The WWE x Netflix era kicks off in just under three months. This past January, the global leader in sports-entertainment inked a 10-year, $5 billion deal with the largest streaming service in the world to bring its flagship show, WWE Monday Night Raw, to the platform beginning in 2025. The contract includes an opt out option after five years or an option to extend for an additional decade. Anticipation has been high from both sides, with Netflix executives believing that there is no telling “how much bigger it can get.” WWE talent have also expressed high excitement, specifically in the freedom of not having the confines of a cable television rating, as stars like Roman Reigns and CM Punk have shown high hopes for what the two media giants can create together.
Joining Reigns and Punk in those ambitions is WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
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“I think the locker room is through the roof morale-wise in terms of going to Netflix,” Rhodes told The Pat McAfee Show.
While the significance of a WWE x Netflix partnership cannot be understated, WWE is no stranger to the streaming era. In fact, the company was one of its pioneers.
“The idea of the streaming era, truthfully, WWE in the past was actually always a little bit ahead of the curve, in terms of banking content,” Rhodes mentioned, alluding to the WWE Network launch back in early 2014, a full five years before modern streaming giants like Disney+ would emerge onto the scene. “At first it was 24/7 on demand, then it was the Network and now Peacock, but Netflix is gonna be huge for us.”
Joining Netflix does put WWE on a different level of pedestal, though. Rhodes mentioned that several WWE talents anticipate their employer’s “public spotlight” is about to shine brighter.
“When I say expanding and I say where we’re going, and I think certain individuals in the locker room, some of the champions, some of the top guys and girls know this as well, we’re going up in terms of our public spotlight,” Rhodes continued. “College football, NFL, those are the biggest things on the planet. We’re moving up and trying to get in that air, and if you know anything about what we’re doing, we’re not far off. Netflix, I think, is definitely a big part of that. This is a huge deal for Netflix, it’s a huge deal for WWE. I’m just excited that we get to kind of ride this new wave.”
WWE is currently two-thirds of the way done with its great broadcast migration. The company began by shifting WWE SmackDown off of FOX and onto longtime cable partner USA Network in late September. Weeks later, developmental program WWE NXT exited USA Network to join The CW, marking the first time that WWE would be airing in-ring content on that channel since WWE Saturday Morning Slam concluded in May 2013. WWE Monday Night Raw will be the last to pivot, as it exits cable television for the first time in its three-decade history, leaving USA Network for Netflix in January.WWE Monday Night Raw makes its Netflix premiere on January 6th, 2025.
