The inaugural iteration of WWE's "Monday Night Raw" on Netflix was held at the Intuit Dome, home of the NBA team, the Los Angeles Clippers, in Inglewood, California, on Monday night. This marked the beginning of a new joint venture project between the two entertainment giants.
To a crowded crowd at the Intuit Dome, Triple H, Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Head of Creative of WWE, yelled, "Are you ready!?" to start the show.
In a subsequent brief address, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson honored WWE champion Cody Rhodes as the company's current top attraction and lauded WWE star and former football player Roman Reigns as the "Original Tribal Chief."
Roman Reigns, who opened the evening, faced Solo Sikoa and defeated his former enforcer to win the Ula Fala again. Reigns and Sikoa went all out in a Tribal Combat Match, including bringing weapons and getting several people to work together.
As Sammy Zayn and Jimmy Uso arrived to assist Reigns, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu entered the ring first on behalf of Sikoa.
Kevin Owens also became involved before Cody Rhodes intervened. When Roman Reigns ended the bout, it was up to the undisputed WWE champion Rhodes to remove Owens from the ring.
On Monday, wrestling legend John Cena made a comeback appearance at the Intuit Dome, kicking off his farewell tour and giving fans worldwide who are watching on Netflix a dose of nostalgia.
He declared that the only way he was going to pursue and try and win a historic 17th World Championship title is if he "buys a ticket and enters the lottery" which is the 2025 Royal Rumble match, which is being held in Indianapolis in three weeks.
Among the night's other highlights was when Rhea Ripley, a 28-year-old Australian, defeated Liv Morgan to reclaim the WWE Women's World Championship. WWE icon "The Undertaker" joined the celebration. Other notable matches saw CM Punk defeat Seth Rollins and Jey Uso defeat Drew McIntyre.
WWE on Netflix
The WWE and Netflix have a historic 10-year, $5 billion deal that includes moving to Netflix. WWE has the opportunity to reach a wider audience thanks to this agreement, which also gives Netflix access to exclusive live sports content.
The inaugural Netflix show, which had some of the biggest stars in wrestling history, ran like a pay-per-view event. WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H welcomed viewers to the new Netflix era of Raw as the show got underway.
Fans and experts alike are thrilled about the move to Netflix, seeing it as a chance for WWE to experiment with presentation and expand its audience. Bela Bajaria, the Chief Content Officer of Netflix, highlighted the platform's objective of using wrestling content to blend passionate fans with a gripping narrative.
Every Monday at 8 p.m. ET, fans can anticipate weekly editions of Monday Night Raw as WWE begins this new chapter with Netflix.
