Janaury 6, 2025 was a historic night for WWE Raw, as the show streamed live around the world on Netflix for the first time ever.
With the historic media rights deal announced all the way back in early 2024, the pro wrestling company and the streaming platform had a year of build to make the debut and the first year as big time as possible. Along with heavy promotion leading up to the all-important show in the latter half of 2024, Netflix regularly hyped the upcoming show on social media, arguably the most any platform has done in the 30-plus-year history of the Monday night show.
After the curtain dropped and Triple H officially introduced the show to the millions watching around the world, WWE officially kicked off the Netflix era with the star-studded premiere, setting up the next 52 weeks of the year. One year on from that night, is WWE Raw on Netflix everything that fans, the company, and the streaming platform hoped it would be?
WWE Raw On Netflix: The Premiere
Unsurprisingly, the debut episode was the one that piqued fans’ interest and generated the most buzz. Ahead of the show, it was announced that The Rock would be appearing live, Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa would battle it out to determine who was the true Tribal Chief, Rhea Ripley challenged Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship, and CM Punk competed in his first Raw match in over a decade.
Although there was a lot of hype going into the show, some were left with more questions than answers when the credits rolled at the end of the show. The most confusing segment was the one at the beginning when The Rock made his entrance. After hyping up the fans and thanking Netflix officials, Rock then turned his attention to Cody Rhodes, who was sitting in the front row. Given that Rhodes was the WWE Champion, and the extremely personal storyline between the two throughout 2024, many expected something big between the two on the show, possibly setting up a WrestleMania match between The Great One and The American Nightmare. However, the two were all smiles throughout and shared a moment joking about their past, leaving many to question what the point of it was.
John Cena also appeared to announce his entry into the Royal Rumble match to kick off his farewell tour. This was at a point where excitement for Cena was still high, as the questionable booking choices had yet to happen. In what was the only title change of the night, Rhea Ripley won back her Women’s World Championship from Liv Morgan, and was endorsed by The Undertaker after the match. Again, no one really knew why this happened, but it was another way to get a legend onto the show.
Even though Raw only had 4 matches take place on the show, and some questionable interactions, this felt more like a prologue to introduce new and lapsed fans to the product as opposed to being a fully canon episode of the show. Also, this was the show where Hulk Hogan made his final televised pro wrestling appearance before his passing in July. Unfortunately for The Hulkster, his final appearance was met with heavy boos [which Netflix pointed out in the subtitles], and became a talking point among the mainstream media the next day. For WWE and for Hogan, this wasn’t the story they wanted everyone to be talking about. While there was a mixed reception to the first show, things officially kicked off one week later.
Raw On Netflix: The Good
Two things that have massively benefited fans with the new deal is that runtime and time differences are a lot more flexible. With no set Netflix schedule, WWE Raw can make the show longer or shorter depending on the story it wants to tell. While this doesn’t mean that the show could go for 5 hours, as there are still other logistics that need to be met, e.g. flights after the show, the days of having to fill for time are over. With Raw averaging around 2 and a half hours per episode, it is now rare that it feels like a chore to get through the show, which wa the case with the mandatory 3 hour broadcasts of old. Additionally, international shows have been a huge benefit for those watching abroad, as they can now watch the show live regardless of location. Being in the UK, watching Raw as it happens at 8 pm for domestic shows or 7 pm on the continent is much more enjoyable than waiting until 1 am for the broadcast that has already been taped. Also, saying you are sitting down at 10 am on a Monday to watch Raw in Australia would have sounded downright ludicrous just a few years ago.
As for the shows themselves, there have been some standout moments. Cena’s first appearance since his heel turn saw the 17-time WWE Champion was met with heavy boos, Bron Breakker has seen his rise to the main event scene, and Becky Lynch has been an integral part in Maxxine Dupri’s rise to winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. Also, AJ Styles was once again on the receiving end of a thunderous chant from the French fans when Raw came to Paris. Il est vraiment phénoménal indeed!
One of the biggest positives is that there is much more emphasis on the present as opposed to the past. Although there have been occasional appearances from legends, and veterans are still at the top of the card, Raw feels like it is actively trying to cater to the younger audience, as Dominik Mysterio looks set for bigger things and NXT call-ups appear to be on the way soon. However, it’s no secret that WWE Raw on Netflix has not exactly been perfect in 2025.
Raw On Netflix: The Not-So-Good
Although late 2023 and early 2024 was a boom period for the Triple H led WWE, fans have seen things much more differently in 2025. With confusing booking choices, mostly around the John Cena retirement tour, a lacklustre WrestleMania and Wrestlepalooza, and a reluctance to pull the trigger on the likes of Bron Breakker and LA Knight, a lot of goodwill has been chipped away. There is also the matter of storylines being dropped at random without explanation. The downfall of Jey Uso and R-Truth’s more serious side looked set to be compelling viewing. However, the company instead elected to drop both of these, with Jey Uso now back in the tag division, and R-Truth is showing his funny side once more. Then there is The New Day, which the company massively fumbled. Xavier Woods
In addition to this, fans have also called out Triple H for his slower-than-desired pace of storylines. While weekly TV is miles better than the Vince McMahon era 2019, there are still moments where it feels like some storylines should have concluded or at least progressed to the next step. Seth Rollins and CM Punk look set to feud again, more than a year after their first encounter, and every show seems to have a formulaic opening of The Vision kicks off the show, babyface interrupts, and a tag team match takes place later.
Also, while adverts are not directly seen on the premium tier, the sheer abundance of logos and sponsorships has been off-putting to some, especially as the show is muted for those outside of the US when certain ad reads play.
Even though ratings on Netflix are not the same as traditional TV, it has been pointed out that there has been a decline in interest in raw over 2025. While the flagship show was regularly in the top 10 around the world most weeks in January, the drop in quality and strong competition from the likes of Squid Games and Stranger Things meant that Raw lost some interest in the latter half.
Raw On Netflix: The Verdict
Obviously, Raw is in no danger of going anywhere anytime soon, and the core audience will always watch the show no matter what, regardless of the platform it is on. However, much like Marvel struggled to capture the wider fans following Avengers: Endgame, WWE has continued to struggle to capture the more casual audience following the conclusion of The Bloodline Saga and Roman Reigns’ 1,316-day reign as champion. And now with John Cena no longer in the picture, the company have a huge void to fill. Triple H needs to give the ball to the younger stars like Oba Femi, Bron Breakker and Ilja Dragunov in 2025, and make things a lot more concise, especially if they want to keep charging extortionate amounts for live events and forcing fans in the States to subscribe to multiple platforms to catch all the action.
Make no mistake that WWE is and always will remain the market leader, but wrestling fans are also aware that they are not short on alternatives to spend their time and money on. With the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania on the way soon, WWE has the chance to hit another reset button with the January 5, 2026, Raw, which will see a Stranger Things tie-in and mark one year since the show debuted on the streaming platform. Will Raw listen to the fans who are calling for change, or will it be more of the same?
Featured image: WWE
