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Triple H And Nick Khan Talk Potential Content Shifts As WWE Raw Moves To Netflix

WWE moving to Netflix, does not mean a shift toward edgier content is on the horizon.

Rick Ucchino

Triple H discussing the WWE Premiere on Netflix January 6
Triple H discussing the WWE Premiere on Netflix January 6 / WWE

WWE is getting ready to usher in a new era when the company makes its move to Netflix on January 6 next year. The stars were out in Los Angeles Tuesday as both companies held a preview event for select media outlets to go over what fans can expect in the new year.

Although some details remain unknown.

With the premiere episode of Monday Night Raw is little over a month away, the actual format of the show is still being tweaked. WWE and Netflix executives are having consistent discussions concerning the length of the program and the commercial advertising that will be incorporated as well.

Fans may not find out certain aspects of Raw, such as whether it's a two or three hour program, until they tune into the premiere next month, "I'll let you know January 6," Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque joked when asked about any upcoming configuration changes.

As far as how the content of the show may be impacted, anyone longing for a return to the Attitude Era style of programming can stop dreaming. The move to Netflix will not mean a dramatic shift toward edgier scripts as WWE wants to continue its appeal to a mass audience.

“We're not changing the rating of our programming,” WWE President Nick Khan confirmed. “There's some online chatter about, oh, it's gonna be R rated, or for us old folks, like X rated. That's definitely not happening. So it's family friendly, multi-generational, advertiser friendly programming. It's gonna stay that way. I would look for more global flair, especially as the relationship [with Netflix] continues to develop.”

Where the audience may start to see a difference is in content targeted toward countries outside of the United States. Nick Khan noting that there are certain countries that are going to be equally as high prioritized to both Netflix and WWE moving forward. He did not provide much detail beyond that.

The main goal for WWE and Netflix is to continue churning out the compelling and nuanced storylines that have had fans packing arenas all across the globe, shattering box office record after box office record.

Both companies are fully committed to working side by side to make WWE even more over with the fanbase and even more profitable than it has been since the Triple H creative regime took over for Vince McMahon in the summer of 2022.

There are no outside limitations and no stone is being left unturned.

“There's nobody saying you can't do that. There's nobody putting a thumb on it. We're all just working together," Levesque told Sports Illustrated’s Farbod Esnaashari. "There's no bad ideas. We're just all having a blast doing it."

After well over 30 years in professional wrestling, Levesque is still having the time of his life. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be in WWE right now. Even though he holds one of the most coveted positions in the entire industry.

It's that joy of working in wrestling that the WWE Hall of Famer has watched spread company wide during his tenure as Chief Content Officer. Fully embracing the concepts of teamwork and collaboration from top to bottom.

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As someone on Tuesday's Netflix panel brought up, WWE is an all-star team and Levesque trusts his stars to come through and execute at a high level.

“I love this business, but I love having fun doing it. If it's not fun, I don't wanna do it anymore. That’s the thing that I'm most proud of, just that everybody, whether it's our talent, whether it's our writers, whether it's our executives, we're all like working together to make this happen.”

It's not just those who work for WWE who are having a good time. So are the thousands of fans who have attended 64 sellout shows thus far in 2024.

“They're showing up in droves to see what we're doing,” Levesque said. “When I meet fans outside, they're just so into what we're doing right now.”

Levesque is well aware that not everything his creative team has come up with has translated well on television, but they are always listening and willing to adjust when necessary.

There's also no denying the recent success rate. Look no further than to rise of talents like Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Gunther, Damian Priest, Jey Uso, LA Knight and many others as proof that fans are buying what WWE has been selling.

“As we create more and more stars, it sort of creates this opportunity for stars to be able to come in and out, because you're not reliant on the same people every week to get you to where you need to get to, right?”

The prime example Levesque used during the Netflix panel, was Drew McIntyre. The Scottish Warrior made his surprise return to WWE this past Monday on Raw when he delivered a surprise Claymore Kick to Sami Zayn.

McIntyre had been off television ever since his brutal Hell in a Cell match with CM Punk at Bad Blood in October. He required 16 staples in his head to close a wound left behind by a tool box, but otherwise, was ready to get back to work far sooner than he did.

“He was dying to come back,” Levesque said, “He wasn't hurt, he wasn't injured. Let's just give you a little breather here for a second. And whether that's spending some time at home enjoying your family, whatever that is, or whether that's, hey, I have this other project I wanna work on. I have this project that Netflix has come up with, I'm gonna work on that. Whatever. Us having that ability to morph and shift things around and keep things fresh, I think is a tremendous opportunity for us. So, I'd look for more of that too.”

Being open to allowing talent to seek outside opportunities, whether they be for partners like Netflix, NBC Universal, The CW Network or otherwise, will only help increase the value of it's global branding. The WWE Universe is only going to keep expanding, whether the world is ready for it or not.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino has been covering professional wrestling since 2019, but his broadcast career has spanned over 15 years. He can be heard every weekday morning on 700WLW radio in Cincinnati, OH. You can also read his work over on SI's Cincinnati Reds Talk. Follow Rick on X and Instagram: @RickUcchino

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