Summary

Andrew Yang weighed in on the backlash surrounding WrestleMania 42, arguing on social media that TKO has pulled WWE too far toward ads and celebrity involvement at the expense of the wrestlers themselves.

The reaction follows a weekend that drew criticism from fans over how often advertising appeared during the show and how prominently celebrity names were folded into major moments. One of the biggest complaints centered on Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll being worked into the main event storyline involving Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.

Yang has publicly criticized WWE before. In 2020, he blasted the company's stance on third-party platforms, pointed to the way talent are classified as independent contractors, and discussed the idea of wrestling unionization.

WrestleMania 42 criticism reaches beyond the usual WWE bubble

WrestleMania 42 already faced fan pushback over its ad load, and Yang's comments add a higher-profile outside voice to that same complaint. That does not change any WWE booking on its own, but it does keep the conversation around the show's presentation alive after the event itself.

The sharper point for WWE is that some of the backlash was tied to the Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes program, where fans felt celebrity involvement distracted from one of the promotion's biggest stories. When criticism lands on the presentation of a top WrestleMania angle, it tends to linger longer than a one-night social media argument.

Sources

Andrew Yang via X