With WWE programming set to kick off on the ESPN platforms from this month onward, promotions are underway, and Stephanie McMahon joined the stint a couple of days ago. As the WWE head-honcho promoted WWE content, scattering across platforms, she also offered an unconventional way to catch up to those, rather than paying out to ESPN’s payment gateways.
On a recent episode of her “What’s Your Story?” podcast, Stephanie McMahon casually promoted the use of a VPN to access WWE content on Netflix to get viewership access in regions where it’s restricted. During a mid-show ad break, she encouraged the fans to use a VPN to access international Netflix content.
Following this model would allow the fans in the United States to avoid ESPN’s $30-per-month fee to watch a WWE premium live event, and opt for a much cost-effective alternative provided by Netflix for fans outside the United States. The comments made by Stephanie McMahon caught a portion of the fans by shock, and ESPN has echoed a similar sentiment, going by the follow-up updates.
WWE’s HHH & Stephanie McMahon’s 2025 Greece Vacation Photos Put Internet On Fire
Stephanie telling everyone to use a VPN for WWE on Netflix😭😭😭
She’s telling you guys not to pay $30 pic.twitter.com/305VJHDBxf
— Zashy 🇵🇸 (@Zashy120) August 28, 2025
Now that the comments have sparked both amusement and buzz among fans, as Fightful Select noted, “At least one source we spoke to at ESPN ‘wasn’t thrilled’ by the VPN ad read on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast.” The insider didn’t expect the comments to become a “major issue,” but they acknowledged an awkwardness given WWE’s partnership with ESPN.
Stephanie McMahon making sporadic TV appearances in WWE
Former co-Chief Executive Officer & co-Chairwoman, Stephanie McMahon, was out in the ring at WWE Summerslam 2025 to give the crowd in attendance the exact numbers from the summer extravaganza. As touted by her, WWE’s official attendance for the first night was 53,161, while 60,561 fans attended Night Two of the PLE, the same night where she made her last WWE TV appearance.
After staying away from the WWE landscape, which used to be run under her father’s influence at one point, Stephanie McMahon returned in the early phase of 2025. Although she’s not been assigned to any official role in the company, she’s been making sporadic appearances on WWE TV shows and the What’s Your Story podcast via the WWE–Fanatics joint venture.
Before this podcast, Stephanie McMahon came back to the spotlight with Stephanie’s Places, an ESPN Original Series. Elsewhere, the WWE-ESPN partnership will kick off through Wrestlepalooza, a premium live event from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, September 20, airing live on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service.