In a surprising shake-up, WWE’s Monday Night Raw on Netflix officially overtook Squid Game season two as the platform’s most-watched show this week. This milestone comes just days after Raw’s highly anticipated debut on the streaming service as part of WWE’s groundbreaking $5 billion, 10-year deal with Netflix.
The January 6 episode of Monday Night Raw on Netflix attracted a staggering 4.9 million global views, with an average of 2.6 million U.S. households tuning in. This marked a 116% increase from the previous year’s U.S. average of 1.2 million households. To put it into perspective, this episode achieved the highest U.S. viewership for Raw in over five years, further solidifying WWE’s staying power as a global entertainment force.
CM Punk delivers a flying cross-body to Seth “Freakin'” Rollins on Monday Night RAW on Netflix – YouTube, WWE
The star-studded episode featured blockbuster matches and appearances by wrestling icons and celebrities, including The Rock, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, and even John Cena, who kicked off his farewell tour that will last through 2025. Held at the sold-out Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the event also set a new record as WWE’s highest-grossing arena show, reflecting the magnetic pull of the Monday Night Raw brand in a streaming-dominated era.
This will be Netflix’s first weekly live show, so many were wondering how it would be received. Reviews of the show’s quality are mixed (as is no big shock in the wrestling world), but the numbers make Raw’s debut an objective success.
Hulk Hogan promoting Real American Beer on Monday Night RAW – YouTube, Entertainment Tonight
The dethroning of Netflix’s Squid Game comes at an interesting time for the series. While the latest season of Squid Game set initial viewership records, it has not been without its share of controversy. Fans expressed disappointment with the season’s abrupt cliffhanger ending, which many felt left too many storylines unresolved. Unlike the first season, which told a contained and compelling narrative, the follow-up appears to have sacrificed storytelling for shock value and a hook going into the third and final season.
Many also panned the series’ overt embrace of gender politics this season, with several moments feeling more like heavy-handed commentary than organic storytelling. The season currently has a 63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is only three away from being certified rotten.
Lee Jung-jae in the trailer for Squid Games Season 2 – YouTube, Netflix
The decision to release a shorter season, despite the massive budget and resources afforded to the show, added further fuel to the fire. While fans were eager to return to the high-stakes world of Squid Game, the truncated season left many feeling underwhelmed and even frustrated, especially when compared to the broader appeal of WWE’s straightforward, high-energy programming.
The shift of Monday Night Raw to Netflix is part of WWE’s strategic effort to capitalize on streaming’s global reach. With Netflix boasting over 282 million subscribers in 190 countries, WWE’s partnership opens the door to entirely new audiences. It was the first time ever that Monday Night RAW was broadcast to the entire world simultaneously.
John Cena on Monday Night RAW on Netflix – YouTube, WWE
This shows the power of live pro wrestling as a dominant force in media, with WWE proving its ability to thrive amid the changing landscape of how audiences consume content.
By delivering action-packed entertainment, WWE seems to have avoided the pitfalls that plagued Squid Game this season. Wrestling fans and casual viewers alike were treated to a thrilling and cohesive product that did what entertainment is supposed to do: entertain.
Did you watch Monday Night RAW on Netflix? Are you surprised to see it knock Squid Games off Netflix’s top spot? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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Squid Game season 2 went with a trans character, right? Meaning the character has complete plot armor. Thats as boring as having Black Widow show up in a prequel where you already know Natasha doesn’t get hurt because you saw her in the future.
Maybe not 100% of the time; RWBY Season 9 had a “non-binary” villain in the knockoff Cheshire Cat that was killed at the end of the season. That was more of a surprise to me than “Bumblebee” finally becoming an official thing after years of woke key-jangling (which was the real goal of the entire season from minute one because nothing else had any consequence).
Never wasted my time with RWBY, but I’m guessing that the woke went nuts with protests over that and companies learned that it’s now a rule.
Except from Bray Wyatt (RIP), WWE hasn’t offered good entertainment for a few decades. Of course, it’s not surprising that the show is so successful if they bring back all the old stars. But it also means that they can only do it with the old stars. That’s the trick how hey still sell enough tickets for their pay per views as well. It makes it clear how much they are still feeding off the Attitude era and the Ruthless Aggression era, which they turned their backs on at the same time. An old but always painful truth.
The producer of Squid Games never intended for there to be a second season. Netflix forced the issue, injected their own standards, and it’s as horrible as a lot of us feared. That pro wrestling is getting more views than it is no surprise. I hate rasslin’ and even I’d sooner watch it than any woke abomination.
Netflix will do Netflix things. Squid Game being woke isn’t that much of a surprise considering how feminist South Korea is.
Losing a lot of faith in the upcoming season 2 of “All of Us Are Dead.” It really didn’t even need one to begin with, just like Squid Game, but here we are…
Meh squid game and their dei Rambo, i used to watch WWE in the 80s and 90s then wwf , today i only know a handful of wrestlers cm punk edge Christian these younger ones i don’t know I’d prefer to watch the older episodes of raw and smakdown but netflix will be to offended to show the old stuff .
Making the show about THE MESSAGE, by casting a Trans character… That anti-family propaganda turned a score of 8 into a score of 5. The only reason it got 5 was because the games scenes are brilliant. Though it’s annoying they cut away from a lot of the shooting.