WWE Raw: The Rock, John Cena help kick off Netflix era

WWE’s flagship Uncooked present has aired on Netflix for the primary time with the return of a number of huge names.

The much-anticipated programme noticed superstars together with The Rock, John Cena and The Undertaker make appearances throughout the three-hour occasion in Los Angeles.

Professional-wrestling’s hottest weekly present had beforehand been proven on broadcast TV around the globe for 31 years.

However final 12 months bosses of TKO – the corporate shaped when WWE merged with UFC – introduced that Uncooked could be unique to streaming.

It is claimed that it brings in 17.5m viewers every week within the US, and that WWE boasts one billion followers throughout varied social media platforms.

Evaluations of the primary present instructed it “was far from perfect” however that there have been “a lot of particular moments to cowl”.

One other famous the “amazing production values and improved visuals” however criticised “the sameness of the promos” delivered by stars similar to Triple H, The Rock and John Cena.

There was reward for the in-ring motion, however widespread settlement that bringing out WWE to make use of Corridor of Famer Hulk Hogan was “a mis-step” after loud boos from the California crowd throughout his look.

The present additionally marked the beginning of John Cena’s “farewell tour”, with the star asserting 2025 will likely be his last year as a competitor.

Cena is considered one of many biggest skilled wrestlers of all time and has achieved world champion standing a joint report 16 instances since becoming a member of WWE in 2001.

He instructed cheering followers he “couldn’t consider a greater place to begin” his goodbye, whereas stating his intention to “win the Royal Rumble” occasion in February.

Followers had been additionally handled to the return of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who’s a director of TKO.

The Rock has beforehand performed the villainous function of “The Ultimate Boss”, however on this event he spoke concerning the “historical past” of the night time and, to the shock of many, praised and embraced former rival Cody Rhodes.

He then later appeared on the conclusion of the Tribal Fight Match between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa, embracing Reigns following his victory.

The night time additionally noticed the temporary return of The Undertaker on the finish of the Girls’s World Championship match between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley.

It was the end result of a long-term storyline which noticed Ripley win the championship.

The motion ended with CM Punk and Seth Rollins following up a much-praised back-and-forth promo on the ultimate televised episode of Uncooked.

It was a match broadly recognised because the spotlight of the night time’s in-ring motion, with the generally divisive Punk popping out on prime.

Netflix agreed to pay greater than $5bn (£4bn) for rights to indicate Uncooked and different WWE programming, together with archive content material.

Viewers outdoors the US will be capable of watch all weekly exhibits similar to SmackDown, NXT and dwell occasions on the service.

The corporate stated that would come with pay-per-view specials together with WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

It stated the deal would have an effect on followers within the USA, Canada, UK and Latin America first, earlier than being expanded to different international locations later.

“So many individuals use Netflix they usually’ll put it on and see WWE prominently,” says Brandon Thurston, editor of wrestling web site Wrestlenomics.

“In order that [could] have an amazing optimistic impact for his or her enterprise.”

With streaming on the rise and tv numbers shrinking, Brandon feels WWE has the chance to enter extra households around the globe and appeal to newer, youthful audiences.

“We’re going away from conventional TV [to] the most well-liked streaming platform. So it ought to improve that 18-49 viewers much more.”

Uncooked had a three-hour runtime for 12 years, earlier than chopping down to 2 on the finish of 2024.

WWE’s chief content material officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque says the streaming platform offers them “flexibility” with regards to timings.

And Brandon feels it may possibly have an effect on the fashion of content material too, having the ability to have kind of from week to week.

“They’ve the liberty to not be sure to a time slot”, not like regular TV timings, he says.

Whereas Brandon thinks there are overwhelming positives to the deal, he notes the reliance on the streamer may doubtlessly be a detrimental.

“That is undoubtedly a risk that Netflix may begin to lose subscribers for one cause or one other.

“[But] I feel it is vital emphasise simply how far forward it’s of all people else within the streaming market.”

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