Several well-known figures have returned to Netflix for the first time to watch WWE’s premier Raw show.
Superstars including The Rock, John Cena, and The Undertaker made cameos at the three-hour extravaganza in Los Angeles as part of the highly anticipated show.
The most watched weekly program in professional wrestling had been televised on television for thirty-one years.
However, the executives of TKO, the business that was created when WWE and UFC merged, declared last year that Raw would only be available on streaming.
According to reports, it attracts 17.5 million people weekly in the United States, and WWE has one billion followers on social media.
The first program “was far from perfect,” according to reviews, but there were “lots of special moments to cover.”
The “amazing production values and improved visuals” were praised by another, while “the sameness of the promos” from Triple H, The Rock, and John Cena were criticized.
Although the in-ring action was praised, it was generally agreed that using Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, who was jeered loudly by the California crowd when he appeared, was “a mis-step” to bring out WWE.
At the show, John Cena announced that 2025 would be his final year competing, and the “farewell tour” began.
Since joining WWE in 2001, Cena has won the title of world champion a record 16 times, making him one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
He declared his goal to “win the Royal Rumble” event in February and told the applauding audience he “could not think of a better place to start” his farewell.
The return of TKO director Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was another pleasure for fans.
Although The Rock has portrayed the antagonist “The Final Boss” before, he spoke about the night’s “history” and, much to the surprise of many, welcomed and applauded his erstwhile opponent Cody Rhodes.
He then made an appearance at the end of Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa’s Tribal Combat Match, where he embraced Reigns after Reigns won.
At the conclusion of the Women’s World Championship bout between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley, The Undertaker made a brief reappearance that evening.
The championship victory for Ripley was the climax of a long-running plot.
Following a highly acclaimed back-and-forth promo on the last broadcast Raw edition, CM Punk and Seth Rollins wrapped up the action.
With the occasionally contentious Punk winning, it was a bout that was generally acknowledged as the high point of the evening’s in-ring action.
WWE’s potential implications of the Netflix partnership
For the rights to broadcast Raw and other WWE programs, including archival material, Netflix agreed to pay more than $5 billion (£4 billion).
All weekly programs, including SmackDown, NXT, and live events, will be accessible to viewers outside of the United States.
According to the corporation, this would include pay-per-view events like Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and WrestleMania.
It stated that the agreement would initially impact supporters in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Latin America before being extended to other nations.
According to Brandon Thurston, publisher of the wrestling website Wrestlenomics, “a lot of people use Netflix and they’ll put it on and see WWE prominently.”
“So that [could] have a great positive effect for their business.”
Brandon believes WWE has a chance to reach more homes worldwide and draw in younger, younger viewers as streaming grows and traditional viewership declines.
“We’re switching from traditional television to the most widely used streaming service. Therefore, it should further expand the audience of 18 to 49.
For twelve years, Raw ran for three hours before being trimmed to two by the end of 2024.
Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, the chief content officer for WWE, claims that the streaming service allows them “flexibility” with regard to scheduling.
Additionally, Brandon believes that it may affect the content’s style as well, allowing for variations from week to week.
He claims that, in contrast to typical TV scheduling, “they have the freedom to not be bound to a time slot.”
Although Brandon believes the partnership has a lot of benefits, he points out that depending too much on the streamer can be a drawback.
“There is a real chance that Netflix may begin to lose users for a variety of reasons.
“[But] I think it’s important emphasise just how far ahead it is of everybody else in the streaming market.”
