The Royal Rumble just beat WrestleMania on Netflix for the second year in a row—but there is an important catch behind the numbers.
Netflix released its latest “What We Watched” report on Friday, breaking down WWE’s performance during the first six months of 2026. WWE premium live events now stream on ESPN in the United States, meaning the Netflix totals for those events reflect international viewership and do not include the American audience.
That makes any direct comparison between WWE’s PLE numbers and Monday Night Raw’s worldwide Netflix totals far from apples-to-apples.
Even with the United States removed, the Royal Rumble remained WWE’s biggest premium live event on Netflix during the reporting period. The January 31 show from Saudi Arabia generated 3.7 million international views, topping both nights of WrestleMania 42.
WrestleMania Sunday finished with 3 million views, while WrestleMania Saturday pulled 2.7 million. Combined, the two-night event generated 5.7 million views, beating WrestleMania 41’s combined Netflix total of 5.2 million. The rest of WWE’s premium live event lineup finished well behind the company’s three biggest shows.
Elimination Chamber brought in 1.9 million international views, Clash in Italy delivered 1.6 million and Backlash finished with 1.4 million. Night of Champions had 1 million views, but the June 27 show only had three days to accumulate viewing before Netflix’s June 30 cutoff.
WrestleMania showed year-over-year improvement. Saturday increased from 2.4 million views in 2025 to 2.7 million in 2026, while Sunday climbed from 2.8 million to 3 million.
Elimination Chamber stayed flat at 1.9 million. Backlash slipped from 1.5 million to 1.4 million, while Clash in Italy matched the 1.6 million generated by Money in the Bank during the same period in 2025.
Monday Night Raw produced WWE’s largest individual episode totals on Netflix, although those figures include the United States. The January 5 episode from Barclays Center, featuring CM Punk against Bron Breakker, tied the April 20 episode following WrestleMania 42 with 3.7 million worldwide views.
That total matched the Royal Rumble’s listed Netflix number, but the two figures measure different audiences. Raw’s number is worldwide, while the Royal Rumble total excludes U.S. viewers watching through ESPN.
Roman Reigns and CM Punk also delivered strong numbers during the road to WrestleMania. The February 2 episode, where Reigns selected Punk as his WrestleMania opponent, generated 3.5 million views. Their major March 2 promo segment also pulled 3.5 million. Raw remained strong throughout the final stretch before WrestleMania. Episodes on March 16, March 23, March 30, April 6 and April 13 each generated between 3.2 million and 3.4 million views.
The show dropped below 3 million beginning May 18 and stayed there for the remainder of the reporting period. The June 29 episode finished with 1.8 million views, although that number only includes one day of viewing before the cutoff.
SmackDown’s Netflix figures also exclude the United States because the show does not air on Netflix domestically. Its top episodes came on January 9, March 6 and March 13, with each generating 1.1 million international views. That remained below SmackDown’s 2025 Netflix high of 1.3 million for AJ Lee’s September 5 return in Chicago.
NXT remained much further down the chart. Stand & Deliver and Vengeance Day each generated 200,000 international Netflix views. The Great American Bash finished with 100,000. Most weekly NXT episodes pulled 200,000 views, while two episodes landed at 100,000.
The second season of WWE Unreal also suffered a major decline. The five-episode season generated 2.8 million views and 13.4 million hours watched after its January 20 release. Season one delivered 4.9 million views, meaning the series lost more than 2 million views between seasons.
Netflix will release WWE Unreal Season 3 on July 21.
The streaming service also plans to change how it releases this information. Beginning in 2027, Netflix will move away from its six-month “What We Watched” reports and publish the data annually.
The Royal Rumble remains WWE’s strongest individual premium live event on Netflix, but the missing U.S. audience is a major part of the story. With American PLE viewers now watching through ESPN, Netflix’s totals only show how WWE is performing internationally—not the complete worldwide audience.
Why do you think the Royal Rumble continues to outperform each individual night of WrestleMania with international Netflix viewers? Let us know what you think in the comments.
