Netflix saw what happened when WWE threw Roman Reigns into a huge RAW main event and apparently had one reaction — do that again.
The September 14 episode of RAW from Mexico City pulled more than three million viewers with Roman Reigns vs. Penta closing the show, and the response inside Netflix was massive. Joey Votes revealed on WrestleVotes Radio that both Netflix and WWE were thrilled with how the night performed, especially with Monday Night Football creating some serious competition.
“It was relayed to us just how enthusiastic and impressed Netflix was with the numbers coming out of the Mexico City edition of RAW on 9/14. While it’s been reported that the show drew over 3 million viewers, its highest number since WrestleMania, we’re told WWE was also extremely pleased with how things shook out, especially considering week one of Monday Night Football is traditionally year over year a difficult spot for the show.”
Netflix didn’t just celebrate the number and move on. The streamer apparently wants WWE to keep feeding RAW the kind of stars and matches that make fans feel like skipping a Monday night could mean missing something huge.
“Additionally, we’ve learned that Netflix is eager to showcase bigger names and bigger matches on RAW more regularly, with the goal of building on the momentum coming out of what was a highly marketed and highly anticipated edition of the broadcast.”
WWE clearly treated Mexico City differently from a normal episode of RAW. The company pushed Roman Reigns vs. Penta hard going into the show and made the match feel like something fans weren’t going to get every week. Ringside News previously covered how Roman Reigns vs. Penta was positioned to close the September 14 episode of RAW, giving WWE a monster attraction at the end of the night. Joey pointed out that WWE even rolled out custom promotion for Reigns ahead of the episode, something he said isn’t normally done for an average RAW.
“So TC, very rare going back to before the show, before the match happened. Very rare that you see a custom advertisement from Monday Night RAW. They did that with Roman Reigns showing all the luchadores in the back that were in the tournament. Really hyping this to be something special.”
Then the numbers came in — and suddenly Netflix wanted seconds.
“We get there. 9/14, the show is incredible from start to finish, especially the last half hour with the Reigns and Penta matchup. Three million people watched Monday Night RAW, the highest it’s been since WrestleMania season. Netflix loved it. WWE loved it. Netflix wants more, wants more bigger names, wants more bigger matches.”
That immediately raises one giant question for WWE: how many of its biggest toys is it willing to take out of the box on Monday nights? Joey threw Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Oba Femi into the conversation while wondering whether WWE can keep making RAW feel like appointment television.
“Do you think it’s sustainable? Do you think they can get Roman Reigns to work once a month? Do you think something of a Oba Femi being marketed as a top guy? Should they get Cody Rhodes and CM Punk on RAW every so often? Can they keep up this ‘we need to watch Monday Night RAW’ feeling?”
Those names were part of Joey’s discussion and not specific requests from Netflix. The actual message from Netflix was broader — more stars, more major matches and more nights that feel like a big deal. TC said WWE already appears to be heading in that direction. Instead of locking every important match behind a Premium Live Event, WWE has been giving television partners bigger fights throughout the year.
“I hope so because it had that feeling during the Mexico City show on 9/14. If you have been a listener of this program for a long time, we’ve talked about way back, I don’t know how many months ago, that there would be more of an emphasis on big time matches playing out on TV. We’ve seen that happen time and time again throughout the year.”
He pointed to CM Punk’s return, Punk’s matches against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, and Roman Reigns vs. Penta as examples of WWE making weekly television feel more important.
“CM Punk’s return in July, the match in Toronto between CM Punk and Kevin Owens, the match between Punk and Sami Zayn, this particular match in Mexico City, you can tell there’s an emphasis on putting big time matches on their broadcast partner programs rather than just saving everything for PLEs. It’s done a wonder, I think, for the product when you tune in week to week.”
There is one problem — Roman Reigns feels special because Roman Reigns doesn’t wrestle every Monday. TC acknowledged that WWE could easily kill some of the magic if it starts throwing its biggest attractions onto television too often.
“Can you get him to do it more and more? Hopefully. But does that wear down and water down when he does wrestle? It’s possible. It’s a fine line you have to walk when it comes to, you know, a draw and things like that.”
He even brought Brock Lesnar into the conversation as the perfect example. A Brock Lesnar match on RAW would instantly feel enormous precisely because fans almost never get one.
“You know, we haven’t seen a guy like Brock Lesnar wrestle on RAW forever. I mean, if he was to have a match on RAW at some point in time, it would be the same sort of thing because of the fact that he doesn’t wrestle on a regularly scheduled basis.”
Netflix got exactly what it wanted out of Mexico City — a huge star, a major match and a number that turned heads. Now the streamer wants WWE to keep that energy going, which could mean RAW starts getting some matches fans once expected WWE to save for the biggest nights of the year.
The trick is not burning through the good stuff too fast. WWE found a formula that worked with Roman Reigns and Penta, and Netflix clearly wants another helping — now it’s on WWE to figure out how often it can serve that meal before fans stop treating it like something special.
Do you want WWE putting more Roman Reigns, CM Punk and other top stars into major matches on RAW, or should those appearances stay rare? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
