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Andrew’s Top 5 Matches: Week Ending 2/2/20

Stacked week of action with NOAH having a big event that was free for all to watch, NJPW with 2 New Beginning shows! How many matches have you seen?

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Stacked week of action with NOAH having a big event that was free for all to watch, NJPW with 2 New Beginning shows! How many matches have you seen?

Now whenever there are big Japanese events, we can usually expect some high quality matches. Nothing really crazy on American TV, but there was a match that snuck through.

Firstly, last week was the last match qualifier for January. So let’s go over the January Pool:

  • NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Double Gold Dash: Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito
  • NXT UK TakeOver Blackpool II: Tyler Bate vs Jordan Devlin
  • NXT: South Wales Subculture vs The BROserweights
  • WWE Royal Rumble: Men’s Royal Rumble

My vote for the month will go to Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito, that was a big culmination of a multi-year story and a damn good match to boot.

Now let’s get to this week!

Quick Top 5:

  1. NJPW The New Beginning 2.2: RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs Will Ospreay
    Rating: **** 3/4
  2. NOAH Global Junior League Finals Day: GJL Finals: Dick Togo vs Daisuke Harada
    Rating: **** 3/4
  3. NJPW The New Beginning 2.1: NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs Shingo Takagi
    Rating: **** 1/2
  4. NJPW The New Beginning 2.2: Taichi w/Miho Abe vs Kazuchika Okada
    Rating: **** 1/2
  5. NXT: Dusty Tag Team Classic Finals: BROserweights vs Grizzled Young Veterans
    Rating: ****
  6. NOAH Global Junior League Finals Day: GJL Semi-Finals: Daisuke Harada vs Hajime Ohara
    Rating: ****

Honorable Mentions:

NOAH Global Junior League Finals: Sugiura-gun (Hideki Suzuki, Kazuyuki Fujita & Takashi Suguira) vs AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima) & Shuhei Taniguchi
Rating: *** 3/4
NJPW New Beginning 2.1: EVIL vs Tomohiro Ishii
Rating: *** 3/4
IMPACT!: Best of 5 Series: Match 1: Eddie Edwards vs Michael Elgin
Rating: *** 1/2
NJPW New Beginning 2.2: Robbie Eagles, Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & EVIL
Rating: *** 1/2
NOAH Global Junior League Finals: KONGOH (Yoshiki Inamura, Masa Kitamiya, Nio, Hao & Kenoh) vs Junta Miyawaki, Minoru Tanaka, Kaito Kiyomiya, Hitoshi Kumano & Naomichi Marufuji
Rating: *** 1/2
NJPW New Beginning 2.1: Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley vs Taichi & Minoru Suzuki
Rating: *** 1/2
NJPW New Beginning 2.2: KENTA, Taiji Ishimori & Jay White vs Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi
Rating: *** 1/2
IMPACT!: Josh Alexander w/Ethan Page vs El Hijo del Vikingo
Rating: *** 1/2
NJPW New Beginning 2.2: Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & DOUKI vs SHO, YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi & Jon Moxley
Rating: *** 1/4
AEW Dynamite: Chris Jericho, Ortiz & Santana vs Darby Allin & Private Party
Rating: *** 1/4
NOAH Global Junior League Finals: GJL Semi-Finals: Yoshinari Ogawa vs Dick Togo
Rating: *** 1/4
NXT: Trent Seven vs Finn Balor
Rating: *** 1/4
WWE Raw: Asuka vs Charlotte
Rating: *** 1/4
NJPW New Beginning 2.1: Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles vs Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
Rating: *** 1/4
NJPW New Beginning 2.1: El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura
Rating: ***
IMPACT!: Murder Clown & Pagano vs Dez & Wentz
Rating: ***
NOAH Global Junior League Finals: 50 Funky Powers (Mohammed Yone & Quiet Storm) vs Dark Agents Return (Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue)
Rating: ***
WWE Raw: Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy vs Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe
Rating: ***
NXT: Dominik Dijakovic vs Damian Priest
Rating: ***
NJPW New Beginning 2.1: Jay White & KENTA vs Tetsuya Naito & SANADA
Rating: ***
AEW Dynamite: Young Bucks vs Butcher & Blade
Rating: ***
WWE SmackDown: 4 Way #1 Contender Match: Miz & Morrison vs The Revival vs Lucha House Party vs Heavy Machinery
Rating: ***

 

5t. NOAH Global Junior League Finals Day: GJL Semi-Finals: Daisuke Harada vs Hajime Ohara

From My Analysis:
The match starts off slowly with both men trying to get early mat advantages, but that’s more Ohara’s wheelhouse than Harada’s. After the referee gets clipped during a kick out, Ohara tries to focus on the back. Backbreakers, Modified Romero Special, Gory Backbreaker, Emerald Flowsion, wonderful focus on a body part.

Thinking he’s done enough, Ohara calls for the Muy Bien, but Harada is able to crawl to the ropes. Harada starts trying to swing the momentum after an Electric Chair Quesadora Roll and Hurricanrana buy him some time. After a heavy lariat, Ohara kicks out at one, a quick grapple counter turns into Harada hitting a Tombstone, Ohara trying to counter with a Rolling Head and Arm cradle, but Harada gets the advantage, hits the Knee Lift and Katayama German Suplex Hold. Damn good match.

Winner: Harada via Katayama German Suplex Hold

 

5t. NXT: Dusty Tag Team Classic Finals: BROserweights vs Grizzled Young Veterans

From Mitchell’s Coverage:
Riddle gets in but Drake intercepts! Riddle powers out to use Drake as a backpack and a battering ram into Gibson! Dunne is freed and all four men are down again. Fans are loving this and rallying back up as the teams regroup. Gibson tags in Drake, Dunne tags in Riddle. MAYHEM IN MO- NO! DOUBLE POWERBOMB ONTO GIBSON! Then the Broserweights take fingers and SNAP! Pump handle, BITTER FINAL FLASH! Cover, TWO!?! Drake survives but the Broserweights have more to try. In fact, they’re doing something GYV would usually do! Dunne is up top and Riddle gut wrenches Drake into position, but Gibson denies them their Ticket to Mayhem as he hotshots Dunne! Drake gets out, trips Riddle and jackknife covers, TWO!

Riddle waistlocks, ripcords but Drake breaks free to enziguri! Drake runs off Riddle, MAYHEM IN MOTION hits Dunne! Gibson has Dunne on his shoulder in the Electric Chair! Drake builds speed, TOPE DOOMSDAY DEVICE!! Full Sail loses its mind as Dunne is wiped out! Gibson tags in but Riddle fights them both. Gibson holds Riddle in the corner, GRIT YOUR TEETH dropkick! Then the lift, HELTER SKELTER, to Mayhem 450! Cover, TWO!?! The Bro is superhuman but the GYV are supervillains! Drake tags back in, Gibson feeds Riddle to the gut wrench. But Dunne returns to pump handle Gibson as Riddle reverses the position on Drake! BRO DEREK IN STEREO!! But that’s not all, as they both climb up top! Simultaneous MOONSAULT AND FLOATING BRO!!

Riddle is fired up, Full Sail is thunderous, and Dunne tags back in! Fireman’s carry, BROSERWEIGHT TO SLEEP! Cover, Broserweights WIN!!

Winner: BROserweights via BROserweight to Sleep

 

4. NJPW The New Beginning 2.2: Taichi w/Miho Abe vs Kazuchika Okada

From My Analysis:
We saw a bit of a transformation in Taichi last year. After feeling snubbed from the G1 in 2018, he got more serious in 2019 with his matches against Ishii and Naito. After the hellish beating that Taichi gave Okada last night, Okada comes into the match heavily taped, reminiscent of the G1 match against Kenny Omega in 2017.

We saw many faces of Taichi during this match. He tried to go for the Iron Fingers early, but Okada had an answer. As Taichi took advantage of the heavily taped neck, Okada just continued to power through. Much of Okada’s early offense got him some space, but at the detriment of his neck. Most notably, no kip ups from Okada and belabored movement for his Zoom Out Pose and a few other good psychology/selling moments.

Taichi was in great form for this match though. He combined the heel aspects of his persona, along with a hard hitting and determined resolve to prove himself. Sure Kanemaru distracted the referee so Taichi could use a chair, and Taichi even grabbed the referee so he could hit a low blow, but it was all great elements to what makes Taichi, well…Taichi. Great strikes, Kawada Kicks with more effort than usual and Taichi even pulled off a damn nice Dropkick (he doesn’t do that often). Even if the heel tactics are something you dislike, it added well to the story of the match and to Taichi’s evolution the last year or so.

Notably, the crowd was even on Taichi’s side for a good portion of the match. He played to the crowd, and seems to be accepted, at least in his home town. Okada may have won, but during his speech he started the old taunt of “Taichi go home” but the crowd responded with “Let’s go Taichi”. Hopefully this means bigger things for Taichi and him staying more in the Dangerous T aspect instead of douchey heel vampire singer…whatever.

Winner: Okada via Rainmaker

 

3. NJPW The New Beginning 2.1: NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs Shingo Takagi

From My Analysis:
This was one of the matches I was generally excited for since I’ve been a fan of Shingo for years, he was one of the few reasons I paid attention to Dragon Gate. We get a nice basic feud of ‘anything you can do, I can do better’. Shingo dashed Goto’s hopes at making the G1 Finals, but Goto did get the win back a little after that. This is the rubber match, and we get to see how the plans for Shingo are looking in New Japan.

The small elements the last match didn’t contain, were here in spades. Shingo’s facial expressions and selling makes everything more enjoyable to watch. Heavy Lariat exchanges, hell there was even dueling Headbutts…who does that? In what book do you go into a match thinking “Let’s smash skulls a couple dozen times”? Another little thread during the match was SHO being down at Japanese commentary. SHO and Shingo had a rivalry during the Best of Super Junior tournament, so it sowed an early possible challenge if Shingo won.

Goto pulled out every move in his arsenal short of the actual GTR, but Shingo pulled off the rope assisted GTR (Great Takagi Revolution). Shingo counters Goto’s first attempt at the normal GTR, grabs the wrist and turns it into Made in Japan for a big near fall. Both men were tremendously resilient and this was a fun match to watch, not only because of the violence, but because of the expressions and selling. NEVER matches are truly impressive when it’s rooted in the more Strong Style/hard hitting technique.

Winner: Takagi via Last of the Dragon

 

2. NOAH Global Junior League Finals Day: GJL Finals: Dick Togo vs Daisuke Harada

From Hisame’s Newsletter Vol. 69:

Daisuke Harada (who had known Dick Togo, but not often had matches with him from his Osaka Pro days) faced off in the finals with Dick Togo in an explosive match. Togo working to grind Harada down by working on his knee, not as technical as the other two matches of the night they had both had, it was memorable nonetheless, and at times it threatened to spill out into a brawl, with Togo in frustration going to use a chair on Harada, but being stopped by the referee. Daisuke Harada won the match, and his second Global Junior League, via Katayama German Suplex in 19 minutes, and 43 seconds. With this win Harada now wins the right to challenge Yoshinari Ogawa for the GHC Junior Heavyweight. NOAH are yet to announce a date.

Winner: Harada via Katayama German Suplex Hold

 

1. NJPW The New Beginning 2.2: RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs Will Ospreay

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:
ZSJ stalks Ospreay and kicks him down off the ropes! Then a scoop, but Ospreay blocks the driver! ZSJ cranks with a guillotine then scoops, but Ospreay slips out to inverted lift, BLOODY SUNDAY! Cover, TWO!! ZSJ survives and Ospreay grits his teeth. Ospreay underhooks, lifts, but ZSJ fights out to pump handle and flip Ospreay over. EUROCLUTCH, TWO!! Ospreay narrowly escapes, but ZSJ Penalty Kicks again! But Ospreay springs right up!? ROUNDHOUSE! Fans are reaching that fever pitch at the 25 minute mark! Ospreay drags ZSJ up, powerbomb lift, but ZSJ guillotines to a triangle hold! Ospreay dead lifts for the BOMB! Cover, TWO!!

Ospreay hurries up top, SHOOTING STAR! Cover, TWO!! ZSJ survives again but Ospreay has more to give! Sapporo cheers as Ospreay drags ZSJ up. Underhooks and Canadian Rack, but ZSJ pops out to the cobra twist! Ospreay pops out to gut wrench and scoop, then flip ZSJ over! But ZSJ slips out again to hop back on, IRON OCTOPUS! Ospreay endures as ZSJ pulls hard on the arm, but drops to the mat! ZSJ squeezes tight and Ospreay is turning purple! Ospreay has a triangle hold of sorts, and CRANKS back hard! Red Shoes checks on Ospreay, and calls it! ZSJ WINS!

Winner: ZSJ via Referee Stoppage

 

Thoughts:

Well damn, this was a good week for wrestling. Taichi had probably the best match of his career, ZSJ got something to hang his hat on after a luke warm 2019 (as far as New Japan is concerned), but neither of them will be my vote this week. Global Junior League Finals: Dick Togo vs Daisuke Harada, really just struck me as tremendous. Hell, I’ve watched that match about 3 times already.

The NXT match may garner more votes because it’s seen by more people, but the top end of this list may hold up throughout the year. Generally great stuff, and make sure to make your votes known!


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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Reaction

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

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WWE Royal Rumble 2024 Results

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

The WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, and while the Men’s Royal Rumble Match isn’t for the World Heavyweight Championship like I suggested, it’s still the most anticipated event of the year.

Why? The Unknown.

That’s right–in this age of the internet (usually incorrectly) telling us everything it possibly can about what is going to happen in the world of wrestling, the Royal Rumble stands out because despite what we’re told (or, more importantly, what we choose to listen to), the event is always full of fun and surprises.


Check out Steven Mitchell’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Results & Review!


Women’s Royal Rumble Match

  • They really are driving home the “main event WrestleMania” point this year–strengthens my thought that women will main event Night 1. Triple H would catch a ton of heat if he keeps women out for the third straight year.
  • NAOMI! Good to see her back, and the emotional response she had.
  • Love Michael Cole calling out Naomi’s time in TNA, and recognizing her as a former Knockouts Champion.
  • Entering #3 doesn’t bode well for Bayley. I honestly don’t think she is gonna win.
  • JORDYNNE GRACE! I saw the reports earlier today. This is a much bigger deal than Mickie James, because Mickie was a returning legend.
  • “TNA HAS A WEAPON!” So glad to have Pat McAfee on the call.
  • Honestly, Jordynne Grace belongs in WWE.

  • Asuka comes in, and they sell the surprise of Bayley. STORYTELLING, people!
  • Something tells me when we get Kairi Sane in there, The Kabuki Warriors will eliminate Bayley.
  • Ivy Nile enters, and I immediately want to see her go toe-to-toe with Jordynne Grace.
  • What if they pulled some crazy sh*t and had Jordynne Grace win???
  • Just step through the ropes next time, Bianca.
  • When I first saw the C4 clock, I thought I would get tired of it But I am already used to it.
  • Here’s Kairi Sane, time to set the plan into motion!
  • This crowd does not appear to like Tegan Nox.
  • Welp, there goes my idea o Asuka and Kairi eliminating Bayley.
  • That was a hell of a way for Jordynne Grace to go out.

  • I think Michael Cole secretly loves to call a Meteora.
  • There’s a reason Maxxine Dupri doesn’t wrestle much.
  • That tandem Code Red was very Young Buckish. And that’s not a compliment.
  • Hair,…gear…this might be the messiest Royal Rumble yet.
  • Ah, here comes the winner, Becky Lynch (I am calling Becky eliminates Bayley to win her second Royal Rumble).
  • LOVE the scoreboard of time in the Rumble for selected wrestlers.

  • R-TRUTH?!?! (Funny story, it was Truth’s spot that Nia Jax took in 2019.)
  • If you push Mia Yim, she’ll take it further than you could imagine.
  • “How is everybody the most athletic person on Earth?” – Pat McAfee
  • Surprising that Roxanne Perez, at #27, is the first NXT entrant. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Tiffany Stratton of Blair Davenport since we only have 3 more to come.
  • Amazing reaction for Jade Cargill. Give her time, she’s definitely going to be a huge star.
  • JUST GIVE HER TIME.
  • Seriously, Nia Jax had to help Jade eliminate her–A LOT.

  • Greg Was Wrong: It is indeed Tiffy Time in the Royal Rumble.
  • Back to Jade–she is insanely over.
  • I know it won’t be, but this should be Tiffany Stratton’s official main roster call-up.
  • Liv Morgan returns at #30, and good for Liv. She nearly went wire-to-wire last year.
  • Liv Morgan: “Thank you!” Pat McAfee: “No problem.”
  • Tiffany Stratton eliminating Roxanne Perez is, to me, an invitation for a match with them on Raw this Monday.
  • Still love the scoreboard as Naomi passes an hour.
  • The camera is catching a lot of in-ring communications right now.
  • And Jade Cargill eliminates my pick to win. Bye Becky.
  • Jade Cargill in the final three of the Royal Rumble (with Liv Morgan and Bayley) is huge for her.
  • Hell of a debut for Jade Cargill.
  • And a huge win for Bayley.

Winner of the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Bayley (eliminating Liv Morgan to win)

Fatal 4-Way Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns (champion, with Paul Heyman)

  • Glad to see AJ Styles got his tights back. Pants AJ Styles (but still with the football gloves) was not working. Not just bring the beard back to your face Allen–the think beard also ain’t working.

  • Pat McAfee campaigning for Roman Reigns to be given at least a 26% chance is amazing.
  • Say what you want about LA Knight, he’s a damn star and totally belongs in this match.
  • Roman completely sandbagged Randy on the table drop. I don’t think it was on purpose, but he definitely didn’t jump.
  • Roman Reigns is very much like Gunther in that he does the simple things SO WELL, like a jumping clothesline. That’s how you do it.
  • Yes, I compared Roman Reigns to Gunther. Don’t @ me, I’m right.

  • RKO City, Bitch.
  • Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here’s Solo! (At some point, Solo will get tired of saving Roman’s ass.)
  • Solo ’bout to go through that barricade.
  • Solo indeed went through that barricade.

  • Yes, we had the Solo interference mid-match, but honestly in the end Roman won that clean.

Winner, #ANDSTILL your Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul (champion)

  • Kevin Owens wearing Zubaz shorts in the Performance Center fight makes me very happy.
  • Logan Paul talking about a full time run, and now he’s putting on size.
  • Logan’s headband didn’t list very long.
  • I honestly hate it when modern-day wrestlers bust out a crotch chop.
  • If you were watching the Royal Rumble and didn’t know who Logan Paul was, you’d just assume he was a pro wrestler. That says everything you need to know about how good he is at this.
  • ANOTHER crotch chop. Now we’re at 2 too many.

  • Cue the “Better Buckshot Than Hangman” tweets. But they might be right.
  • I love the idea of a Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Grayson Waller stable.
  • C’mon, there’s NO WAY Ryan Tran could see the knucks on Kevin Owens’ hand given his placement. It’s the little things.
  • Finish here tells me we’ll see KO vs. Logan Paul again. I’d guess on TV, if not in Australia.

Winner by disqualification, #ANDSTILL WWE United States Champion: Logan Paul

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

  • Jey Uso coming at #1 was expected thanks to the internet reports. But I still think Jimmy should be #1 and Jey #2, for the reaction shots on Jimmy.
  • Grayson Waller talking himself to the ring is perfect.
  • “No Yeet!” Grayson is a brilliant performer. I’d make a Roddy Piper comparison here, but y’all would get at mad at me.
  • Good to have Andrade back in WWE. Great reaction for him when the mask came off.

  • SmackDown superstar Carmelo Hayes! I really really really hope Trick is also in this match, just for the chants.
  • Melo pointed to the sign, C’mon, man.
  • Do you send Andrade to Smackdown, or do you send him to Raw and let him do his own thing?
  • Oh goody, Karrion Kross is here. Yay.
  • (Yes, that’s sarcasm you read.)
  • Dominik Mysterio is so good. Give him time, he’s going to be a huge star.

  • The Royal Rumble was a great place for the Apple Spot.
  • Here comes Bob Lashley–please just eliminate Karrion Kross.
  • Lashley wearing the WrestleMania white gear more than 2 months early.
  • Austin Theory still gets his concussion effect entrance, despite it being the Rumble.
  • What if–hear me out now–Finn Balor wins the Royal Rumble to get the shot at Seth Rollins, and Priest uses his briefcase to make that match a triple threat at ‘Mania?
  • I know he didn’t, but it sure looked like Jimmy was swerving while he drives in that interaction with Gunther.
  • Kofi did tell us the Rumble Magic wasn’t happening anymore.
  • Give me Ivar vs Gunther!
  • Bron Breakker is a star. It’s inevitable.
  • Of course Omos would be in the Rumble. Good to see MVP on my TV as well.
  • “I didn’t know humans came that big!” – Pat McAfee
  • I half think Pat McAfee didn’t know he was entering the Rumble.
  • Nice moment for Bron Breakker eliminating Omos. WrestleMania match?
  • R-Truth trying to get Dominik (Tom or Nick?) Mysterio to tag him in is brilliant.
  • DOM MADE THE TAG!!!
  • “And now R-Truth is the legal man.” – thank you Michael Cole.
  • Michael Cole delivers multiple TNA references tonight, along with a Dolph Ziggler reference. God Bless Michael Cole.
  • Imagine for a second that this was CM Punk’s actual WWE return.
  • The reaction to Drew McIntyre’s entrance is a reminder that they don’t actually need him.
  • Sami Zayn enters at #30, also known as “Not The Rock.”

  • In the ring, Drew McIntyre is amazing. Just keep the microphone away from him. (And stop the damn counting!)
  • And there goes my choice for the Men’s Rumble!
  • Love having both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in the press boxes watching to see who wins.
  • Punk kinda looks like Chris Jericho in there. Seriously.
  • Between Punk and Cody, Cody is the right choice. I really don’t want to watch Punk right now–he needs to hit the cardio, and hard. Given Seth Rollins’ injury and Punk’s conditioning, WWE would be smart to make the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 40 a multi-man match.

Winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble: Cody Rhodes


Overall thoughts on the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

For at least the second straight year, the Men’s Royal Rumble Match was kinda disappointing. Not the result–that’s fine. But the match itself. It just wasn’t nearly as exciting as the Women’s. Of the four matches, I would place it 4th in terms of enjoyment.

Great moments for both Bayley and Cody Rhodes. Logan Paul continually shows that he deserves to be considered a pro wrestler, not a celebrity who is wrestling. Pat McAfee is a joy on commentary. Jordynne Grace is a WWE Superstar, regardless of what company she is signed to. Bron Breakker is a star.CM Punk is very out of shape. Cody Rhodes is about to become THE guy, and he deserves it.

Overall I give the event a thumbs up, but they have to do something about the Men’s Royal Rumble Match moving forward.


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Opinion

WWE Raw Heads To Netflix: What Does It Mean?

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

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WWE Logo Metalic

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

Being a wee little kid in the 80s, I am “lucky enough” to remember having 3 TV channels, and my dad explaining what an 8-track is, how shocked I was when I say a laser disc for the first time, when I bought a 6 CD changer, installed my own car stereo, and all the way up to the fact that I have now been watching WWE pay-per-view/premium live events on the WWE Network and Peacock for 10 years. Hell, in the same month (February 2014) I signed up for the WWE Network, cut the cord to drop cable and got Sling TV. I have since moved onto YouTube TV which is highly recommended.

Over the last two years the NFL has put Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, simulcast to various streaming services, and less than 2 weeks ago put a playoff game exclusively on streaming when a Wildcard Weekend showdown between the Chiefs and Dolphins was only shown on Peacock.

And now it’s fully permeated into pro wrestling.

WWE and AEW are both in the midst of a very important time on the business side, with all of their TV rights up for grabs. The first domino fell when SmackDown On FOX became SmackDown on USA Network, and soon after we learned that WWE NXT was moving to broadcast television and joining The CW (which is also rebranding, but just to CW).

The AEW suite of programming that includes Collision, Rampage, and their most successful show Dynamite is up for renewal with Warner Bros/Discovery, and Tony Khan has been optimistic about the relationship and potentially an increase in rights fees.

That brings us to Tuesday morning, and the likely groundbreaking WWE announcement that Raw is moving to Netflix, starting in January 2025. Triple H tweeted that they’re changing the game, and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro (who knows a thing or two about shifts in media consumption) used the word “transformative” in his statement, and I really think he couldn’t be more right.

But what does it all mean?

Wrestling Remains A Strong Media Product

I have been claiming this for over a year now. As many online will cite a decline in TV viewership for both WWE and AEW, the TV product has been a strong value to networks. Even in dropping SmackDown, FOX themselves said they didn’t pump enough resources into the show, and that the advertising return wasn’t what they wanted. That doesn’t mean the product (TV value, we’re not talking about creative here) isn’t strong. It’s so strong that USA Network picked up SmackDown for $280 million per year, giving WWE an increase over the FOX deal. CW is paying $20-$25 million annually for NXT, and now Netflix is paying $500 million for RAW.

Why? Because wrestling isn’t just a strong media product, it’s consistent. And that is key.

Look at this quote from Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria:

“Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

Now cross reference that with a comment from CW President Dennis Miller from back when the CW/NXT deal was announced:

“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round.”

What do those statements have in common? The year-round, 52-week nature of wrestling programming. It’s an unbeatable value for networks. It’s cheaper than a deal with a major sports league, and it’s not finite. Wrestling joins news, talk, and sports talk as the only year-round programming available to networks. And WWE and AEW have shows that essentially always land in the Top 5 after you factor out live sports. You can’t beat it.

What Does This Mean for Netflix?

Don’t get it twisted, this is also a huge leap for Netflix. Prior to the WWE Raw deal, Netflix has only experimented with live events, streaming the live Chris Rock “Selective Outrage” special, and showing The Netflix Cup live (a golf event featuring athletes from their F1 series “Drive To Survive” and their golf series “Full Swing).

WWE is the perfect partner for Netflix as it gets into live programming. It’s sports entertainment: sports like programming (which Netflix has done) that focuses on storytelling (which Netflix has obviously done). And no one does it better than WWE. It’s essentially plug-and-play for Netflix, the perfect solution for their live programming aspirations.

The perfect solution that they were willing to pay $5 billion for.

What Does This Mean for AEW?

The biggest risk to an AEW renewal with Warner Bros Discovery was WBD picking up WWE Raw–and that risk has been eliminated by Netflix. Don’t discount that fact–Netflix did Tony Khan a huge favor by throwing $500 million per at WWE. The path is clear for AEW to remain on the Turner networks.

But at what price?

I know I usually write as if I have all the answers, but I have zero idea either way on this one. WBD no longer has any other options if it wants to keep wrestling (except for TNA, who recently expressed a desire to be on a bigger network), and AEW (at least, Dynamite) is a weekly Top 5 program for them on Wednesdays, on cable.

On the other hand, AEW doesn’t exactly have another network begging for their services. The reason WWE could get a yearly increase for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT is because it was truly a bidding war. Unless Tony Khan gets another network involved, any threat of walking away from a deal doesn’t really hold water.

So if I were a betting man (and who would ever bet on this) I would expect an announcement of a renewal for AEW and WBD relatively soon. We may not know the terms of the deal, I will take a shot in the dark and say that AEW gets a small increase (not the “nearly double” that had been reported last year).

Regardless of the increase (or not), given AEW’s recent attendance challenges, this likely renewal would have to be viewed as a win for the company.


Personally, this is simply an amazing time to be a fan. We’ve seen WWE go from one live TV show per week with Monday Night Raw, through the Monday Night Wars, the addition of SmackDown and later NXT, to being this global juggernaut that is commanding half-a-billion dollars per year for Raw. I also think this makes Raw the flagship once again. All of this comes after Vince McMahon is largely out of power, Triple H has taken over creative (and holds a pretty good success rate so far), and the company was sold to Endeavor, and merged with the UFC as a business entity under the TKO banner.

If you know me, you know I am a huge follower of the business side of the wrestling business. I often care less about WHAT wrestling companies do, but HOW they do it. I have always gravitated towards that, since middle school. And for the past near 24 months, I have been like a kid in a candy store.

The Peacock deal for the WWE Network runs out in 2026, right? The fun never stops!


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