How NJPW Showed WWE Doesn’t Need Celebrities for WrestleMania Builds

I won’t pretend that celebrity involvement is a detriment to pro wrestling. Andy Kaufman famously made the crossover to pro wrestling in a memorable feud with Jerry Lawler. The Rock’n’Wrestling Connection saw the involvement of Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, and Liberace ahead of the first WrestleMania.

In recent decades, WrestleMania has seen the likes of Johnny Knoxville, Bad Bunny, and Shaquille O’Neal’s involvement in the monumental program. But the same can’t be said of other celebrities. WWE’s reception to Pat McAfee’s inclusion in Rhodes and Orton’s rivalry may reflect that.

Where Callum Newman and Will Ospreay’s tale differs is that it has heart and knows what it needs to be. These United Empire members have been trusted to tell their story intimately, without any extra fluff. While their relationship differs greatly from the ongoing Orton/Rhodes scene, it bears considering how engaging these stories can be.

Pat McAfee Punts His Way to WWE’s WrestleMania

When Randy Orton opened SmackDown on April 3 in front of St. Louis, things started as normal. The usual heel schtick one would expect. Then Cody entered, and the former Legacy members brawled. Then, something unusual happened. Pat McAfee returned and struck Cody with a low blow.

For some reason, he went on a rant about how bad the business was doing under Cody, and that things were better in the Attitude Era. This went on for a strangely long time while Randy outright cleaned Cody’s clock. Just clobbered him. Cody would return later in the show to deliver a worked shoot promo addressing McAfee and TKO.

The weeks of buildup after Randy’s heel turn hinted at some ominous voice on the other line helping him out. Fans’ speculation ran rampant, from Ted DiBiase Jr to Triple H (but sadly no Samu). While audiences need to temper their expectations so they aren’t disappointed, adding Pat McAfee in the mix is silly.

Aside from his commentary work with Michael Cole, where they’d hype Cody’s quest to “finish the story” from 2022-2024, Pat had little to do with anything. Why is he needed for Randy and Cody’s upcoming match? He’d been away from WWE since 2025, performing his NFL-related duties, possibly due to growing fan dissent.

I believe the distaste for Pat’s inclusion largely stems from fan expectations. However, there doesn’t seem to be much thought put into this beforehand. Since Pat is represented by Ari Emanuel, who runs TKO, this seems like a shoehorned effort to shove him into a top wrestling angle in WWE.

Whether Cody and Randy’s feud can be saved or not remains to be seen. Yet, fans agree on this one thing: it didn’t need Pat. The champion and challenger have a heated drama between them that has years of personal and kayfabe history to it. And sometimes simple is better.

The Simplicity of NJPW’s Callum Newman and Will Ospreay

Hours after SmackDown ended, NJPW concluded its Sakura Genesis event across the world. The show saw many developments: the comeback of former judoka Aaron Wolf, a mysterious masked man targeting Konosuke Takeshita, and the Knockout Brothers successfully retaining their titles. It also saw the return of former United Empire leader Will Ospreay for the first time since New Beginning in Osaka in 2024.

The Aerial Assassin joined United Empire comrades, HENARE and Great-O-Khan, in six-man action. There, he saw that the group had changed their previous mode of operations, repainted as dirty and ruthless players under the familiar emerald veneer.

Later on in the show, Ospreay joined the United Empire in accompanying Callum Newman ahead of his match against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji. Ospreay would bicker with younger and fresher talent Zane Jay when Newman opted to use a chair shot on Tsuji. Pleading with his young friend, Ospreay nearly cost a distracted Newman the match.

Ultimately, though, Newman won with his finisher, MAKE WAY, to become the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. The new champion emotionally embraced, with Ospreay asking for United Empire’s help against AEW’s Death Riders backstage. 

A multitude of intricacies have gone into this angle. In a tweet after the show, Ospreay harkened back to when he first started training Newman back in England. Yet, when the United Empire needed him most, he vanished. The group hemorrhaged members such as Jeff Cobb and TJP (now in WWE), as well as Ospreay and Aussie Open (now in AEW).

At 2026’s NJPW New Year Dash!!, Ospreay regrouped with the faction, with Newman teasing growing disdain for his friend. He’d been gone so long that he hadn’t seen what the group had to do to stay relevant—the years of Ospreay comparisons, the criticisms, and the responsibility of stewarding the group changed Newman. Ospreay is back in his old house, but the family he once shared has changed the interior.

A Tale of Two Promotions

Culture, language, storytelling methods, and business decisions separate WWE and NJPW. Neither does much of the same thing when developing their product. NJPW takes time to build and culminate its builds, to deliver storylines that fans want to invest time in.

WWE supplies content to satiate the attention and satisfaction of people living in a fast-paced world while flying by the seat of its pants. To compare to television, NJPW is The Sopranos, and WWE is The Simpsons. I won’t deny that NJPW has its problems at the end of the day. What promotion doesn’t?

Yet, they understood what makes a personal story just that—personal. There’s one singular vision that is relearning its strengths in what’s so far a strong  2026. WWE, meanwhile, seems like an oroborous destined to live out a cycle of endless self-cannibalization. Whether it’s reliance on the old way of doing things or interference by TKO in some form, WWE is an entity that, on the surface, is at odds with itself. 

Across the industry, including NJPW and WWE, would do well to take notice of what is working and what isn’t. WrestleMania is currently infested with celebrity influence. Celebrities themselves aren’t the problem; I think Lil Yachty’s recent appearance can add a lot to Trick Williams en route to The Show of Shows. He fits. Perhaps Pat McAfee could’ve had a place at WrestleMania, but somewhere he’d have made more sense.

Celebrity involvement in wrestling, if done right, can add substance and even positive attention to a promotion’s product. What it boils down to is that storytelling in wrestling is what makes it art. In entertainment, that’s crucial. Content and business goals can only last so long without that punch.