WWE is now set to increase its partnership with Netflix. The Stamford-based promotion will now be undertaking a crossover promotion with arguably Netflix’s most popular show, Stranger Things. According to a latest report from Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select, a promotional crossover between Stranger Things and WWE is expected to take place soon. Although the report fails to mention the exact nature or type of promotion between the two brands.
WWE Raw streams on Netflix every week and is a similar Netflix brand to Stranger Things, whose final few episodes are scheduled to release soon.
Stranger Things is currently in its final season, with the second volume of the fifth season set to release on Christmas Day. It will be followed by the two-hour finale on New Year’s Eve. Both releases come at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.
The supernatural science-fiction show has ranked itself as one of Netflix’s most popular shows of all-time, with the fourth season ranking #4 on their all-time top 10 English TV series. The show is created by the Duffer Brothers, and the fifth season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, and many others.
Stranger Things and WWE go a long way, with Rhea Ripley once appearing as a spoof version of Eleven during WWE’s WrestleMania 39 Hollywood promo advertisements.
As Netflix attempts to break into the podcasting space, WWE could end up playing a role in the new initiative.
Netflix reached deals this week with Barstool Sports and iHeartMedia to bring some of the world’s leading podcasts to Netflix. While audio of those shows will still be available for free elsewhere, the video versions will now be exclusively under the Netflix paywall.
Front Office Sports reports that Fanatics has had discussions with Netflix regarding WWE being part of this initiative. WWE and Fanatics already partner together for a podcast network that includes “Six Feet Under” with The Undertaker & Michelle McCool, “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” with Cody Rhodes, and “What’s Your Story?” with Stephanie McMahon. YouTube currently hosts video of those podcasts.
“And Netflix may not be finished with this broader push. Sources told FOS that Fanatics has pitched WWE studio programming to the streaming service,” Front Office Sports wrote. “Fanatics and WWE have already collaborated on several shows, including ones hosted by The Undertaker, Stephanie McMahon, Cody Rhodes, and Logan Paul.
“It was not immediately known if Fanatics pitched its existing shows and/or new ones to Netflix, but sources have told FOS that Fanatics and WWE plan to expand their partnership with more content offerings in the future, and have recently vetted talent for new programming. Netflix airs WWE Raw on Monday nights, and Fanatics also handles WWE’s merchandising and collectibles businesses.
“Spokespeople for Fanatics, WWE, and Netflix declined to comment.”
We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of WWE and Netflix beginning their partnership. In January 2025, Netflix became the broadcast home of WWE Raw in the United States. An even wider array of WWE programming is available on Netflix internationally.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Mick Foley divesting himself from WWE, the WBD/Netflix/Paramount story, Tokyo Sports Awards, ratings, Arena Mexico and AAA this weekend, AEW and NXT TV reports plus spoilers for the next several shows. A packed show as always so check it out~!
Netflix’s behind-the-scenes WWE docuseries is returning next month with a new season.
It was announced today that season two of WWE Unreal will arrive on Netflix on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Pat McAfee, Jelly Roll, R-Truth, IYO SKY, Naomi, Chelsea Green, Penta, and Lyra Valkyria are among those who will be spotlighted in the season.
OFFICIAL: @WWE: Unreal Season 2 will release on Netflix on January 20.
Participants for the upcoming season include Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Pat McAfee, Jelly Roll, R-Truth, IYO SKY, Naomi, Chelsea Green, Penta and Lyra Valkyria. pic.twitter.com/evCJfKCnlf
The first season of Unreal debuted this summer and included five episodes that were all approximately 50 minutes long. WrestleMania 41, John Cena’s heel turn, the WWE women’s division, Jey Uso’s Royal Rumble win, and Raw’s Netflix premiere were some of the topics covered.
Here is the description for the series:
From the writers’ room to Gorilla position, this series goes beyond the glitz and pyro to uncover the full-blown machine behind epic WWE productions.
WWE rehiring R-Truth after fan outcry over his departure will be explored in the new season, along with Rollins’ worked-shoot injury angle that culminated in him cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase at SummerSlam.
The partnership between WWE and Netflix began with Raw debuting on the streaming giant in January 2025. Next month will mark the one-year anniversary of that premiere. In addition to being the broadcast home of Raw in the United States, Netflix carries a wide array of WWE programming internationally.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the latest on WBD and Netflix and now also Paramount, how this will affect AEW imminently, tons of thoughts on all the big shows this weekend and what matches you should go out of your way to see, all the news and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
–The new issue of the Observer is out. The lead story on the WBD/Netflix/Paramount situation could end up being in hindsight the most important business story of this year as far as long-term ramifications to the scene. The second story on the TNA deal with AMC is also one of the major stories of the year. *A look at the Netflix/WBD proposed deal, how iit went down, what it entails, how this affects AEW, the AEW contract situation with WBD and what it entails and how long it is s well as fears in the entertainment industry if this goes through, as well as steps being taken by Paramount to get it blocked. *TNA signs a new TV deal with AMC, the early schedule, what is and isn’t true about the deal, as well as the power of AMC and how pro wrestling has affected and changed the ratings for all of its television partners with the most updated numbers, which also shows why it is still valuable programming. *A complete look at Survivor Series including how people viewed the show, changes that can be made to War Games to make it easier to watch, business notes on the show, overall interest level compared to recent PPV shows, where WWE goes from here, Netflix numbers outside the U.S. and more. *The history of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada, the making of their final match, where Shinsuke Nakamura fit in as well as AEW, WWE and CMLL, business notes, history, historical significance and how the story has played out since the start of the year. *A look at this weekend’s shows and odds *Les Hudspith aka Ringo Rigby, former U.K. wrestler who led a very interesting life, between judo, being a main eventer quick in the U.K., the political situation in the U.K. that led to his leaving, coming to the dying California promotion and thriving Mexican scene and crazy street brawls. *The most detailed look at the television ratings from the past week, placings, comparisons and more. *Coverage of one of the best Arena Mexico shows of the year including Claudio Castagnoi’s title win *The next major CMLL show, plus lots of big shows around the country *AAA and WWE combine for a big show with two great bouts, and what this leads to *End of Stardom tag team tournament *End of Dragon Gate tournament *Update on All Japan and New Japan tournaments *Who has the most five-star matches in 2025 *Real American Freestyle update and apparently business philosophy *Lots of AEW new shows *Detailed look at the Continental Classic including a decision to be made this week’ *Bryan Danielson talks injuries, if he can come back, Brie Bella coming back, retiring, traveling and more *Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows over the net five weeks *Is AEW really closing the gap on WWE as Tony Khan says, a look at different metrics *Tom Aspinall update *What UFC should do and won’t to make the Amanda Nunes vs. Kayle Harrisoni fight better and less risky *The sad plight of Nick Diaz *Nick Khan and Laurence Epstein push their version of the Ali Act *Rumors about Ronda Rousey fighting *TKO stock value update *How much has DwayneJohnson earned so far in his less than two years with WWE
— Both of our weekend shows are up on the site today. Our Friday show with Garrett Gonzales talked about the news of the week, heavily on the WBD/Netflix story and how it affects AEW, John Cena, the weekend and all sorts of other topics. Last night we talked more on the lead story with more details on how it affects AEW and what are the next things to watch out for, Paul Fontaine talked UFC 323 with us which had two title change and lots of big fights underneath, we talked some other matches that were among the best of the week, as well NXT Deadline, Collision, ROH Final Battle and Arena Mexico.
— Regarding the WBD/Netflix story that will continue, probably the best on how it currently looks in relation to AEW is on our show from last night. Netflix sent a memo to all subscribers about the proposed sale and said that Netflix and HBO Max will be kept separate. Of course they have to say that now, and that doesn’t mean a few years from now that will be the case. But that would be very good news for AEW in theory. There are so many different ways this can go as we talked about last night.
— Dana White signed a new five-year deal to remain President of UFC.
— Arena Mexico became the first arena that as best we can tell in history has ever sold 1 million tickets in a calendar year. CMLL presented a championship belt to the fan who had purchased ticket No. 1 million at Friday night’s show. There have been reports that El Toreo in Naucalpan during the heyday of the UWA had done 1 million in a calendar year, but I think that’s a little exaggerated. This 1 million is paid, not total, and also only includes CMLL regular shows, not sponsored shows, not including special sponsor shows, the Pokemon show, nor the AEW show. Including those shows, by the end of the year it should top 1.1 million. There is no building in the U.S., Europe, Japan or anywhere that would come anywhere close to that. I don’t even know if outside of El Toreo and Arena Mexico that any other place ever did half that. The Mid South Coliseum in Memphis in its best year did like 375,000. What’s even more remarkable is that a solid percentage of that number would be Americans. I think you’d have to go back at least 40 years to find an arena in the U.S. that drew as many Americans in its best year as Arena Mexico did this year. To me, while the latter is not a shock since we talked about this in 2024 a few times because it was also a good year for tourist sales, it’s still mind-boggling when you think about it.
— Alexandre Pantoja dropped the flyweight title to Joshua Van in seconds, post his arm when Van took him down and it appeared his arm bent badly at the elbow joint. They had to stop the fight, which made Van the youngest world champion in UFC history. Megan Olivi after the show on the broadcast said that she had spoken to Dr. Jeff Davidson and said that Pantoja had a shoulder dislocation, but then the shoulder popped into place on its own. On Monday they will go for additional imaging to see the extent of the other or if there is another damage and diagnose more from there. Joe Rogan then said that this doesn’t make sense because you could see the elbow pop out of the joint.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on both NXT Deadline and ROH Final Battle, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— Some weekend match recommendations as this was a big weekend for good matches. Yesterday’s NXT show to me was the best major show they’ve done in a while, with both the men’s and women’s Iron Survivor matches being excellent. ROH Final Battle you should check out the Bandido vs. Mortos vs. Komander vs. Blake Christian vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Hechidero, Athena vs. Persephone, Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Sky Flight and if you are into technical wrestling Nigel McGuinness vs Lee Moriarty to some will be one of the more fun matches in a long time. Both shows to me were very good. The Continental Classic matches last night on Collision were great, particularly Jon Moxley vs Konosuke Takeshita but really all three. The UFC main event, where Petr Yan won the bantamweight title over Merab Dvalishvili as well as Brandon Talbott vs. Henry Cejudo were great fights. We were also told there were two excellent quick bouts, Ob Aslan vs. Iwo Baraniewski and Chris Duncan vs. Terrence McKinney.
–The Arena Mexico Friday main event was excellent as well. It was Misitco & Mascara Dorada losing to Soberano Jr. & & Difunto when Soberano Jr. pinned both Dorada after a nasty power bomb and Mistico after a piledriver-like move. The power bomb looked dangerous and Dorada went out on a stretcher. Dorada then flew to Columbus, OH for his match with Claudio Castagnoli which saw the Historic welterweight champion pin the CMLL world heavyweight champion. After the main event at Arena Mexico, Soberano Jr. issued a challenge to Mistico for the CMLL world light heavyweight title, and that will be the main event on this coming Friday’s show. Also on Friday will be the Gran Alternativa tournament, with the first and second round on this week with the two final teams facing off on 12/19.
Teams are:
Volador Jr. & Elemental
Euforia & Gallero
Angel de Oro & Yutani
Averno & Barboza
Atlantis Jr. & Xelhua
Titan & Explosivo
Templario & El Hijo del Pantera
Neon & Futuro
The idea is the second name listed, if their team wins, that person moves from underneath level to semi-main or main event level. Yutani sold out Puebla against Mistico already. Barboza is already a star, Xelhua is a favorite and Futuro was Neon’s regular tag team partner before Neon got elevated.
— The news from the weekend from those in WWE is that Penta is 50/50 regarding whether he’ll be able to wrestle on 12/20 in Guadalajara for the Penta & Fenix vs. Dominik Mysterio & Grande Americano main event. He suffered a shoulder injury in his Raw match with Solo Sikoa.
— You’ve probably heard about this but Bayley did a weekend seminar and camp for top women independent wrestlers over the last few days in Orlando. She flew everyone in, took care of lodging and set up a camp at no cost to the women. Helping her with coaching included Charlotte Flair, Natalaya, TJ Wilson, John Cena, Bianca Belair, Ivy Nile, Lyra Valkyria, Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, Maxxine Dupri and others. Bayley rushed to TV on Friday and flew right back. Cena spent hours there talking and giving advice to everyone individually. This is really something special and you have to give Bayley all the credit in the world for putting it together, and for all the other wrestlers who participated.
— Regarding Google searches, nothing from NXT Deadline nor ROH Death Before Dishonor cracked the top 600. Nor anything from WWE or AEW. UFC last night did 870,000 which is not a giant number but definitely a good number. Searches for the show were No. 6 among all topics over the weekend.
— As far as the judging went, in the main event, Judge Michael Bell only gave Dvalishvili the first round for a 49-46 score. Judge Derek Cleary gave Yan rounds three through five and a 48-47 score. Judge Eric Colon gave Dvalishvili only the first round for 49-46. I only had round two for Dvalishvili at 49-46. Both Ryan Frederick and Paul Fontaine from our site had a clean 50-45 sweep for Yan. Of reporters’ scores we’ve seen, they were 65 percent 50-45 and 35 percent 49-46. Nobody but Cleary gave Dvalishvili two rounds.
— In the Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov draw, Junichiro Kamijo had it even at 28-28 with Blachowicz winning one and three and Gukov getting a 10-8 round two. Chris Lee had it 29-28 with the same winners but not a 10-8 second. Judge Ron McCarthy gave Guskov a 10-8 round two for a 28-28 so it was a majority draw Among reporters through MMA Decisions, 57 percent went for Blachowicz and 43 percent had it as a draw.
— The Countdown to Worlds End show airs on the 17th. As of right now nothing has been announced for the show past the semifinals and finals of the Continental Classic. What that means is aside from the tournament, the rest of the show’s key bouts should be announced by a week from Wednesday. I strongly suspect Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland as the main event. They gave the impression last night that Strickland will face Josh Alexander on 12/13 in Cardiff for the shot at Joe.
— The final episode of RJ City’s Hey EW show aired this weekend. He did a roast of the company, a parody of scenes in Beyond the Mat and WWE Unreal, spoofing Paul Levesque, a Renee Paquette run-in that leaves him laying and then Tony Khan shows up and orders everyone to get back to work. Mercedes Mone, who people had continued to request as a guest but never did the show, then showed up, saw that nobody was there, and left. (thanks to Stephen Lyon).
— The 12/11 El Hijo del Santo farewell show in Guadalajara was canceled due to poor ticket sales. His last match is 12/13 in Mexico City and they will have to paper like crazy to avoid it looking bad. But overall this farewell tour has been a disaster.
— The All Japan tag team tournament finals are Wednesday at Korakuen Hall with Ren Ayabe & Talos vs. tag champs Xyon & Odyssey Jones, who went 5-0 in the tournament.
— New Japan’s next to last night of B block took place in Kihoku today:
Great O’Khan & Callum Newman (4-2) beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & El Phantasmo (2-4)
Lance Archer & Alex Zayne (3-3) beat Yuto-Ice & Oskar (3-3)
Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa (3-3) beat David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi (2-4)
Monday is the A block last day, Tuesday is the B block last day and the playoffs are Wednesday and Friday with the finals Sunday.
Tomorrow:
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Shingo Takagi & Drilla Moloney
Taichi & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yota Tsuji & Gabe Kidd
Shuji Ishikawa & El Desperado vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Evil & Don Fale vs. Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano
— NXT on Tuesday has Shiloh Hill’s first NXT TV match, Hank Walker & Tank Ledger back from Japan, Blake Monroe in an open challenge for the North American title and Kelani Jordan vs. Jordynne Grace.
— We’re looking for reports on the TNA TV tapings from yesterday and today in El Paso.
— Kenoh beat Kaito Kiyomiya in a 60:00 Iron Man match on today’s NOAH show at Korakuen Hall. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows attacked Kiyomiya to set up them facing Kiyomiya & Jack Morris on 1/1.
— The 12/15 Raw show in Hershey, PA was moved to a 6 p.m. Eastern start time. They will be airing Raw but also taking an episode of Smackdown that night. In Grand Rapids, MI that Friday they will be doing Smackdown plus an episode of Raw.
— Curtis Highes turned 61 today, Tammy Sytch turned 53, Wolfie D turned 52, Jon Moxley turned 40 and ACH turned 38. Rick Rude would have been 67 today. The notorious Ian Croitoru/Johnny K-9/Bruiser Bedlam would have been 62. The famed McGuire Twins who are both over 700 pounds would have been 79. Joe Blanchard would have been 97, the father of Tully and grandfather of Tessa who was both a wrestler and the promoter in San Antonio and Corpus Christi for many years. Haystacks Calhoun, who was among the most mainstream famous wrestlers of the 60s, passed away on this day 36 years ago at the age of 55. (thanks to Tony Richards)
— Michelle McCool said he has one last run in her.
— Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling from Friday night:
Beatrice Domino b Jheri Giggalow
Jian Hewell b Vaughn Vertigo
Los Suavecitos b Jordan Cruz & Chris Nasty
Vary Morales won three-way over Marcus Lewis and Alpha Zo
Aaron Solo b Shane Haste
VertVixen won three-way over Harley Cameron and Angelica Risk
Starboy Charlie won a three-way over Alan Angels and Toa Liona to get a main event match with QT Marshall
Marshall b Charlie
Next show is the Kirk White Memorial Battle Royal for the Roy Shire trophy on 1/23 with Ricochet and The Gates of Agony. (thanks to Jim Davis)
Dave Meltzer and I, Garrett Gonzales, are back with an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio after UFC 323.
Paul Fontaine joined us to discuss the PPV, which is the last show before they move to Paramount Plus. We also discussed all the news coming out of Dana White’s presser.
Here were some of the rest of the topics we covered:
The Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley has you covered for another packed pro wrestling weekend including Tony Khan’s reaction to Netflix being the high bidder to buy Warner Brothers Discovery.
Jim runs down Friday’s ROH Final Battle, TNA Final Resolution, the finals of The Last Time is Now Tournament on SmackDown, NXT Deadline and much more.
Plus, what was it like live in Nashville for the Dynamite before Thanksgiving? Jim lets you know.
Lots of wrestling results and news to cover. Check it out.
ROH & AEW starts spoke to the media following ROH Final Battle.
Red Velvet, Ricochet, Athena, Shane Taylor Promotions, Bandido, and Tony Khan took questions following Friday’s event on Honor Club. Here are the highlights:
Red Velvet
Regarding her surprise win, Velvet said she was going to beat Mercedes Mone and she did, accepting that she would be the underdog going into the match despite being a former champion. The loss shook her, but everything happens for a reason.
She said that Mone is someone he looked up to growing up, so going up against someone like her is “such a blessing.”
Ricochet
Tony Khan announced a AEW National title match featuring Ricochet for tomorrow’s Collision. Ricochet didn’t like the idea of that.
When asked about more members to add to his crew, Ricochet said it was about quality, not quantity.
Athena
Tony Khan pushed hard that with her victory at Final Battle, Athena will now reach the three-year mark as the ROH Women’s Champion.
A lot of the segment was designated for Athena to scold Billie Starkz for failing to win the Women’s Pure Championship.
She said she would love the opportunity to wrestle in New Japan, as there’s so much talent in Stardom.
Shane Taylor Promotions
When asked about his heroes, Moriarty named Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuiness, and Katsuyori Shibata. He said he made his wrestling debut on December 5, and all these years later, he’s now faced all of them.
This turned into an angle where Shane Taylor started to argue with Moriarty, pushing that tonight was too close for comfort and winning is an expectation, not a surprise. He told Moriarty to follow the game plan.
Moriarty said that to see Nigel McGuiness come out with the original ROH Pure title and handing it to him after the match was such a great moment.
Bandido
Bandido said he consideres himself a winner because he’s had a great year.
Tony Khan said the originally planned ROH World title match between Rush and Bandido will happen when Rush returns to action.
Bandido says he’s putting effort into learning English and hopes people can understand him now.
Tony Khan
First question was about possible AEW events at the Arnold Classic, which will be held at the same arena next year. Khan said it was a great idea and will re-evaluate.
Would love to have Persephone back, she was great and an incredible challenger.
Khan was asked if there were plans for more ROH big events for next year, mentioning previous events like Glory by Honor and the anniversary shows. Khan pivoted to talking about bringing in more Global Wars events this year and mentioned the upcoming Boxing Day Brawl event on ROH television.
Someone asked for his reaction to Netflix potentially acquiring Warner Bros. Khan said that it was “too early to comment on anything that’s pending” and stressed his great relationship with Warner Bros., continually saying there was still a lot of time on their deals with TBS, TNT, and HBO Max. He called David Zazlav a friend of AEW. He’s excited about the future.
He also said that in regards to all of the publicly known bidders for WBD (Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast) he’s had great relationships all of them via his NFL dealings. He said there’s over two years to go in their deals with WBD.
About a potential all-women’s pay-per-view, Tony Khan was open to the idea, mentioning how many new women’s championships he’s introduced.
Khan called Zayda Steel a professional and would love to have her back.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about the big news from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
The WBD/Netflix deal and how AEW may or may not be affected
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez is back with the first of SIX SOLO SHOWS THIS WEEKEND, this one talking all the news including the Netflix/WBD story, how it might or might not affect AEW, plus when and how, a lawsuit filed against WWE and John Cena, a look at all the shows this crazy weekend, injury updates, and so much more. A PACKED news show, so check it out~!
In a potential acquisition that would change the face of entertainment forever, Netflix announced on Friday morning that they intend to acquire part of Warner Brothers Discovery.
Of note for AEW fans, the deal is for the Warner Bros. portion which includes their film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO and key IP assets like the DC Universe, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and others. It does not include any of the TV networks like TBS and TNT where AEW currently airs (but does simulcast on HBO Max).
The reported acquisition price is approximately $82.7 billion with a $5.8 billion “break up fee” to WBD if the deal falls through in any way. Netflix stated in their media release that they expect to maintain Warner Brothers’ current operations which includes theatrical releases for movies — something Netflix leadership has said in the past was not of interest for their own produced content.
From the release:
“The transaction is expected to close after the previously announced separation of WBD’s Global Networks division, Discovery Global, into a new publicly-traded company, which is now expected to be completed in Q3 2026.”
That plan, announced earlier this year, was a separate of the Warner Bros. studio assets from their cable networks.
The Netflix acquisition will need to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is already getting pushback from the Hollywood community. Both Paramount/Skydance and NBCUniversal/Comcast were also interested in acquiring WBD and for the entire company, not just Warner Bros.
Netflix’s multi-year global partnership with WWE began in January 2025 while AEW’s current media rights deal with WBD that also began this year runs through 2027 with an option year for 2028.
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk has joined the cast of a new Netflix romantic comedy movie.
It was announced via Deadline today that Punk will have a role in the film adaptation of the novel “The Bodyguard,” which was written by Katherine Center and released in 2022. Punk is playing a character named Doghouse, who is described as a physically intimidating security detail member known for his loyalty and humor.
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum is directing the film, with Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki starring as the two leads. Here is the description:
A skilled bodyguard is assigned to protect a reclusive movie star from a stalker and must pose as his girlfriend to keep the threat hidden. On his family ranch, the assignment blurs lines as proximity complicates the job.
Being part of a rom-com is one of the goals Punk set for his acting career. Along with this film, he has a role in the upcoming horror movie “Night Patrol” and a cameo as a voice actor in the recently released “Zootopia 2.”
Earlier this week, WWE confirmed that Punk will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker on the first Raw episode of 2026. Breakker was set up for the title shot by pinning Punk in WarGames at Survivor Series.
The race to acquire AEW media partner Warner Bros. Discovery and further massively change the landscape of both streaming, broadcast and Hollywood heated up even more on Thursday.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that three official bids have come in for WBD from Netflix, NBCUniversal and Paramount/Skydance, noting they vary “for some or all” of WBD. It’s the first official salvo of many expected to come.
No details on the bids were revealed, but the New York Post reported that bids were submitted at noon “with deal insiders predicting a winning offer that will likely fall far short of the $30 a share that CEO David Zaslav said he wanted for the media conglomerate.”
They later added that WBD and David Zaslav are “expected to hold two, maybe three rounds of bidding to push the price up above the $23.50 that Paramount Skydance has already offered for the entire company, according to people close to the matter.”
Why this is relevant for wrestling fans is the broadcast future of AEW.
AEW is in year one of their current WBD TV contract that runs through 2027 with an option for 2028 that sees the weekly Dynamite and Collision shows on TBS/TNT simulcast on HBO Max, and the AEW content archives available on HBO Max. That deal also includes AEW PPVs available at a discount for HBO Max subscribers in addition to the new Tailgate Brawl PPV pre-shows that are also simulcast on TNT.
AEW head Tony Khan was both asked by Ariel Helwani on Tuesday and on a media call Thursday about his concerns and insights. Khan continued to be positive and confident about AEW’s relationship with Zaslav, saying they have continued to both grow and integrate into WBD through their changes and that support has been reciprocal.
Both NBCUniversal and Netflix have existing deals with WWE while Paramount kicks off their seven-year deal with TKO-owned UFC in January.
WWE star Seth Rollins will be doing some cross-promotion next month when he appears at one of Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL games.
Rollins is listed as a special guest for Netflix’s pre-game coverage of the Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, December 25. The game is taking place in Minneapolis at US Bank Stadium, where WWE SummerSlam 2026 will be held next August.
This is the second straight year that Netflix has partnered with the NFL to broadcast games on Christmas. It’s part of Netflix’s push to add more live sports to its portfolio, which has also seen Netflix develop a close relationship with WWE that includes Netflix being the broadcast home of Raw.
The Lions and Vikings are both division rivals of the Chicago Bears — the NFL team that Rollins supports. Rollins is a huge football fan in general and has a regular role guest hosting “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network.
During a recent “Good Morning Football” episode, Rollins said he expects to be out of action for six months due to the shoulder injury he suffered against Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel: Perth. The injury forced Rollins to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship — and WWE ran an angle where he was betrayed by his former Vision stablemates Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.
The Lions vs. Vikings pre-game show begins at 4 p.m. Eastern on Christmas. The game itself will kick off at 4:30 p.m.
