‘Life changing’ – Netflix leaves WWE fans stunned with unexpected surprises as $5bn deal launches
WWE is up and running on Netflix and some fans are already over the moon. After more than 30 years on linear broadcast television, Monday Night Raw on January 6 marks the first original WWE programming on the streaming platform, with big things expected. John Cena will be a part of WWE’s launch episode of Raw on NetflixWWE John Cena is confirmed as being part of the megashow, while an active rumour mill has legends from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and The Undertaker to Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels as being part of the action. There will be some mammoth matches, too, as CM Punk and Seth Rollins finally go at it after some tremendous verbal jousting in recent weeks, while Rhea Ripley challenges Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship. WWE are building up its Raw debut on Netflix as a WrestleMania-level event – hardly surprising given the deal to take its content on to the platform is said to be worth an eye-watering $5bn. Wrestling fans still have a few days to wait until they can soak in live wrestling action on WWE’s new home, but some die-hards are already filling their boots after Netflix kicked off 2025 by dropping a ton of grappling content that’s ready on demand. Viewers had been left in horror recently at the idea that the much-loved and storied archive of content would vanish with the demise of WWE Network – the company’s own in-house streaming service that boasted an extensive library of action from across the decades and the globe, from WWE and beyond. WWE Network ceased operating at the turn of the New Year, but it seems at least some of the fears that all bar a tiny section of the archive would be missing on Netflix may be unfounded with the sight of the new WWE section on the platform that offers a surprisingly rich offering. Already ready and waiting fans are WWE’s backlog of pay-per-view events, from every WrestleMania and SummerSlam, to the more niche offerings of Rebellion and Insurrextion – UK-only events from the 1990s and 2000s. There’s also already more than a smattering of Raw, SmackDown and NXT content in the respective Vaults for each show, dating back to 1993 – with the promise of more to come. “Netflix will be adding new content/episodes every month to the RAW Vault,” noted X wrestling account WrestleOps as is the same for the SmackDown and NXT Vaults internationally. “Currently not all episodes have been uploaded as their idea is to keep people paying for new content.” WWE fans already have plenty to pick from on NetflixNetflix Plenty of subscribers are already happy with what’s on offer, too, one going as far as to say on social media: “Honestly the switch has been golden this first day. Fingers crossed they can pull off live events flawlessly worldwide.” Another lauded: “The WWE stuff is awesome; I hope you’ll be adding the WCW stuff and other archive stuff in future.” WWE fans outside of the US are already some way better off than their American counterparts. In the States, only Raw and its archive will feature on Netflix owing to existing contractual and broadcast deals, but viewers in the likes of Canada and the UK are loving life. In addition, some have excitedly spotted what they claim is an all-new subtitles feature, with ‘everything including entrance music’ now titled for viewers. One delighted fan added: “Omg this is going to be life changing! I watch everything with subtitles because I can’t hear…!” One fan watching in Canada purred: “Selection in Canada on Netflix is already so much better than WWE Network on Demand,” while another in the US bemoaned: “Wish we had all content on Netflix in the US.” After Monday’s Raw, Brit fans can watch all WWE programming on Netflix, with this Friday’s SmackDown set to be broadcast on YouTube in the interim.
WWE is up and running on Netflix and some fans are already over the moon.
After more than 30 years on linear broadcast television, Monday Night Raw on January 6 marks the first original WWE programming on the streaming platform, with big things expected.
John Cena is confirmed as being part of the megashow, while an active rumour mill has legends from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and The Undertaker to Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels as being part of the action.
There will be some mammoth matches, too, as CM Punk and Seth Rollins finally go at it after some tremendous verbal jousting in recent weeks, while Rhea Ripley challenges Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship.
WWE are building up its Raw debut on Netflix as a WrestleMania-level event – hardly surprising given the deal to take its content on to the platform is said to be worth an eye-watering $5bn.
Wrestling fans still have a few days to wait until they can soak in live wrestling action on WWE’s new home, but some die-hards are already filling their boots after Netflix kicked off 2025 by dropping a ton of grappling content that’s ready on demand.
Viewers had been left in horror recently at the idea that the much-loved and storied archive of content would vanish with the demise of WWE Network – the company’s own in-house streaming service that boasted an extensive library of action from across the decades and the globe, from WWE and beyond.
WWE Network ceased operating at the turn of the New Year, but it seems at least some of the fears that all bar a tiny section of the archive would be missing on Netflix may be unfounded with the sight of the new WWE section on the platform that offers a surprisingly rich offering.
Already ready and waiting fans are WWE’s backlog of pay-per-view events, from every WrestleMania and SummerSlam, to the more niche offerings of Rebellion and Insurrextion – UK-only events from the 1990s and 2000s.
There’s also already more than a smattering of Raw, SmackDown and NXT content in the respective Vaults for each show, dating back to 1993 – with the promise of more to come.
“Netflix will be adding new content/episodes every month to the RAW Vault,” noted X wrestling account WrestleOps as is the same for the SmackDown and NXT Vaults internationally.
“Currently not all episodes have been uploaded as their idea is to keep people paying for new content.”
Plenty of subscribers are already happy with what’s on offer, too, one going as far as to say on social media: “Honestly the switch has been golden this first day. Fingers crossed they can pull off live events flawlessly worldwide.”
Another lauded: “The WWE stuff is awesome; I hope you’ll be adding the WCW stuff and other archive stuff in future.”
WWE fans outside of the US are already some way better off than their American counterparts. In the States, only Raw and its archive will feature on Netflix owing to existing contractual and broadcast deals, but viewers in the likes of Canada and the UK are loving life.
In addition, some have excitedly spotted what they claim is an all-new subtitles feature, with ‘everything including entrance music’ now titled for viewers. One delighted fan added: “Omg this is going to be life changing! I watch everything with subtitles because I can’t hear…!”
One fan watching in Canada purred: “Selection in Canada on Netflix is already so much better than WWE Network on Demand,” while another in the US bemoaned: “Wish we had all content on Netflix in the US.”
After Monday’s Raw, Brit fans can watch all WWE programming on Netflix, with this Friday’s SmackDown set to be broadcast on YouTube in the interim.
