Stephanie McMahon Sparks Debate With VPN Ad During Podcast

This week, on What's Your Story, McMahon personally promoted a VPN service through a podcast advertisement,. The service would allow users to access WWE programming on Netflix without commercials. Not only that, but fans in the United States (or other countries where WWE programs are not on Netflix) can also use the VPN to access content they typically can't access.

The ad, which offered listeners an extended trial using the promo code “STEPH,” quickly went viral, igniting debates about whether WWE's network partners in the U.S. would be thrilled to know she was essentially offering a discount on a workaround.

WWE’s landmark exclusive streaming deal with Netflix is available to fans in most countries. For example, in Canada, all premium live events, including Raw, SmackDown, and NXT shows, are available under one price with a Netflix membership. However, in the United States, fans are using alternative means to access specific programs. It's either full of commercials or costs extra money, which Steph is suggesting can be eliminated with the use of a VPN.

By encouraging fans to bypass geo-restrictions, McMahon’s message inadvertently or intentionally undercuts some of their network and streaming partners.

Fans quickly took to social media to share their thoughts. One user quipped, “I’m sure USA Network, the CW, and ESPN — worth billions combined — are thrilled she took maybe $25,000 to do this ad.” Others expressed confusion about VPN technology, while some praised McMahon for “telling all the secrets.”

What Is A VPN?

For fans who are confused about why this might be an issue, a VPN is a service that essentially hides your Internet IP address, making it appear as though you're accessing services from another location. Internet browsers often use it to access banking services or other confidential information securely. In this instance, United States customers could display their IP address in Canada to access the Canadian version of Netflix. Those U.S. customers could then access all of the PLEs and other shows without having to watch on cable or sit through commercials.

On the surface, the idea is to incentivize fans to adopt Netflix for WWE programming. It sounds innocent enough. The counterargument is that by steering people to Netflix and using a VPN service to access services they shouldn't technically be able to access based on their location, they're hurting their own partners in the United States.

Whether the ad creates friction with WWE’s regional partners remains to be seen.