It has been over a year since WWE made the most significant pivot in its business history, moving its flagship programming, Monday Night Raw and Smackdown from linear cable to Netflix.
Looking back from January 2026, the “Netflix Era” has been defined by production freedom, global consolidation, and a chaotic but successful integration of pop culture.
For me personally, it’s re-engaged me in WWE and the wider-world of wrestling. I’m watching shows weekly and watching the Premium Live Events (PLE’s) as soon as they’re vailable (rarely live!).
2025 was a great year to re-engage. Whilst not neccessarily filled with awesome stories and moments. There have been some high points, and seeing Netflix stretch its legs a little, has been interesting, too.
The Premiere: “The Intuit Incident” (January 6, 2025)
The era began not in a traditional arena, but at the newly opened Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The debut episode set the tone for the year: high gloss, flexible runtimes, and “TV-14” energy.
- The Travis Scott Moment: The defining image of the premiere wasn’t a wrestling move, but rapper Travis Scott—who performed the new Raw theme “4×4” – walking Jey Uso to the ring while smoking a joint. While unscripted, the moment went viral instantly, signalling to fans that the FCC guidelines of the USA Network era were gone.
- The Matches: The card was PLE-caliber.
- Roman Reigns def. Solo Sikoa: A “Tribal Combat” match that seemingly concluded the Bloodline civil war, reinstating Roman as the Tribal Chief.
- Rhea Ripley def. Liv Morgan: Ripley regained the Women’s World Championship, ending the “Revenge Tour” storyline that dominated 2024.
- Production Changes: The most jarring change for long-time viewers was the absence of traditional ad breaks. Matches flowed without the “suicide dive to commercial” trope. Instead, the downtime was filled with vignettes, picture-in-picture replays, or seamless transitions, keeping the audience engaged.
2. Viewership & Statistics
With Nielsen ratings no longer relevant for Raw, the industry had to adjust to Netflix’s “Hours Viewed” metric.
- Global Top 10: throughout 2025, Monday Night Raw consistently charted in the Global Top 10 TV (English) on Netflix.
- The “Live” Bump: Netflix reported that live viewing of Raw accounted for roughly 60% of the show’s total weekly viewership, a high retention rate for the platform. The remaining 40% came from VOD viewership throughout the week, a massive increase in “DVR” style consumption compared to the cable era.
- Demographics: The median age of the Raw viewer dropped from 54 (on USA Network) to 36 on Netflix, successfully capturing the cord-cutting younger demographic WWE had chased for a decade.
3. Key Storylines of 2025
The creative freedom of streaming allowed for longer-term storytelling without the pressure of quarterly TV ratings.
- The John Cena Farewell Tour (Jan – Dec 2025): John Cena officially announced his retirement on the Jan 6 premiere. His 36-date tour became the emotional anchor of the year.
- WrestleMania 41 (Las Vegas): Cena failed to capture his 17th World Title against Gunther, a heartbreaking loss that legitimized Gunther’s reign.
- The Final Match (Dec 13, 2025): Cena’s final bout took place not on Netflix, but on NBC/Peacock’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, where he wrestled his final match in Washington D.C., ending his career with a victory over a rising star (Bron Breakker) in a passing-of-the-torch moment.
- The Cody Rhodes Era: After defeating The Rock (who returned for a marquee match at WrestleMania 41), Cody Rhodes spent the majority of 2025 as the stabilizing face of the company, defending the Undisputed Title across both Raw (Netflix) and SmackDown (USA), bridging the gap between the two platforms.
4. The International Split
The most confusing aspect of 2025 for US fans was the disparity in content compared to international subscribers.
| Content | United States | International (UK, Canada, LatAm, etc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Raw | Netflix | Netflix |
| SmackDown | USA Network | Netflix |
| NXT | The CW | Netflix |
| PLEs (Mania, etc.) | Peacock | Netflix |
The “Peacock Twilight”
While international fans enjoyed a unified ecosystem on Netflix, US fans remained fragmented. However, in Late 2025, Netflix began ingesting the WWE PLE library (WrestleMania archive, etc.) in the US, signaling the imminent end of the Peacock era. By January 2026, the transition of the library was largely complete, though live US PLE rights for 2026 remain a complex negotiation point.
5. The Verdict: Year One
Grade: A-
The fear of technical issues (buffering) was largely unfounded; aside from minor glitches during the Raw after-Mania episode, the stream quality was robust.
The creative product felt rejuvenated by the lack of censorship and strict timing, allowing promos to breathe and matches to finish naturally.
2025 has been really solid for good combat!
The Wins:
- Successfully migrated the audience to streaming without a massive drop-off.
- Established Raw as a global product, with live viewership spikes in Europe and Brazil.
- The “Intuit Dome” aesthetic gave the show a premium feel.
The Misses:
- The Soundtrack: While Travis Scott’s “FE!N” and “4×4” brought hype, the older demographic struggled with the shift away from traditional rock themes.
- Fragmentation: US fans needing three different subscriptions (Netflix, Peacock, Cable/Hulu) to watch all WWE content remained a major pain point in 2025.
What to Watch in 2026
As we move into Year 2, the focus shifts to the WWE Library. With the archive now largely available on Netflix US, expect more documentary content similar to WWE: Unreal (Season 2). Furthermore, with the Peacock deal effectively winding down, 2026 may finally be the year US fans get a unified WWE hub on Netflix.
