Based on the viewing figures for the debut episode of WWE’s Raw on Netflix, will executives at the streaming giant be breaking out the top shelf bubbly or quaffing vin ordinaire in an attempt to drown their sorrows?
A year ago Netflix agreed to pay WWE US$5 billion (A$8 billion) over 10 years to secure the rights to Raw’s high-octane blend of violence, blood, boobs and theatre.
At US$500 million per year, it means Netflix must generate nearly US$10 million a week on average to recoup its outlay via subscriptions, commercials screened on Netflix With Ads, and whatever else it can do to leverage the WWE brand.
But there are other associated costs in delivering and promoting the content that will also need to be recouped before anyone starts talking about profit.
So, was the debut of Raw on Netflix was a great success, a middling success, or not much of a success at all? In the world of streaming, it can be difficult to know, as a show that drives a lot of subscriptions may not be the most popular program with viewers.

WWE Raw Netflix, Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre.
In a press statement Netflix said WWE “got off to a strong start” with 4.9 million people globally looking at some part of the broadcast on January 6.
By comparison, 108 million people globally looked at some or all of the Mike Tyson and Logan Paul boxing match on Netflix in mid-November last year.
It said that there were an average 2.6 million households in the US, “which is 116 per cent higher than Raw’s average 2024 US audience of 1.2 million households [on USA Network], and higher than any other Monday Night Raw broadcast in the past five years. The event also more than doubled the A18-49 audience vs. last year”.
The wrestling event, held at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, set a company record as the highest-grossing WWE arena event of all time, Netflix said. “Additionally, the event set a merchandise sales record, becoming the highest-grossing non-Premium Live Event of all time.”
The card saw Rhea Ripley reclaim the Women’s World Championship with a win over Liv Morgan, Roman Reigns defeat Solo Sikoa in “a tribal combat match” and CM Punk best Seth “Freakin” Rollins “in a highly anticipated grudge match”.

WWE Raw Netflix, Rhea Ripley.
There were guest appearances from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, The Undertaker, Logan Paul, Travis Scott and John Cena, who has kicked off his year-long farewell tour. Netflix will extract content from this departure across 2025.
Netflix is now the exclusive home of Raw in Australia, the US, Canada and the UK, among other global territories. Netflix is also the exclusive home of SmackDown, NXT, archive content and all WWE Premium Live Events — including WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam — in most international markets.
“We’re on the road to WrestleMania [April 20],” WWE’s Director of Character Development Rob Fee said. “This is when stuff goes up to another level.”
The challenge for Netflix, as it branches off into live TV as opposed to on-demand library TV, is to keep people entertained week-in, week-out, and make sure they’re watching every Monday night.