O’Shea Jackson Jr. says he directly confronted Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon about the growing amount of advertising on WWE programming, claiming both executives agreed the situation has become excessive.
Jackson made the comments during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s show while discussing WrestleMania 42 and the criticism surrounding its heavy commercial load.
After Helwani described WrestleMania 42 as “very disappointing” and criticized the amount of advertising throughout the two-night event, Jackson revealed he had previously raised the issue directly with WWE management. “That is where I draw the line,” Jackson said.
Jackson explained that the conversation occurred earlier this year while visiting WWE headquarters to record an episode of Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story? podcast for the WWE/Fanatics network. “This was like five, six months ago when I went to do Stephanie McMahon’s pod,” Jackson said. “Afterwards, because we did it at WWE headquarters, Triple H comes down, we’re all talking, and I brought up my transgressions.”
According to Jackson, he bluntly described the current presentation as difficult to watch because of the ad placement. “I was like, ‘Dude, the ads are crazy. Unwatchable.’ He was like, they know, they agreed. It’s just about they’re working on placement of them, maybe.”
Jackson emphasized that his biggest issue was not necessarily the existence of advertisements themselves, but rather when they interrupt the show. “I get it, Roman Reigns’ entrance is seven minutes long, but that doesn’t mean that’s the time to throw the ads in.”
He specifically referenced missing part of Iyo Sky’s appearance during a WrestleMania match due to a commercial break. “There should never be a moment where I miss Iyo Sky’s entrance because we are back from commercial break.”
Jackson suggested WWE should at minimum use more picture-in-picture formatting during key moments rather than completely cutting away from the action.
Helwani also criticized the lack of backstage skits, celebrity interactions, and personality-driven segments that historically gave WrestleMania broadcasts a unique atmosphere. “We had none of that,” Helwani said. “That’s why I said it felt soulless.”
Jackson agreed with the assessment. “It’s for sure soulless,” he responded.
However, Jackson also acknowledged the financial realities behind WWE’s current presentation model following the company’s major media rights deals. “But I mean, to get to a billion, I don’t know what you got to do. Sounds pretty soulless. We’re dealing with Bs, not Ms. We’re dealing with billions.”
WrestleMania 42 took place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18 and 19 and featured WWE’s expanded partnership with ESPN, including simulcasts across ESPN platforms during portions of the event.
