Tag: wwe netflix

Netflix reveals premiere date for ‘WWE Unreal’ season two

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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.

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.

Rollins — who is now out of action with a legitimate injury — will likely promote the new season of WWE Unreal when he appears on Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL coverage later this month.

WWE star CM Punk joins cast of Netflix rom-com

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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.

WWE star to appear at NFL Christmas Day game

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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.

CM Punk appeared at one of 2024’s Christmas games to promote the WWE-Netflix deal.

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.

Daily Update: Mercedes Mone, Evil Uno, WWE-Netflix

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest Headlines

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*The most detailed look at the UFC deal with Paramount, and all the doors that had to be opened to put it together, UFC getting out of PPV, how TKO boxing fights, trying to make this work economically, the loss to ESPN and the loss of ESPN exposure for UFC, analysts, stock market reaction and how much Vince McMahon and Dwayne Johnson made on this deal.
*A look at the next  AEW, NXT and WWE major shows between now and the end of the month.  The lineups, the business, the stories and more.
*Full G-1 Climax reports, the booking, the best matches, the worst matches and more
*The most detailed look at the strange case involving  Karrion Kross
*Amateur wrestling Hall of Famer Greg Wojciechowski, who later was a  world champion with Dick the Bruiser’s Indiana promotion, the grandstand challenge to Hulk Hogan, the boycotted Olympics and more.
*The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling television shows this past week as well as UFC, competition, placings and more.
*A look at CMLL and the popularity of wrestling in Mexico City and Guadalajara.
*Arena Mexico coverage for this week.
*TripleMania notes
*Five Star Grand Prix notes
*Notes on two different Hulk Hogan documentaries
*What the documentaries didn’t cover
*Robbie Ellis, the art dealer turned independent wrestler
*Longest match in history
*More career highlights of Gerry Morrow
*The most detailed look at TNA, its agreement with WWE, why WWE may want outside ownership of the company and another attempt to break its attendance record
*New AEW signings
*Lots of injury updates
*Taz talks about Bret Hart’s view  of wrestling
*WWE library
*Latest WWE cut
*New movies WWE talent is in
*Leading YouTube numbers

This Week’s Back Issue

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Thursday Update

WWE

  • Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s VP of Sports, told The Wrap that Netflix is “thrilled” with how WWE has performed on the platform:
    • We’re thrilled with the performance of WWE programming as a whole. From the start in January to now, it’s just been everything we could hope for and more, and a really great partnership.
  • Spitzer noted that viewers who watch Raw are watching a wide variety of other Netflix programming:
    • It’s bringing in kids, men, women, everyone. So it’s not like they’re just watching WWE and turning and watching standup comedy. It’s everything from a ‘Bridgerton’ to ‘Squid Game’ to standup. It’s pretty family-friendly overall.
  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Roxanne Perez named the wrestlers she’s used as inspiration for her heel persona:
    • Eddie Guerrero is probably my top one that I always watch, and just his mannerisms and the way he wrestled, and even in his entrance. It’s like he’s not doing much, but he is with his face. And so him for sure. CM Punk, he was one of my favorite heels growing up. AJ Lee, Alexa Bliss’ Goddess era, so many but I think those are like my top inspos.
  • Kevin Owens reacted to Naomi’s pregnancy announcement:
    • I have high hopes that with Naomi and Gigantic Jim (the nicest Bloodline member despite being so misguided) as his parents, the child will turn out to be a decent human being UNLIKE HIS UNCLES AND THE CHILDREN OF HIS VARIOUS FAMILY MEMBERS’ FORMER TAG TEAM PARTNERS!!!
  • Ron Killings celebrated his “The White Album” reaching the number 10 spot on Billboard’s country charts.
  • Bubba Ray Dudley was the guest on a new edition of Six Feet Under with The Undertaker & Michelle McCool.
  • On her YouTube channel, Asuka posted a promo discussing her history with IYO SKY.
  • Bronson Reed was a guest on The Fan Morning Show in Indianapolis.
  • Good Karma Wrestling interviewed Maxxine Dupri.
  • Logan Paul and his wife Nina Agdal discussed their wedding on a new episode of Impaulsive.

Other Wrestling

  • Ahead of the WWE-ESPN PLE deal beginning next month, ESPN has removed the AEW-dedicated news section from its website.
  • In her interview with TV Insider, Mercedes Mone praised Tony Khan as the best boss she’s ever worked for:
    • Tony Khan is the best boss I’ve had in my whole life. I love working with him. I love working for him. It has been so positive just to be around him. He brings such an energy that I’ve never experienced from a boss before. I don’t know, he makes you so happy even before you go out to the ring. He is just so energetic and passionate about wrestling. I love wrestling, and he does. So, it’s the best working with someone who loves it just as much as you do.
  • Dustin Rhodes agreed that Khan is the best boss he’s ever had, saying it “isn’t even close.”
  • TV Insider asked Mone about her relationship with boyfriend The Beast Mortos:
    • First of all, that mask he has is really, really hot. Two, he is a lawyer so I can sue you at any time I want. Three, it’s awesome to have someone that understands what you do. Wrestling is extremely, extremely hard, and nobody gets it but wrestlers. Just to have someone who loves it and understands it as much as I do, it’s the best feeling to have a partner like that.
  • Mone named British wrestler Kanji as an under-the-radar talent who people should be watching:
    • Yes! From Rev Pro, I’m obsessed and love Kanji. I think she is so talented and brings something to the ring I haven’t really seen women do. She definitely reminds me of a female Zack Sabre Jr. in that she is so technical. She has such a drive and passion for this. If I could choose someone to sign here [in AEW], she would be my number one pick.
  • Evil Uno will debut for DDT Pro Wrestling at the promotion’s show in Tokyo on September 28.
  • Brian Cage was interviewed by the Hitting the Turnbuckle podcast.
  • Full video of Slammiversary 2025 – along with TNA’s Fade to Black documentary on the event – has been uploaded to TNA’s YouTube channel for free.
  • Responding to comments Dana White made about wanting indie wrestlers in Power Slap, Joey Janela said he turned down an offer from the organization:
    • Nothing against anyone doing the powerslap deal props to you but they hit me up and asked me if I wanted to do it, & I said f*ck no. 
    • Was the money good yes, was the money good enough to give someone a free shot at jaw, The Embarrassment & CTE deluxe? F*ck no, I’ll take the $50 to launch myself off a ladder through the thumbtack table any day of the week..
  • While teasing a new tequila partnership that he’s going to be involved with, Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman) gave an update on his wrestling status and what’s next for him:
    • It’s been an absolute amazing ride – not saying that I’m not going to get back in the ring and whip somebody’s ass, because we all know I can. But it’s an opportunity for me to try some new stuff, and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to rekindling relationships with family and friends that I’ve missed out on and things that, you know, you just don’t get to do while you’re on the road because it’s so busy.
  • The Lapsed Fan podcast began a new series examining the life of Hulk Hogan.

Report: Netflix working on Hulk Hogan docuseries since 2024

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A Netflix docuseries focused on Hulk Hogan has reportedly been in the works since 2024.

On Thursday, Hogan — the most famous pro wrestling star in U.S. history — passed away of cardiac arrest at 71 years old. Hollywood insider Matthew Belloni wrote about Hogan’s passing for Puck News and shared that WWE, Hogan, and Netflix had been working together on a docuseries. More than 20 hours of new interviews with Hogan were filmed for the project.

Belloni wrote in his newsletter:

The Hulkster died mid-documentary: Hulk Hogan, who died today at 71, will be remembered for mainstreaming pro wrestling and bringing down Gawker. He also left behind an unfinished docuseries on his life that Netflix has quietly been working on since last year, per sources. Director Bryan Storkel and producer Connor Schell’s Words + Pictures have been collaborating with WWE and Hogan on the multipart series, which will include more than 20 hours of new interviews with Hogan that were shot before his passing. There’s no release date yet.

Netflix is the broadcast home of WWE Raw in the United States and carries a wider array of WWE programming in international markets. The partnership between the two companies officially kicked off with Raw making its Netflix debut on January 6, which ended up being the last appearance Hogan ever made for WWE.

While this project does not have a premiere date yet, a new docuseries titled “WWE: Untold” will debut on Netflix on July 29. It aims to give viewers an inside look at WWE creative and some of the company’s stars.

Netflix reveals premiere date for ‘WWE: Unreal’ docuseries

Posted on by Joseph Currier

We now know when Netflix’s “WWE: Unreal” behind-the-scenes docuseries will be premiering.

The streaming service promoted its slate of new programming for July today, announcing that “WWE: Unreal” will make its debut on Tuesday, July 29. Season one will consist of five episodes with each being 50 minutes long.

“For the first time ever, step into the WWE writer’s room and outside the ring with your favorite WWE Superstars, where the drama is just as intense offstage as it is under the spotlight,” Netflix’s description for the show says.

The series is produced by WWE, Skydance Sports, NFL Films, and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. The NFL legend Manning is listed as one of the executive producers for “WWE: Unreal” along with Jamie Horowitz, Ross Ketover, Keith Cossrow, Ken Rodgers, Jessica Boddy, Lee Fitting, Ben Houser, and Marc Pomarico.

“WWE: Unreal” has been in development since WWE entered into its partnership with Netflix, which became the broadcast home of Raw at the start of 2025. Netflix also carries a wider array of WWE programming in international markets outside of the United States.

An official teaser trailer for “WWE: Unreal” was released back in April:

Netflix reveals trailer, new details for ‘WWE: Unreal’ docuseries

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Netflix has provided a quick first glimpse at its upcoming WWE docuseries

Sunday during the WrestleMania 41 night two broadcast, it was announced that “WWE: Unreal” is set to premiere this summer, giving fans a look at the WWE writers’ room and what goes on backstage. Netflix followed that up this morning by releasing the official trailer for the show.

“We’re going to lift the curtain,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque says in the trailer, which includes behind-the-scenes footage of him in the writers’ room and interacting backstage with Jey Uso.

The trailer also shows footage of WWE’s producers watching the 2025 Royal Rumble live as it was happening. “If they think this is awesome, they haven’t seen sh*t yet,” Michael Hayes says.

An exact premiere date has not been announced yet. Here is Netflix’s description for the show:

For the first time ever, step into the WWE writer’s room and outside the ring with your favorite WWE Superstars, where the drama is just as intense offstage as it is under the spotlight. 

Variety reports that the series will have 10 episodes with each being 50 minutes long. It’s produced by Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports, and WWE. Omaha Productions (founded by NFL legend Peyton Manning) also produces Stephanie McMahon and WWE’s show “Stephanie’s Places” for ESPN+.

Netflix became the new broadcast home of WWE Raw in the United States this January, with international markets also getting a wider array of WWE programming in addition to Raw.

WWE 2K mobile game to be released by Netflix Games

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE and Netflix are partnering together to release a new mobile game later this year.

It was revealed today that a mobile edition of WWE 2K is in the works and will be available to play in fall 2025. The game is being released under the Netflix Games banner.

Netflix produced a video with CM Punk announcing the news:

“Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the ultimate smackdown from the comfort of your own — phone. WWE 2K is coming to mobile in late 2025 exclusively on Netflix Games,” Punk said. “This isn’t just another mobile game, this is your chance to live the most extreme, the most intense, the most dominant WWE experience right in the palm of your hands. So charge up your phone, prepare to become the champion of Netflix Games with WWE 2K on mobile.”

The only other time a mobile edition of WWE 2K was produced was in 2015. Mobile games from Netflix Games are included with your Netflix subscription, and Netflix touts that they do not include ads, extra fees, or in-app purchases.

WWE and Netflix’s partnership officially began at the start of 2025 with Raw now airing on the streaming service every week.

Roman Reigns was unveiled as the cover star for WWE 2K25 earlier this week. The game has a March 14 release date on Playstation, Xbox, and Steam.

Viewership for episode two of WWE Raw on Netflix

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For the second straight week, WWE Raw ranked fourth in its category on Netflix’s viewership chart.

Netflix lists that the January 13 episode of Raw — the second episode since Raw moved to the streaming service — generated 3,700,000 views globally from January 13-19. That was good for fourth among English-language TV shows. Raw trailed American Primeval (14,300,000 views), XO, Kitty season two (14,200,000), and Missing You (5,600,000) in that category.

This is down from the 5,900,000 views that Raw’s Netflix premiere generated in its first week.

In Netflix’s methodology, views are defined as the total hours viewed for the program divided by the total runtime. The January 13 Raw is listed as having 8,200,000 hours viewed. Raw’s Netflix premiere — which was a full three-hour episode — had 17,700,000 hours viewed in the first week.

This week, Squid Game season two was the top-ranked TV show in the non-English language category with 13,200,000 views and 94,800,000 hours viewed.

Week three of Raw on Netflix took place last night. We’ll get viewership information for that episode when Netflix publishes its weekly chart next Tuesday.

Update on viewership for WWE Raw’s Netflix premiere

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Some new viewership information is now available regarding WWE Raw’s Netflix premiere episode.

Per data published by Netflix, the episode was viewed 5,900,000 times globally from January 6-12, which means an additional one million views were added after the initial two-day viewership number that WWE and Netflix touted. The three-hour episode generated a total of 17,700,000 hours viewed.

Netflix defines views as “total view hours for the program divided by the runtime.”

Raw ranked fourth among English-language TV shows on Netflix for the week, trailing “Missing You,” (15,200,000 views), “American Primeval” (10,400,000 views), and the docuseries “Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action” (7,700,000 views).

Season two of “Squid Game” — which is ranked as a non-English language show — was the top TV program on Netflix with 26,300,000 views. “The Breakthrough” also had 10,600,000 views and “Squid Game” season one had 8,700,000 views in the non-English language category.

The Raw premiere ranked as a top 10 show in 26 different countries.

In their press release last week, WWE and Netflix stated that — in the United States — the premiere averaged 2.6 million households in live and same-day viewing.

Viewership data for Raw’s second episode on Netflix — which took place from San Jose, California last night — is not available yet.

WWE & Netflix tout ‘strong’ viewership for Raw premiere

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE and Netflix are touting that Raw got off to a strong start with a big viewership number for its premiere episode on the streaming service.

In a press release issued on Thursday, WWE and Netflix stated that Monday’s Raw episode averaged 2.6 million households in the United States in live and same-day viewing. Globally, the viewership number was nearly five million.

“Netflix and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, today announced that the debut episode of RAW on Netflix got off to a strong start, with the Monday night program capturing 4.9M Live+1 views globally,” the press release said.

“The inaugural event on Netflix averaged 2.6 million households (Live+SD) in the US, according to VideoAmp, which is 116% higher than RAW’s average 2024 US audience of 1.2 million households, 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.”

Views are defined as “total view hours for the program divided by the runtime,” which Netflix says is their “nearest proxy for average minute audience at the household level and does not include co-viewing.”

Raw was held at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Monday and was headlined by CM Punk defeating Seth Rollins. John Cena, The Rock, The Undertaker, and Triple H all made appearances on the show.

The press release also states that WWE generated more than 223 million social views across its platforms on the day of the Netflix premiere, which is more than any Raw episode in 2024.

San Jose, California will host the second episode of Raw on Netflix with the show set to take place from the SAP Center next Monday (January 13).

Hulk Hogan booed at WWE Raw Netflix premiere

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The crowd in the Intuit Dome was not welcoming to WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan on Monday’s Raw premiere on Netflix.

Hogan entered to a negative reaction on Monday’s show, the same day his Real American Beer brand announced a partnership with WWE, including WWE acquiring a minority ownership stake in the company.

The crowd in Inglewood’s reaction to Hogan has received mainstream press attention, including from Variety.

Hogan name checked Andre the Giant and Randy Savage, and thanked the fans for being his best tag team partner and sticking with him over the years in an attempt to turn the segment around, but the crowd would have none of it:

The 71-year-old Hogan’s reputation and career were irreparably harmed after he called himself a racist and repeatedly used an ethnic slur in referring to Black people in a 2007 sex tape video that was filmed without his consent. The video leaked in 2015, and Hogan was fired from WWE. The company brought Hogan back in 2018.

Hogan added further fuel to his controversial image by endorsing fellow WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump for President of the United States in 2024 and speaking at the Republican National Convention.

Paul Heyman to present Ula Fala to WWE Raw Tribal Combat winner

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A WWE Hall of Famer’s role in the Tribal Combat match set for the Monday, January 6 Raw on Netflix premiere has been revealed.

Part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Paul Heyman will present the Ula Fala to the winner of the Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa Tribal Combat match as Raw kicks off its Netflix era this coming Monday.

In an in-ring promo segment on SmackDown, Sikoa charged Heyman with keeping watch of the Ula Fala necklace during Tribal Combat, then said that Heyman must present the necklace to the winner of the match, and that the loser of the bout must acknowledge the winner as their Tribal Chief. Heyman agreed to the stipulations on Reigns’ behalf.

Heyman has served as the storyline manager and “Wise Man” for Reigns for a number of years, and was briefly aligned with Sikoa’s iteration of The Bloodline earlier this year, before the Sikoa-led group featuring Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu put Heyman through an announce desk at Madison Square Garden in 2024.

Reigns returned to WWE at SummerSlam this year after a hiatus following his WrestleMania 40 loss to Cody Rhodes, then reunited his version of The Bloodline alongside Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso.

The lineup for the WWE Raw Netflix premiere on Monday, January 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern time:

  • Tribal Combat: Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa
  • CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
  • Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against Rhea Ripley in a Last Woman Standing match
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso
  • John Cena returns
  • Penta El Zero Miedo debuts
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Rey Mysterio & TBA