The Raw on Netflix ratings are in and they are killer!
Much was said in the Raw on Netflix post-show about what success would look like from WWE’s and Netflix’s perspectives during this new partnership. Paul Levesque commented that he had heard the early numbers were good and Netflix was pleased. Well, the final tally is in as the viewing figures were revealed and it’s a big number.
WWE Raw on Netflix Ratings a Huge Win for All Parties
The WWE Raw debut on Netflix drew 4.9 million live +1 global views, according to WWE in a press release on Thursday, January 9th. The inaugural WWE Raw on Netflix averaged 2.6M households in the US. This is a 116% leap from WWE Raw’s average of 1.2M viewers on the USA Network in 2024 and marks the most viewed Raw in five years. There is also speculation that due to how Netflix calculates its viewership numbers, when all is said and done, that WWE will be closer to 6M viewers for the premiere episode of Raw.
In an industry that continues to be obsessed with ratings, WWE (and Netflix) will see the increase in viewers as a huge victory.
Tracked somewhat similarly to traditional Nielsen views as it relates to live programming, Netflix calculates views (and thereby success of its programs) by taking the total view hours for the program and dividing it by the runtime. But the beauty of Netflix, much like one would look at DVR+ ratings or viewership numbers calculated on TV up to 24 hours after first air date, is that the WWE will see its viewing figures continue to rise.
Now, this was obviously a highly anticipated episode of Raw with many comparing it to a WrestleMania-quality production. That won’t be the case every week. WWE will bank on the new viewers they earned last week sticking with them in the weeks to come and the hardcore fans continuing to support them. When the financials come out, it will also be interesting to see how many additional subscriptions Netflix picked up as a result of adding Raw and other WWE content to their platform.
In addition to ratings wins, WWE generated 223M social views across platforms on the day of WWE Raw’s Netflix premiere in addition to recording their highest-grossing WWE arena event of all time. Dwayne Johnson – out of his “The Final Boss” The Rock persona – announced this to the Intuit Dome to start the broadcast.
Oh and WWE Raw on Netflix also broke a merchandise sales record for the company. Between all those successes and NXT’s own ratings wins for the CW on Tuesday night, everything is coming up WWE this week.
WWE Superstars were SHINING on the Monday Night RAW red carpet. #WWEonNetflix pic.twitter.com/MBWQQWl5BE
— Netflix (@netflix) January 7, 2025
Celebrities Help WWE Trend
There were years when it seemed WWE may have lost some of what made it cool but it seems those days are long gone. Celebrities, not aware to share their love of professional wrestling (while getting some plugs for their upcoming Netflix properties – ah synergy at its finest!) showed up in mass and were shown throughout the broadcast. Macaulay Culkin sat next to Seth Green during the show and gave social media one of its best moments of the night. His pop was bigger than most of the wrestlers, short for maybe the Rock.
Kieran Culkin was also seen at the WWE Raw show where he had a mini love-in with CM Punk.
Macaulay Culkin with the greatest celebrity sat in the crowd reveal of all time on #WWERaw #WWEonNetflix https://t.co/OTqQamvlIK
— Laurence Gibbons (@GibbonsGob) January 9, 2025
Vanessa Hudgens, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Stephen Amell, Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd, Tiffany Haddish, O’Shea Jackson Jr., David Arquette, and Michael Che were among others shown in the crowd. Boy Meets World’s Danielle Fischel and Will Friedle nearly broke the internet by attending WWE Raw as Topanga began trending online after Fischel was seen in attendance and Big E expressed major love for the character on the post-show.
The Intuit Dome was also packed to the rafters with A-List celebrities to see some of the most famous faces return to WWE. The Undertaker did a quick lap around the ring for little reason, Hulk Hogan got booed whilst trying to promote his beer and John Cena revealed he would enter the WWE Royal Rumble.
Just a couple of winners celebrating their victories 🙌 #RawOnNetflix @netflix pic.twitter.com/80gILt3w6y
— WWE (@WWE) January 8, 2025
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on the Raw on Netflix ratings 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.
You can check out WWE programming on Netflix (Raw), USA Network (SmackDown), CW (NXT), and Peacock (archives and premium live event streaming). You can follow WWE on social media and relive top moments on YouTube.
