phone caller after he attacked WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. While speaking on the Something to Wrestle podcast, WWE Hall of Famer JBL (John Layfield) commented on if McAfee is getting “go away” heat…
“It just blows me away when a guy gets heat like this and people go, ‘Oh, no, no, no—it’s go-away heat.’ No, it’s not. You’re talking about it. If it was go-away heat, you would not be talking about it because you wouldn’t like it—you wouldn’t even mention it. It’s real heat.
People want heels, but they want to be in on it. They’ll say, ‘Hey, listen, he’s a great heel.’ If you’re saying somebody is a great heel, they’re not really a heel, because you realize they’re playing something.
When you come out there and you’re able to strip away the veneer of that person playing a heel to that person just being an asshole and you don’t like them—that’s when you’re winning.
Killer Tim Brooks used to always tell me, ‘The key to being a heel is when they take away the fact that you’re playing a character, and they don’t just say it has nothing to do with Killer Tim Brooks as a wrestler—I don’t like that man. I hate him.’
And then you ask them, ‘Would you pay to see somebody come in—Bruiser Brody come in—and take on Killer?’ ‘Oh my God, I’d pay double.’
You’re right—he can’t draw any money. But that’s the key to being a heel: people don’t realize you’re being a heel. They just look at it and go, ‘I hate that guy.’
‘Well, he’s a good heel.’ No, no, no—he’s not a heel. I hate him. I hate him.
I think Pat’s doing an incredible job.”