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When news broke that RAW was moving to Netflix in 2025 after spending its entire run to that point on network television, it drew a remarkably similar response from the legions of fans spread out across the WWE Universe: the Attitude Era is back!
That's right, gone would be the typical constraints of network television, from commercials to language censorship, and in their place would be whatever WWE wanted to book, with the potential for more blood, more f-bombs, and more entertainment for the fans who suffered through the PG-era.
Well, as it turns out, WWE can do what they want on Netflix, but unfortunately for those fans, what they want to book appears to be more of the same, with Nick Khan revealing a desire to remain family-friendly moving forward at the promotions Netflix press conference in Los Angeles.
“We're not changing the rating of our programming,” Khan told reporters via SI. “There's some online chatter about, oh, it's gonna be R-rated, or for us old folks, like X-rated. That's definitely not happening. So it's family-friendly, multi-generational, advertiser-friendly programming. It's gonna stay that way. I would look for more global flair, especially as the relationship [with Netflix] continues to develop.”
… well that's not going to go over well, is it?
Now granted, will RAW inevitably change just a little bit? Sure, it's already changed a ton since Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over for Vince McMahon, but with that being said, things won't magically transform into the second coming of ECW on a massive budget, which, frankly, is probably for the best, as that would ultimately alienate far more fans than it could add. Considering the promotion's current success, it's probably better to stick with what's working than make a massive swing for a questionable return.
Triple H believes Netflix gives WWE more optionality
Elsewhere in WWE's big Netflix press conference in Los Angeles, Triple H noted that having partners like Netflix will actually ease the burden on his Superstars, as it will allow wrestlers like Drew McIntyre, who has been off of television since October before his December 2nd return, to pursue outside interests during time off.
“He was dying to come back. He wasn't hurt, he wasn't injured. Let's just give you a little breather here for a second,” Levesque explained. “And whether that's spending some time at home enjoying your family, whatever that is, or whether that's, hey, I have this other project I wanna work on. I have this project that Netflix has come up with, I'm gonna work on that. Whatever. Us having that ability to morph and shift things around and keep things fresh, I think is a tremendous opportunity for us. So, I'd look for more of that too.”
Will RAW‘s move to Netflix actually influence any new opportunities outside of the squared circle for WWE Superstars? Through Netflix, probably not, as the company only produces a small fraction of the content it showcases on its streaming service. Still, if Levesque believes it to be so, and that day eventually comes, professional wrestling will be better off for it, as crossover appeal has been a big part of the industry's success since all the way back at WrestleMania I.
