WWE Raw’s premiere episode on Netflix is the hottest thing in wrestling. In anticipation of the WWE Raw on Netflix debut, hours upon hours of WWE content has dropped on the streaming service.
WWE has released the full match card for the January 6, 2025 WWE Raw. It features Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley, Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat, and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins. A John Cena appearance plus Logan Paul’s promise to establish himself as the number one contender to Guther’s World Heavyweight Championship means the premiere WWE Raw on Netflix will be loaded.
Netflix has more than 282.7 million subscribers. That’s a lot of homes set to be body-slammed by WWE content. But is there room for WWE’s largest household name – The Rock?
Here, we weigh up why The Rock almost definitely will but could also not show up on WWE Raw on Netflix.
Why The Rock Will Appear on WWE Raw on Netflix Premiere
A year ago, The Rock shocked everyone when he showed up on the January 1, 2024, WWE Raw. The Rock caused shockwaves across the WWE Universe when he asked if he “should sit at the Head of the Table?”
This was a reference to his cousin, Roman Reigns, who was more than 1,000 days into a championship reign and had declared himself the Tribal Chief. Reigns had been anointed with an Ulu Fala as the head of the Anoa’i family Bloodline by his father and uncle Afa and Sika in 2020. Since then, everybody hoped The Rock might show up and challenge Reigns.
A dream match between the Reigns and The Rock was set for WrestleMania 40. But that got scrapped when Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble and demanded a title shot against Reigns.
Rhodes took the gold from Reigns at WrestleMania 40. But what we got in the build-up was The Rock returning to his eyebrow-raising, versace-wearing, trash-talking bad guy best. The newly-monikered “Final Boss” even laced up his boots on night one of WrestleMania 40.
The Rock and Reigns defeated Rhodes and Seth Rollins. On the WWE Raw after WrestleMania, The Rock bid goodbye to the fans and told Rhodes he would return for him.
Since The Rock Has Been Gone
Whilst The Rock left WWE to concentrate on churning out two of the most successful movies of 2024 – Moana 2 and Red One – the youngest member of the Anoa’i family picked at the bones of Roman Reigns. Solo Sikoa took out Reigns and stole his Ulu Fala.
Reigns’ former enforcer now claimed to be the new Tribal Chief and leader of The Bloodline. Sikoa brought in Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa.
After months of Sikoa’s domination, Reigns returned and a Bloodline civil war took place. Both Reigns’ original Bloodline and Sikoa’s Bloodline 2.0 have claimed a victory.
Reigns and Sikoa meet on the premiere of WWE Raw on Netflix in Tribal Combat. The winner will claim the Ulu Fala and the prestige of being the Tribal Chief.
The only problem is The Rock. Neither man can truly claim to be the most dominant member of the Anoa’i family if they haven’t defeated The Rock.
The Rock appeared after Sikoa and Reigns’ first conflict at WWE Bad Blood in October and made a throat-slitting gesture. It is clear The Rock is coming for one of the men, who is hard to predict. When is slightly easier.
Millions and Millions of Views
The Rock had a busy year post-WrestleMania working on The Smashing Machine and other movies but now has some free time. A match at WrestleMania 41 – the first Showcase of the Immortals to be streamed live on Netflix – is surely a plan for WWE. The premiere episode on Netflix is likely to get the most eyeballs.
Netflix has hosted two mega live events recently. 108 million people are said to have streamed Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s fight in November. Whilst 30 million global viewers watched the NFL Christmas Games on Netflix.
Simply put, the storyline is set perfectly for The Rock to return now. His schedule seems open for him being in LA on Monday, January 6. Plus it makes perfect business sense for The Rock to set up a WrestleMania 41 match with an appearance this Monday.
Why Won’t The Rock Appear
The case for The Rock not appearing on the premiere of WWE Raw on Netflix takes a lot less explaining and is really boring. The WWE doesn’t need any more star power.
Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Travis Scott, Logan Paul, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Solo Sikoa, Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, Triple H, Michael Cole and Pat McAfee will all appear live. Plus, we can assume we will get some shock returns.
The lack of female presence on the card has led many to speculate that a top woman could return. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are the obvious choices.
Pentagon Jr. also looks likely to debut and The Wyatt Sicks have hinted at another massacre. Ok, if all that is the reason The Rock won’t appear, that’s anything but boring.
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