WWE has been the sports entertainment juggernaut for over four decades in the business. The promotion started as a traditional wrestling business in its own territory under the regime of Vince McMahon Sr., who built top stars like Hulk Hogan during his time.
However, when his son, Vince McMahon Jr., bought the company from his father, he was set to change its image as a sports entertainment giant and become the sole dominator of the wrestling landscape. He began introducing elements of entertainment and storytelling with celebrities and characters on WWE TV.
For many years, characters, storylines, presentation, and then in-ring action have all been key factors in the success of WWE as a global brand. While one section of the fanbase sees it as a wrestling entity, another sees it as an entertainment company. Veteran commentator Michael Cole recently stirred up this discussion upon Monday Night RAW’s move to Netflix.
What did Michael Cole reveal about WWE in regards to the Netflix deal?
WWE signed a staggering $5 Billion deal with the streaming giant Netflix in January 2024. The deal saw its flagship show, Monday Night RAW, move to the platform from the USA network, making a big addition to their OTT service and WWE, reaching a much larger global audience than before.
In a recent edition of Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast, Michael Cole was the special guest. When asked about RAW’s move to Netflix, Michael Cole stated that WWE is a storytelling entity first, not professional wrestling anymore.
The 28-year-long WWE commentator added that Netflix agreed to the deal of moving Monday Night RAW to their platform, recognizing them as an entertainment company and not a professional wrestling entity.
Michael Cole says that WWE is a storytelling entity first, not professional wrestling anymore.
“That’s why Netflix wanted us, Netflix understands that we’re a storytelling entity first, we’re not professional wrestling anymore, we haven’t been for many years, we’re an… pic.twitter.com/lo6mIIWCDL
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) February 18, 2025
That’s why Netflix wanted us, Netflix understands that we’re a storytelling entity first, we’re not professional wrestling anymore, we haven’t been for many years, we’re an entertainment product.
This is the sad truth for many fans who tune in each and every week to WWE television programming with in-ring action and are mesmerized by the athletes for their amazing moves and feats they do in the squared circle. Moreover, for them, the Netflix deal might not look too good now, considering Netflix is more inclined toward their storytelling part and would like to push that more forward than the action.
RAW’s debut on Netflix was a massive hit
Despite the sentiments of a certain section of hardcore wrestling fans, RAW’s debut on Netflix was a huge hit. It featured top-tier stars like John Cena, Roman Reigns, and The Rock, and multiple celebrities and stars were in attendance at the show.
The night was a grandeur and new presentation of Monday Night RAW under the Netflix banner. It saw some captivating showdowns, such as the Tribal Combat between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa and Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley colliding in a huge title match.
The night was main evented with CM Punk defeating his long-time nemesis, Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. Since that night, RAW has been fetching remarkable traction on Netflix and is expected to become a much bigger show than it has ever before, with access to a worldwide audience and expectations of growing significantly in the future.
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