WWE’s move to Netflix looks really concerning after last night’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight.
It wasn’t Netflix’s first dip into live-streaming events, even sports specific ones. In theory it sounds like a great idea: Netflix is a streaming juggernaut so there shouldn’t be big problems, right? Wrong.
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Throughout the night, viewers reported issues with the feed freezing, lagging, glitching and kicking them off. On X, subscribers voiced frustration by trending “cancel Netflix” and “buffering.” The experience was frustrating to say the least. With WWE’s 10-year $5 billion dollar deal going into effect soon, they probably weren’t feeling at ease either.
IS WWE ON NETFLIX REALLY A GOOD IDEA?
One positive is that Netflix won’t have to battle as many subscribers tuning into the WWE Raw premiere in January. The sports entertainment powerhouse will receive outside interest so the issues faced last night are very concerning. Recent reports indicate there’s a lot of “buzz” backstage about the debut and they’re viewing it like a PLE.
The real difference maker here might just be the PLE’s. As of the third quarter of 2024, Netflix has 282.72 million subscribers globally. Comparing that to Peacock’s ~33 million where WWE currently streams their events and you’ll quickly see where it might be an issue. Especially for the “big four” — Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series.
Currently there’s not any solid plans revealed for the debut episode of Raw. However, 16-time World Champion John Cena’s farewell tour will kick off in 2025, so expect to see him in some capacity. PWInsider reports Becky Lynch will likely be back in the fold by the Netflix debut. She took a hiatus earlier this year following her title loss to Liv Morgan. There’s also CM Punk who generates clicks anywhere he goes, and he’s on his way back to television.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque teased the big debut, emphasizing it will showcase WWE in “all its glory.”
“So while I think Netflix gives us this incredible canvas to paint on, and we are looking to paint a masterpiece like we have never done before when we are on there, but it’s us doing it,” Levesque said during the Bad Blood press conference. “It is going to be WWE in all its glory. We are just going to turn the volume up a lot.
We have the ability to do that with Netflix I think in a way we have maybe not really had that opportunity before, and certainly, to when we do that, hit all of the U.S. with Raw, but then with SmackDown and NXT, and all the PLEs, hit 80% of the globe starting January 6, where we were strong in all those places, and with Netflix, it goes another level.”
When WWE Raw moves to Netflix on January 6th, it will be available in US, Canada, UK, and Latin America, among other territories. More regions will be added at a later date according to the streaming service.
