Picture: Netflix / WWE Raw
If anything, the collision of Netflix and WWE seems like destiny. On January 6th, for the first time, RAW will begin streaming exclusively on Netflix. As RAW will break new ground in their new home, it’s an exciting time to be a WWE fan. But what changes will this move bring to the wrestling promotion? Below, we’ve highlighted ten changes we’d want to see made to WWE Raw on Netflix.
WWE’s flagship series, Monday Night Raw, first aired on January 11, 1993. It has aired weekly for almost 32 years, a testament to its monumental influence on pop culture and television. For most of its historic run, it has aired on the USA Network; only a 5-year break from 2000-2005, during which its television base became TNN (later rebranded to Spike TV), stands in between a consistent home for the show.
A little business called Netflix opened its doors four years after Raw debuted. At the time, it was not the streaming platform we know of today. It started as a DVD rental service. Almost 30 years later, Netflix has become the most dominant streaming service and revolutionized the way television is consumed around the globe.
Much like WWE redefined the “professional wrestling” world, Netflix reshaped the entertainment industry and bent it to its whim. However, one thing Netflix has not conquered is live sports / TV. Over the past few years, we’ve seen them experiment with the medium, but in 2025, they’re finally going “all-in.”
On January 23, 2024, WWE ($TKO) issued a press release announcing that Netflix had acquired the air rights to WWE Raw in the USA and ALL of their live programming in the rest of the world (upon conclusion of any pre-existing deals).
Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. Likewise, as part of the agreement, Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. as available, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. WWE’s award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025.
The overall rights package is a 5-billion-dollar juggernaut that will last ten years with an option to extend it another 10 years or opt-out after 5 if it isn’t living up to its hype, but it’s virtually impossible that could be true.
Recently, the “Coming Soon” pages for WWE Raw, WWE Smackdown, and WWE NXT began appearing internationally and WWE Raw in the USA.
With just 12 weeks left before the highly anticipated launch, it’s the perfect time to talk about what we hope to see when WWE goes LIVE from your streaming devices!
1. A WWE Hub
The AMC hub as it appears in Netflix search results.
A few months ago, Netflix created its first branded hub for the AMC Networks content. It’s honestly shocking that this is the first and only branded hub. They carry Sony films in the Pay 1 window, but Sony has no hub. Since WWE is one of the most significant rights package acquisitions of Netflix’s existence, it would certainly make sense to show it off in a way that makes its importance evident. Subscribers will search for “WWE” a lot next year, and it would be helpful to have a logo and banner. The challenge is that the subscribers in the United States are (as of now) only getting Raw. 1 title does not make a hub make. Internationally, the hub will have a lot more content to carry.
Which brings us to the next hope:
2. Next Day Episodes of Smackdown and NXT and Catalog
Internationally, WWE Raw, Smackdown, and NXT will be on Netflix. To make WWE Raw feel less isolated, Netflix should acquire the rights to stream the “next day” streaming rights to the other main WWE shows for Americans. A rumor was published a few weeks back by WrestleVotes, a newer source that has already had a few scoops, claiming WWE is “considering” getting Smackdown’s day after replays onto Netflix.
Hopefully, that would also include NXT. Netflix will already have copies of these episodes in its servers for “80% of the globe” (per Triple H at the Bad Blood post-show press conference on October 5). What remains unknown is whether it will contain the “full” archives as WWE Network did.
All 3 WWE Shows Are Coming to the UK and select regions in January 2025
An American Rights Kerfuffle
During the shuffling of rights this fall, Americans lost a lot of accessibility to the WWE shows. Since Peacock took over the WWE Network rights in March 2021, all three shows have been available on a 30-day delay. Hulu had the next day rights to each series. They held those exclusive rights for a month before joining Peacock’s archives, and in the case of Raw and NXT, those episodes would also remain on Hulu. For Smackdown, Hulu only had the four most recent episodes. On September 27, 2024, after ten years, that deal ended. Upon its conclusion, fans in the USA lost any legal way to view these series ad-free the next day.
At first, some expected Peacock to “fill in the gaps” in their rights and acquire Hulu’s missing portion of rights. On September 27, 2024, representatives for Peacock confirmed to Sports Illustrated their 30-day delay would stand. The only option now for fans in America is to watch Raw or Smackdown on the “USA Network” app with tons of ads or NXT on the “CW” app (also with tons of ads). This is not an acceptable situation for a popular series in 2024. Indeed, Hulu’s valuable carve out of rights won’t remain unclaimed. Therefore, it’s only natural for WWE and Netflix to make a deal.
Further complicating the USA rights situation, the NXT archives left Peacock entirely on October 1, the same day NXT premiered on the CW. The CW confirmed they would ONLY stream the episodes that air on CW, so all previous seasons are now entirely unavailable in America. Peacock had also confirmed to Sports Illustrated that the Monday Night Raw archives would leave when Raw moves to Netflix. The WWE Network on Peacock is losing most of its luster, and the likelihood of those remaining catalog and PLE (Premium Live Events, FKA PPVs) rights staying there in March 2026 is virtually 0.
One final thing to consider is that with all of Raw leaving Peacock when it begins to air live on Netflix, the catalog rights could already be secured for the USA. It has never been confirmed that Netflix would do anything more than air the show live.
This needs to change on behalf of all WWE fans in America. Once again, make the shows available where people watch them (on an SVOD service), when (the day after they air), and how (with the ability to view free of ads via a Premium add-on).
3. TV-14 Rating / Uncensored Crowd Chants
For many years, fans watching at home have had their viewing experience lessened by USA, Fox, and now the CW. All 3 of WWE’s shows have been rated TV-PG since July 2008. I don’t feel the show needs to ramp up the blood and cussing (AEW has that covered), but most fans would agree the censorship of uncontrollable crowd chants must end. Any crushing or explosive or shocking move is met with a professional wrestling classic, “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!” When this occurs, the networks mute the audio for an extended period or try to mute just the “shit” part, which results in the audio dropping in and out. The commentator team keeps talking, but on the American feeds, we hear nothing or just bits and pieces. It takes you out of the action when suddenly it’s just the sound of your breath and the crinkling of your bag of chips.
If WWE upped the ratings to TV-14, they could allow the chants to be heard. Even if the series remains TV-PG, perhaps Netflix could be more lenient.
4. New Logo & Theme Song
In the past month, WWE’s other two main series, Smackdown and NXT, received new logos when they moved to USA Network and The CW, respectively. The current WWE Raw logo has been the same since 2019. It is a new logo for a new era. While the logo used on the Netflix landing pages is the old one, it will certainly change. The new logo even seems to have leaked via toys.
The current in-house composers for WWE is a group known as Def Rebel. It’s’ recently become known that they will depart at the end of their contract. Alongside the new logos, WWE Smackdown and NXT received new theme songs, this time licensed from famous rap artists instead of produced in-house. Smackdown’s theme is “Neva Play,” performed by Megan Thee Stallion featuring RM of BTS. NXT’s theme is “Millions From Now” by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne. The shift from Rock to Rap music has been quite the talking point online, with many bothered by this shift and others celebrating a “hipper vibe.” It seems like a safe bet that Raw will also get a theme song by a rapper.
Who would you like to see? Hear me out: Eminem. He’s a fan of professional wrestling, and earlier this year, he was at WWE Raw in the audience.
5. Fancy New Set
Smackdown did not receive a new set when it moved to USA Network on September 13. The rumor is that WWE NXT will receive a new set when they return to the Performance Center, where they film most episodes, on Tuesday, October 15. The first two episodes on the CW were filmed in Chicago and St. Louis, during which time they supposedly revamped the set.
6. Shuffled Roster
Most years, WWE holds a Draft in the spring to shake up the rosters of Raw and Smackdown and “promote” some wrestlers from their developmental program, NXT, to the main rosters. I’ve theorized for a while that WWE will hold an additional draft of sorts in December to bring over some of their stars from Smackdown and call up some new talent from NXT. This would help facilitate new stories and matches.
Some possible switches I could see happening include moving 20-year veteran Randy Orton or fiercely popular and talented newcomer Tiffany Stratton from Smackdown to Raw. The popular Bloodline faction that has dominated the stories on Smackdown moving to Raw would be a seismic change, particularly in light of Raw’s “dominant” group, the Judgment Day, going through some significant changes and losing much of its aura. (Apologies to my favorite, Liv Morgan.)
More than anything, I’d like to see NXT standout The Prodigy Roxanne Perez called up to be the centerpiece of Raw’s women’s division.
It wouldn’t be her first time on Raw, either. She had a surprise appearance and even picked up a victory back in April on the Raw after Wrestlemania. A sign of things to come?
7. No Commercials For Netflix Premium Subscribers
In January, CNBC media and sports reporter Alex Sherman scooped back that WWE would not serve ads to those who pay for no-ad plans. He claimed the matches would not cut away for ad-breaks as they’ve always done on TV, and the cameras would keep rolling. Uninterrupted matches? Seems like a fantastic selling point for Netflix Premium. Can you imagine if sports events just kept going during commercial breaks? How ridiculous would it be to return to a football game and find out the other team had scored a touchdown while you were watching commercials for McDonalds? This is necessary.
Another example Alex Sherman gave was that they’d air exclusive backstage segments or interviews during the Netflix ad-tier commercial breaks. For many years, WWE has posted “exclusive” backstage interviews on their social media after the shows go off air. It would seem highly logical to slot these moments into the actual show and post them later on social media. They also stream post-shows on Peacock called Raw Talk and Smackdown Lowdown, which feature cutaways for backstage reporters following up with superstars after their matches. Perhaps those post-shows could focus on discussing what happened on the show and let those interviews be commercial break fillers for the ad-free subscribers.
8. Return Raw to 3 Hours
WWE Raw started as a 2-hour program in 1997. The runtime expanded to 3 hours in 2012. As the WWE / Netflix deal begins in January 2025, and the old contract with USA Network expired at the end of September, WWE Raw was to be homeless from October – December 2024. Fortunately, USA Network and WWE worked out a short-term 3-month deal to keep the series on TV until Netflix takes over. An unfortunate aspect of this new deal is a reduction from 3 hours to 2. Some fans celebrated this move, suggesting RAW is too long. Many others expressed concerns that there would no longer be time for lower card stars, with the most common fear that the women would be sidelined down to just 1 match.
On the first 2-hour Raw, fears were confirmed. Much controversy came from the decision to throw ten women together into 1 match near the show’s end. This match was also interrupted by a lengthy commercial break. The online reactions ranged from enraged to mildly frustrated to see women reduced back to the status they had more than a decade ago when they were referred to as “Divas” and competed in Bra-and-Panties matches… After that mess, many folks changed their minds and cried out for the 3rd hour to return. Fightful Selected, a highly regarded wrestling insider source, claims that there were frustrations backstage with how the women were handled.
At the Bad Blood post-show press conference last weekend, Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque maintained that whether Raw would return to three hours on Netflix had simply not been decided yet. The wrestling dirt sheets are claiming it will. We shall see.
9. Women’s Intercontinental Championship
For the past few years, nearly every wrestler has been asked in their interviews about the potential for women’s mid-card titles. For those unaware, midcard means wrestlers who aren’t quite ready for the main event or don’t fit there at that time. This has been such a passionate talking point for the women AND men employed by WWE, and fans very much want this, but it has yet to occur. Throughout the summer, there were multiple “leaks” that midcard titles for the main roster were coming. Why not use WWE Raw on Netflix to launch this latest equality initiative?
Men have had midcard titles for over 30 years. Giving women their second-tier championship aids the storylines and gives everybody more to fight for. On Raw, Smackdown, and NXT, the man have their world and midcard titles. Raw’s midcard title for the men is the Intercontinental Championship, and Smackdown’s is the US Championship. On NXT, they have the North American Championship. In the summer of 2024, NXT became the first to unveil and award a midcard title for women: The Women’s North American Championship.
The seal is broken, the glass has shattered. Let’s do a tournament to crown the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion. If WWE was really creative, they could even give it its own unique name such as the Western Championship or Canadian Championship.
10. A Netflix Exclusive Series (All Women Spotlight)
Women’s wrestling is my favorite part of WWE. As I mentioned, fans have been clamoring for more equality and a greater focus on the talented women’s division. I’ve seen many people pitch the idea of an all-women show. I think they use the Nitro branding they acquired when WWE bought WCW. Repurpose it for a show featuring women from all 3 of WWE’s brands: Raw, NXT, and Smackdown. The existing women’s championships on Raw, Smackdown, and NXT could all be defended on this show.
This would be a fantastic opportunity for women to get into the limelight finally. Online, fans often complain about the lack of time for women on Raw and Smackdown. While NXT seems about half or more devoted to women, Raw and Smackdown give women about 15-25% of the airtime. A common complaint is that women get “1 match” to the 4-6 matches for men. This was perfectly illustrated by last week’s Monday Night Raw on USA Network. The creative team threw ten women into the ring to say, “Hey, we did something, okay?”
A two-hour series every Thursday, only on Netflix, would go a long way towards helping get more women “over” (in wrestling parlance, make them connect and become popular with the crowds). It would also become more natural for them to become a bigger part of the main shows.
There are obviously other ways they could create a 4th “main” show just for Netflix, but I like the idea of using Netflix’s widespread audience to foster new love for the diverse women’s division. Either way, a new show JUST for Netflix is a grand idea to cement and center the WWE’s place on the platform.
What changes to WWE Raw would you like to see made on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
