WWE Monday Night Raw‘s move to Netflix is almost upon us, and we can expect some big time names to show up for the premiere. WWE Raw is the company’s flagship program and has spent a majority of its existence airing on the USA Network. However, starting January 6, 2025, WWE Raw will move from USA Network to Netflix. WWE confirmed Raw‘s Netflix start date of January 6, 2025 at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET, with WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque joining Travis Scott from the latter’s concert at ComplexCon in Las Vegas to make the announcement. The event will be held at L.A.’s Intuit Dome.
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But that’s not all the big news WWE had to offer fans on the Netflix move. Confirmed for the first WWE Monday Night Raw Netflix show are John Cena, Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Bianca Belair, ”in addition to many other Superstars and surprise guests.” Who those other Superstars and surprise guests are is anyone’s guess, but we should assume some WWE Hall of Famers will make an appearance.
WWE inks streaming deal with Netflix for Monday Night Raw
Earlier this year came the news that WWE and Netflix had inked a 10-year, $5 billion deal for Raw. This means WWE Raw will be streamable on Netflix inside the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Latin America. It’s the first time Raw isn’t on linear television since it debuted over 31 years ago on USA Network. WWE’s premium live events (PLEs) and other specials will remain on Peacock in the U.S., international territories will move over to Netflix to watch these projects along with SmackDown and NXT. PLEs consist of what were previously “pay-per-view” events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series.
“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”
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“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”
This is a major move for Netflix, who has slowly been ramping up its live content, particularly in the live sports area. This past weekend saw the celebrity boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, with Paul walking away the victor. Soon Netflix will have weekly wrestling to offer its growing subscriber base.
