WWE Wrestles Its Way to Successful ‘Monday Night Raw’ Netflix Debut

joe otterson

Wed, 8 Jan 2025, 1:00 pm·4-min read

It’s official: Raw. Is. Netflix.

After a year of buildup, WWE’s flagship weekly series “Monday Night Raw” streamed live on Netflix for the first time globally on Jan. 6, kicking off with a “WrestleMania”-level spectacle.

The three-hour program, which was staged at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, featured just four matches — but each one brought the 17,000-plus fans to their feet. Major current stars like Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley and CM Punk, as well as veterans like John Cena and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, were on hand to usher in the new era.

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In what felt almost like a relaunch, WWE did quick video recaps of the storylines going into each match, allowing casual fans to catch up with the diehards who previously followed the action on “Raw”’s former USA Network linear home.

Many of those recaps were shared on WWE’s social channels ahead of the show. Chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque says that strategy was key to driving the conversation.

“What is the watercooler now? It’s TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat,” Levesque tells Variety. “If those things tell you there’s something you should go watch — and you don’t have to tune in Monday night at 8 p.m. exactly; you can go check it out on Netflix — that’s really cool. Then once they check it out, now we’re pulling them into being a fan.”

Unlike the glitches that Netflix subscribers encountered last November during the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight, the “Raw” launch went off seemingly without a hitch. Viewers reported no serious breakdowns in the stream, save for minor buffering issues.

It was a major success for WWE, and perhaps an even bigger one for Netflix as the streamer expands its presence in live programming. WWE has been an early adopter of a number of big trends that have fundamentally shifted the way content is consumed. Now, as the longtime cornerstone of live linear television makes its impressive livestreaming debut, that does not bode well for broadcast and cable — which have clung to the notion that their skill in presenting live events gives them a leg up over the streamers.

The successful launch wasn’t just the work of the wrestlers in the ring. Roughly 120 people typically work on any given episode of “Raw,” according to an individual with knowledge of the production, but that number was closer to 200 for the Netflix debut — adding an extra layer of showmanship to the matches.

Under Levesque and media and production head Lee Fitting, the WWE production team has been experimenting with camera techniques and technologies that add new dimensions to their long-running programming.

The innovation was on full display Monday: There was extensive use of crane shots, with the cameras sweeping over those in the floor seats to get up-close looks at the in-ring action. Likewise, drones could be seen buzzing through the Intuit Dome throughout the night, with those shots incorporated prominently into the live show.

Look no further than the image of Jey Uso standing on the announcers’ table with Travis Scott and Pat McAfee during his entrance — whipping fans into a frenzy as a drone flew around him and out over the crowd — for a taste of the energy Uso brings to the ring.

Marty Miller, WWE’s senior vice president and director of TV, praises his team’s ability to adapt to new tech without losing sight of the basics. “Our superstars are our bread and butter,” he says, “and everything that we do production-wise is a complement and a supplement to those superstars, whatever level it may be.”

Levesque sees the Netflix era of the company as a “great reset,” given the streaming giant’s enormous global reach. “There’s a moment when we go on the air where we’re accessible to 280 million homes globally,” he says. “Multiply that by three for people in the homes, right? That’s a massive number. That is a game changer.”

A version of this story first appeared in the Jan. 8 issue of Variety magazine.

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