WWE Raw’s Netflix debut was a smashing hit. With nostalgia sprinkled throughout, WWE delivered four amazing matches, all of which would have been worthy of a WrestleMania spot, in addition to surprise appearances, great promos, and segments that helped to move the story forward, As Paul Levesque said in his post-show press conference, there was something for everyone, both returning and new fans, diehards and casuals, alike.
After the show, attention turned to YouTube where a nearly 90-minute post show helped wrap things up on the successful night. Levesque, John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns (with an assist from Paul Heyman), and Rhea Ripley all took the mic to answer questions as part of the closing special. In the process, they revealed some pretty interesting things. Here are the top moments from the post-show interviews. You can watch the full show on WWE’s YouTube channel.
John Cena Just Wants to Have a Good Time
On Raw, John Cena played along with the fans and outlined that maybe just maybe, there was a path for him to achieve the history they want to see, a 17th championship reign. Cena noted it would take a miracle but that in WWE, there were a certain number of lottery tickets, and winning the Royal Rumble, which he’s already done twice, was one of them. So Cena expressed his intent to enter and win the rumble, and then go on to main event WrestleMania 41 with a title on the line.
In his Raw on Netflix post show press conference, Cena, staying in character, elaborated a little more on what that path might look like. Cena noted that he isn’t making any demands in his return as it wouldn’t be fair to the fans or talent in the locker room, nor that he would have the capacity to do so given it’s been a long time since he’s won a match (realistically, he could probably demand whatever he wanted). Rather he is doing what he’s always done, showing up and doing the best with what he’s got. And what he’s got, is a 48-year-old body that probably won’t allow him to perform at the level he has in the past. But that doesn’t mean he’s not going to try. “I will give everything I have like I always have, I just don’t know what that looks like,” he said.
Cena noted he wanted to set realistic expectations for people while also trying to give back to fans for supporting him over his 23-year career. While noting that the knowledge that this is his last Royal Rumble will likely give him that extra juice to fight to stay in the match as long as possible, Cena acknowledged his goal at the end of the day isn’t championships or dream matches, but rather just enjoying one more chance to get together with fans in each city on his 36-date retirement tour. “The power of the WWE audience is an awesome thing and I just want to get us together one more time to have a good time,” he concluded.
Roman Reigns Deserves an Emmy
Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa put on an absolute classic in just the second-ever tribal combat match in WWE history. The match hit all of the beats, capturing the bitter rivalry that has developed between the two cousins over the last several months. In the end, Reigns was victorious and stood in the ring for a moment with the Rock as the People’s Champ put the ula fala back on Reigns’ neck where it always belonged.
In his Raw on Netflix post show press conference, Reigns addressed the moment along with the entire Bloodline saga noting how its been a “great honor” for him to be able to represent the Samoan family and dynasty which boasts a decades-long legacy including greats such as the High Chief Peter Maiavia, Reigns’ father Sika, and uncle Afa, along with the Rock himself, ‘Soulman’ Rocky Johnson, Umaga, Rikishi, and countless others. That includes the new generation of this Bloodline, a group that has taken center stage in the WWE for much of the past five years. Reigns acknowledged (pun sorta intended) that legacy and ability to offer that representation for the A’noai dynasty noting Raw on Netflix was just another opportunity to “put on for our craft in front of the whole world and showcase just how good we are at this craft.”
Reigns was also asked about a potential match with the Rock but offered a non-answer, telling the reporters in attendance to continue letting “the internet do its thing” as far as speculation. Reigns also responded to a question about John Cena calling Reigns the greatest of all-time by first saying he didn’t have time to think about such things before reminding everyone listening that Cena is a smart man and Reigns’ metrics “don’t lie.”
The final question went to Heyman, who in a classic Heyman response, massively put over his tribal chief. Answering a question about what the fans should expect from Reigns going forward, Heyman turned the query around saying what should be asked is not what the fans should expect but rather what Reigns should expect from the fans. For Heyman, that’s an Emmy as the Wiseman noted with WWE now on Netflix there is no excuse for Reigns to be denied. Heyman pointed out Reigns never missed a week of TV (debatable) while other TV productions were shut down due to the strike. In fact, WWE never missed a week as Heyman opined they should get an Emmy too, along with Levesque, and for good measure, that he himself deserves one. Heyman finished on a strong note saying there has been no character that has been m0re captivating, more riveting, and more compelling over the last five years than Reigns. “I may be biased but it doesn’t make me wrong,” Heyman said.
Rhea Ripley is Ready for Anyone in the Locker Room
Another great bout ended with Rhea Ripley getting her “baby back” and also some revenge in the process. Ripley beat Liv Morgan, who had been a great champion during her brief run, a run that started when Ripley was put on the shelf in the midst of her own lengthy reign. Ripley was forced to vacate the title and as she recalled in her Raw on Netflix post show interview, that wasn’t the only thing Morgan took from her.
“Liv tried to take everything from me,” Ripley recalled. “She took much more than my shoulder and three months of my career. She made me vacate, took my family, took Dom (no big loss there), broke my face, targeted my knee…she’s done many many things so finally pinning her and getting my baby back meant absolutely everything to me.”
Ripley was also asked about her moment with the Undertaker, which she described as a moment she’ll “never forget,” before pivoting to talk of what’s next. As the champion, Ripley acknowledged that she’s got a target on her back but she’s ready for whoever wants to step to the plate as she’s not planning to lose her baby for a long, long time. “I’m excited to see what challengers come out of the woodwork,” Ripley said, “because to me, every single woman on this roster and in this company is worthy of championship opportunity and gold, they just have to take it for themselves…I’m not letting go of my championship anytime soon.”
CM Punk Planning for “Bucket List Year” in 2025
With a towel around his neck and eventually a mouthful of donuts, CM Punk did what he did best. He grabbed a mic and created some entertaining moments in his post-show press conference. Punk was arguably the star of the night, winning the first-ever main event on Raw, something he noted no one else can say that they did. And Punk is right. In a quick but heated closing match, Punk and Rollins gave everything they had including a flurry that saw both use the other’s moves. In the end, two GTS’ were enough to hold Rollins down…for now, but we all know – and Punk acknowledged- this is only just the beginning for these two men.
“I hope he sleeps horribly tonight and is plagued with nightmares of me driving my knee into his face,” Punk said in his Raw on Netflix post show interview, noting that while he’d love to be “done” with Rollins he knows that’s not going to be the case. Punk also noted that he’s guessing Rollins spent most of his career on the same path, and being told that he’s the next CM Punk, and that both men are a little sick and tired of hearing that. That said, Rollins complimented Rollins’ killer instinct while dissing his gimmick. Punk noted that he brings out the best in people and he believes he did that with Rollins on Raw.
But his ongoing rivalry with Rollins aside, Punk addressed two other potential matches and the idea of running it back with either the Rock or Cena or both. Initially, Punk was coy, noting his focus is gold around his waist but he admitted “with those two names come big fat paychecks so I’m not gonna say no to that.” Punk admitted both matches could be interesting while acknowledging he owes both Rock and Cena and would welcome matches with both with “open arms” but that when he saw Cena backstage on Raw, “he looked a little tired, like he needed to go to sleep.”
Interestingly, when asked about his goals, Punk said its not fair to hold him to the same things he said over a decade ago, mainly his desire to main event WrestleMania. But later in his presser, Punk confessed that he’s looking to check off some bucket list items in 2025 including winning the rumble for the first time and main eventing a WrestleMania for the first time, something that “scares the hell out of” him. But as Punk says it, “I think if your dreams don’t scare you then you need to find bigger and better ones.”
WWE on Netflix is Just Getting Started
By all accounts, including the metrics which were apparently quite strong according to Paul Levesque, Raw’s Netflix debut was a resounding success. The show, which very much had a WrestleMania-feel and quality level to it, lived up to the hype and certainly started the new era off on the right foot. But as Levesque noted in his Raw on Netflix post show presser this was just the beginning.
“Netflix is going to be a wonderful partner for us and the sky is the limit for what we can do and the wonderful thing is, we get to do it again next week and the week after that and the week after that,” noted Levesque. WWE’s chief officer opened his presser with appreciation, thanking the Intuit Dome and their wonderful technology, the fans who helped set a new all-time arena gate record, shattering the previous one that was recently set in Berlin, Netflix for their partnership, and later on, everyone who worked on the show from the performers to production to the writers, producers, referees, ring announcers, etc.
Levesque fielded questions on the commercial breaks and how that new structure will affect the shows, the pressure of having to follow up a show as strong as Monday’s was, the partnership with Travis Scott, which has some “cool stuff on the way,” and how the opening video package came together.
“It was important to us to pay homage to the past but to talk about the business in a way that resonated with all fans,” Levesque said, “When I showed it to those in our business, they got emotional about it and we knew our fans would get emotional about it because they love the business like we do, but it also resonated with our casuals who told me, ‘I didn’t really think about your business in that manner before.'”
Interestingly, in a departure to his predecessor, Levesque noted that the piece was meant to capture emotion and “not hide what we do.” Levesque noted how the words heel, face, shoot, and work were all used on Raw,something that was incredibly taboo in the Vince McMahon years. But as Levesque explained it, “we’re not insulting anybody’s intelligence because most people have some understanding of those words and those words have in some ways, almost transcended our business…we’re an artform, absolutely an artform that captures peoples’ emotions and we don’t take ourselves as seriously as most other people take us.”
When asked about goals and how he’ll measure success in the new partnership, Levesque had a simple answer, “I’ll be happy if they [Netflix] are happy and everything I’ve heard so far is they are thrilled.”
At the end of the day, Levesque noted that everything they do is for the fans and that WWE will “keep doing what we do and hopefully making it better for everybody.”
Monday night’s Netflix debut was certainly a good start in that endeavor.
Featured Image, Credit: WWE/ Netflix
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on the Raw on Netflix Post Show and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
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