Fans aren’t the only ones excited about the WWE’s upcoming pivot to Netflix, as the wrestlers are now hyping the potential for more mature content.
WWE announced in January that Monday Night Raw would move to Netflix in 2025. It marks the end of a lucrative deal between WWE’s flagship program and the USA Network, which has been the home of Raw since it began in 1993 (except, of course, for the five-year gap where it jumped to TNN/Spike TV).
It’s a big step for Raw, a show that has been perennially stuck in the land of linear television as more and more of its young demographic pivots away from traditional cable television and into streaming services.
Importantly, for some fans, it removes Raw from some of the burden of appeasing advertisers, which has talent excited about a shift in tone. Speaking with The Ringer Wrestling Show, WWE’s Braun Strowman explained that wrestlers are jockeying to be the first person to finally swear uncensored on Raw when it moves to Netflix.
“I can’t wait until we go to Netflix so we can say whatever the f*** we want to,” Strowman told the podcast. “Literally, that’s what we joke about, who gets to say the first F-bomb on TV without getting fined for it.”
Of course, not everyone is thrilled with that notion. CM Punk spoke about everyone’s hopes for more swearing on the SI Media podcast and cautioned that wrestlers should approach the edgier content from a less-is-more perspective.
“I feel that’s immediately where everybody goes, ‘We’re going to get to swear.’ No.” CM Punk said. “If everybody swears, it doesn’t mean anything. If everybody is throwing the bird, it doesn’t mean anything. If every show, someone is bleeding and they fall off a building, it doesn’t mean anything.”
While WWE is still remembered today for its edgy Attitude Era, that’s long been a thing of the past. The show returned to its roots in 2008 with a TV-PG rating that heralded a more sanitized product aimed at appealing to children and advertisers.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Raw and ancillary programs, such as Friday Night Smackdown, often toed the line of the PG rating, but censorship and goofy segments soured fans over the years.
WWE unofficially dropped its strictly PG leanings in 2014, and the corporation officially shifted back to a non-PG tone with WrestleMania XL and the return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Rock brought a more visceral tone for his return, which was filled with lots of censored swears and episodes of Raw that ended with him standing over a bloodied Cody Rhodes.
WWE has not announced a specific start date for Raw on Netflix, and continues to air on USA Network as of this writing. While Raw will be leaving the network, WWE’s second longest-running program, Friday Night Smackdown, will be moving to USA Network.
If you’re looking for more WWE action, read all about how to get the Rhea Ripley Operator skin in Warzone, why fans think Logan Paul skipped the WWE Japan Tour, or John Cena’s retirement plans.
Or, if you want to make the best of your Netflix subscription before WWE joins the service, we’ve got the best Netflix horror shows to watch this spooky season and all the best new movies on streaming this month.
