WWE Raw will move to Netflix in January, and WWE champion Cody Rhodes is incredibly optimistic about what the move can do for wrestling.
In an interview on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, the veteran pro wrestler detailed why WWE athletes are excited for the move and how it will help continue to build the brand of the company and its top superstars.
“The locker room is through the roof morale-wise in terms of going to Netflix,” Rhodes explained. “WWE in the past was always a little bit ahead of the curve in terms of banking content. First it was 24/7 on-demand, then it was network, and now Peacock is everything. But Netflix is going to be huge for us.”
“The locker room is through the roof about going to Netflix..
It’s gonna be huge for us and our public spotlight is going up” ~ @CodyRhodes #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Hv57KkpMFq
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 2, 2024
In addition to Raw scaling back down to two hours ahead of the move and what Rhodes hopes could be even more creative freedom (including uncensored dialogue), he believes the scope of Netflix’s reach will help WWE continue to reinforce itself as one of the top sports brands in the world.
“Some of the champions, some of the top guys and girls know this as well. We are going up in terms of our public spotlight,” Rhodes said. “College football, NFL, those are the biggest things on the planet … we’re moving up and trying to get in that air. If you know anything about what we’re doing, we’re not far off. And Netflix, I think, is definitely a big part of that. This is a huge deal for Netflix, this is a huge deal for WWE. I’m just excited that we get to kind of ride this new wave.”
New WWE parent company TKO Holdings struck a deal with Netflix in early 2024 to move Raw to the streamer as part of an expansive global partnership. The 10-year, $5 billion deal will see Raw air live on Netflix each Monday night.
That puts WWE superstars in front of Netflix’s nearly 300 million subscribers and begins to consolidate its international broadcast rights on one platform.
For Rhodes and others, that means a greater reach and even more eyeballs on what is already a very popular show.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.