Triple H, Stephanie McMahon said to be aware of WWE ad issues
Whether WWE will change anything remains to be seen, but the promotion has been made directly aware of how much fans dislike the increase in advertisements during the TKO era.
Actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. — a WWE superfan and the son of rap icon Ice Cube — appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show today and revealed a conversation he had with Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Stephanie McMahon about the oversaturation of ads on WWE programming. The conversation took place around the start of 2026, so there have not been any changes yet, but Levesque and McMahon didn’t push back on what Jackson was saying. He was told that WWE is working on potentially having better placement for the ads.
“I told this to Triple H and Stephanie when I did Stephanie’s show,” Jackson said. “I told them, the ads and the timing of them are horrendous. This was like five, six months ago or something crazy like that when I went to do Stephanie McMahon’s pod. Afterwards, because I did it at WWE headquarters, Triple H comes down, we’re all talking, and I brought up my transgressions. And I was like, ‘Dude, the ads are crazy. Like, it’s almost unwatchable.’ And, like, they know. It’s just about, they’re working on placement of them maybe.
“I get it, Roman Reigns’ entrance is seven minutes long, but that doesn’t mean that’s the time to throw the ads in. I should not — there should never be a moment where I miss IYO SKY’s entrance because ‘we are back from commercial break.’ It’s a level of respect for them. It’s fine in the middle of a match, but at least picture-in-picture me.”
Fan complaints about the ads peaked during WrestleMania 42. WWE touted that it set a new record with 32 marketing partners for the event, including Snickers, 2K, Riyadh Season, Ram, DoorDash, Wingstop, Wheatley American Vodka, Minute Maid, The General Insurance, MUG Root Beer, and Chumba Casino.
McMahon’s podcast episode with Jackson was released in January 2026. He co-hosts his own podcast “No-Contest Wrestling” that is produced by ESPN/The Rich Eisen Show.
O'Shea Jackson Jr. recently told Triple H that the amount of ads makes WWE programming “almost unwatchable”:
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 13, 2026
“I went to do Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, and afterwards Triple H came down and we were talking. I brought up my transgressions, and I was like, ‘Dude, the ads are… pic.twitter.com/39OHJh7pCP
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.