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Mishal’s Top 5 Matches In WWE Extreme Rules History

With WWE Extreme Rules right around the corner, Mishal takes a look at the Top 5 matches at WWE’s annual “extreme” themed card!

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Brock Lesnar John Cena WWE Extreme Rules Chairshot Edit

With WWE Extreme Rules right around the corner, Mishal takes a look at the Top 5 matches at WWE’s annual “extreme” themed card!

WWE always claims that Extreme Rules is the one night of the year that the WWE ‘goes extreme’, the one night of the year where ‘anything goes’, where the stipulations come out in full force, weapons are scattered all over the place & the superstars of WWE go the furthest lengths to inflict as much pain on their fellow rivals as possible. It serves as the perfect release for fans bored of the standard wrestling cards we get most of the time across the business and allows for a release from much of the pent up aggression we can sometimes feel.

Extreme Rules, not just as a stipulation but as a show concept is an ideal way to either build or cap off the biggest feuds on your programming. From blood feuds to long-winded ones that are in need of closure the event allows for a solid amount of creativity that other events can’t always implement due to certain stipulations requiring a specific time & place, which is why this event can be so vital to the fanbase as a whole.

Over the years the event has been somewhat slept on by many people, primarily because the past few renditions of the show haven’t exactly been all that memorable. Nor has it lived up to the mantle of being ‘extreme’ per se. A lot of this could be directed to the shift in programming being increasingly more family-friendly over the years, but a part of me thinks this is out of sheer laziness on the creative team’s behalf.

When the show has reached its peak though, it can be downright fantastic, providing matches that are constantly overlooked.

And since the latest edition is right around the corner as we speak, let’s take a little glance at the 5 best matches in the history of the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

Honourable Mentions:

Hornswoggle vs El Torito (Extreme Rules 2014)
On paper, the ‘WeeLC’ match should have been a colossal failure, but the fact that WWE succeeded in executing this match as well as it ended up being is something I’ll always praise them for. Fully embracing the ludicrous gimmick at play in ways nobody pictured this is one of my personal favourite guilty pleasure matches of the decade. It’s packed with action, insane spots & blows me away everytime I see it.

Edge vs Jeff Hardy – World Heavyweight Championship Match (Extreme Rules 2009)
One of the most criminally overlooked ladder matches in recent memory. Considering the amount of history between the two, Hardy’s incredible babyface run over the course of the two years leading up to this & the heights they went to in order to finally see Hardy realize his dream was worth every minute of this underrated classic.

The Miz vs John Cena vs John Morrison – WWE Championship Match (Extreme Rules 2011)
Not a lot of people talk about this match, probably because a particular moment from this evening (which I’ll touch on in a bit) overshadowed its genuine brilliance. Being held inside a Steel Cage can be somewhat of a restriction to most competitors, but Cena, Miz & Morrison used their surroundings perfectly alongside their individual character traits to craft an enthralling main event. Even though the finish was slightly predictable, this one still holds up all these years later.

CM Punk vs Randy Orton (Extreme Rules 2011)
While it wasn’t at the highest point of CM Punk’s career, his 2011 rivalry with Randy Orton resulted in some genuinely fantastic matches, this being the best of them. Unlike their standard match at WrestleMania prior to this one, this was packed with brutality, intensity & a much-needed example of just how good Punk was at the time despite coming up short. What followed Punk shortly after this is far more noteworthy than the match itself, but this is still amongst the best Last Man Standing matches in recent mem

Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles – WWE Championship Match (Extreme Rules 2016)
More than just a fantastic main event, this was the closest we’ll get to seeing an Attitude Era-Esque match in a modern professional wrestling setting. Reigns & Styles have chemistry that not enough people talk about, their matches are put on at a ridiculous pace, endless amounts of big moves but more importantly understand how to play off one another to perfection. This was a wild main event, that never slowed down & established AJ Styles as a big name just months into his WWE career.

Top 5 Matches In WWE Extreme Rules History

5. Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Intercontinental Championship Match (Extreme Rules 2009)

In careers packed with history, some of the industry’s most iconic moments, incredible matches against a whos who of talent & an ability to only grow better with age, Rey Mysterio & Chris Jericho are some of the very rare talents we as fans get to see come along. Regardless of who their opponent is, the night of the week or the event, you know you’re in for something special when either man walks out into the squared circle to do battle.

Their 2009 feud, is in my opinion, the most overlooked of either man’s career to this point (although the work they’re doing in both AEW & WWE at the moment, respectively is superb). It was a feud that started on the simple premise of try to be the better man but soon transformed into Jericho’s obsession with trying to unmask Mysterio from the mask that is more or less who he is at that stage in his career. This was the 2nd match in an already intense feud, stipulated under ‘No Disqualification’ rules to allow each man to do their worst, and it resulted in an unsung classic of how to execute professional wrestling storytelling.

Many will place the Jeff Hardy & Edge main event from the 2009 event above this one but there’s something about the chemistry between Jericho & Mysterio that always draws me in. Neither man seems to miss a beat when they’re mixing in the ring together, with near-flawless pacing that replicates their work years prior in WCW during the company’s most successful days. This particular match was the perfect blend of aggression, unhinged cruiserweight action & storytelling, leading to a finish that at the time was gloriously wicked considering what it represents to the wider wrestling community, and still does. Considering this isn’t even the best match of their feud that year is a testament to the work rate these two have when performing but is still a match I highly recommend since many forget just how incredible their work in 2009 ended up being.

4. The Shield vs Evolution (Extreme Rules 2014)

Talk about dream matches for the ages. In 2014 there wasn’t a single match that was more talked about than when The Shield stepped up to the reformed, newly improved Evolution, in their first match together in just about a decade following their split years prior.

At this time there were few things in wrestling more prestigious than Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose (the now, Jon Moxley) & Roman Reigns, a faction of wrestlers so immensely talented that they turned anything they touched into pure gold. Whether they were winning championships, stealing the show regardless of their place on the card or dismantling every WWE legend there is to name at that time (The Undertaker, The Rock, John Cena, Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry, Randy Orton to name a few), the three young men had a reputation for being the very best, most dangerous group of talent the business had on offer across the board. And it was tough to argue that position, they demanded it if anything. It was this reputation that made this the landmark occasion it was, a collision between wrestling’s past & wrestling’s future in a match we never thought we’d see with our own eyes.

To put it simply, it was special.

Despite being held under traditional tag team rules, this was war if there ever was one. It started off a little bit slow but over time built to the brawl you were expecting it to be, delivering all the goods you’d want from six men who have a reputation for their insane physicality in the ring. What this match did more than anything was display each mans individual set of skills that made them special. From Batista’s brute strength, Triple H’s brutality, Randy Orton’s snake-like offence, Seth Rollins incredible agility, Dean Ambrose’s lunacy or Roman Reign’s no-nonsense brawling, it highlighted everyone & turned this into a platform for the three younger men to bounce off of. More than anything else this was about cementing The Shield as the standard-bearers for how a faction in professional wrestling should both look & feel, and with it being one of their final matches together I can’t imagine a higher note to go out on.

3. Christian vs Alberto Del Rio – World Heavyweight Championship Match (Extreme Rules 2011)

As beautiful as professional wrestling can be, you don’t always ‘feel’ every big moment you see. Extreme Rules 2011, was one of those rare moments where everyone cried tears of joy.

Following the heart-breaking retirement of the ‘Rated R Superstar’ Edge, the Ladder Match between Edge’s real-life best friend Christian & Alberto Del Rio could not have come with higher stakes behind it. Not only was the match for the now vacant World Heavyweight Championship, but it would also mark the first time either man would claim a World Championship in WWE since their respective debuts.  Del Rio at the time was one of the company’s golden boys, a heel that was always billed close to the top of the card in some manner & was riding a solid wave of momentum prior to this match. Christian, on the other hand, was a star always thrust back from reaching ‘The Big One’ in WWE, even though he holds one of the most consistent track records a wrestler could want, always stealing the show regardless of what or who he was up against.

As you’d expect from the stakes, this was a masterful contest that stands as one of the best of either man’s career. Both men have always had chemistry in the ring that few can boast is as good, but this struck a different chord with fans. Packed with jaw-dropping action, brutality throughout, incredible high-spots, the drama you’d expect from any championship match & a level of experience from Christian that helped take this up to another level, it was the kind of big match fans pay money for. Easily the height of the matches emotions came towards the end, as Del Rio was about to clinch a victory was distracted by a surprise appearance from Edge himself who appeared from out of nowhere to assist his outnumbered best friend to a victory that had the arena shaking from the rafters with excitement.

Professional wrestling rarely writes moments as beautiful & as genuine as this one ended up. Despite the circumstances, this is the kind of storytelling fans live for.

2. Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan – World Heavyweight Championship Match (Extreme Rules 2012)

In terms of being ‘extreme’, I can’t say this meets the standard. However, in terms of being a straightforward, brutal, exhausting wrestling match, this excels above & beyond even the ability of both Daniel Bryan & Sheamus that you’ve come to expect. Even though the match itself wasn’t contested in a particularly brutal setting, one without cages, weapons, tables or a variety of items to use, the condition of both men coming out of this looked like they’d been through a plane crash. 2-out of-3 Falls matches have a tendency to be long-winded & exhausting, this might be the best of them that the WWE has presented over the last decade or so.

In front of a molten Chicago crowd, yearning for the new rising star Daniel Bryan and his newly coined ‘Yes!’ chant to take over following an explosive WrestleMania, the atmosphere for this threw me back to the old days of ECW. This didn’t feel like your standard WWE match, the pacing & action was punishing, much more than other matches of this kind & the fans only aided. A rabid audience that just wanted to see a fantastic wrestling match & nothing else, and they got what they desired in spades. This match was everything their WrestleMania XXVIII (and even their scrapped XXVII) encounter should have been in retrospect, despite that matches successes. It was a star-making performance for Daniel Bryan, who was slowly ascending up the company ranks despite some hesitancy from the ‘higher-ups’ & a reminder to fans of just how good of a natural brawler Sheamus is when he’s allowed to be who he is, a pure warrior.

While it may not stand at the most ‘extreme’ contest on this list or in the chronology of the Extreme Rules event, it stands amongst the best matches the event has ever seen & a match that deserves more attention than it seems to get. Regardless of your preferences, this is a match I’d go as far to call simply essential.

1. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules 2012)

When it comes to WWE’s PG-era of programming, it’s going to be very difficult to get anymore ‘extreme’ that John Cena & Brock Lesnar got in 2012.

Their epic main event came off the heels of one of the most remarkable returns in company history when Lesnar returned the night after WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami, where Cena was on the receiving end of an F5 that set the stage for a rematch between the two almost a decade after their previous outing against one another. Lesnar came into this the ultimate outsider, a monster with no chains, completely unhinged & one with no respect for those around him, which was the perfect setup to collide against the very face of WWE in John Cena, off a heartbreaking loss to The Rock just weeks prior.

More than just being a collision between two bonafide box office draws, this match was unlike any other you’ve likely ever seen. In fact, this wasn’t even a wrestling match, it was a fight, an incredibly brutal one for that matter. Nothing about this fell under the traditional structure of a WWE main event, everything about it was brutal, methodical, hard to watch & punishing by blending Lesnar’s MMA background against his ridiculous agility for a man his size. The result was a near 20-minute beatdown of Cena into a bloody pulp, hurling him around the ring, clobbering him in ways never seen before & tearing the ringside area apart to inflict as much punishment as possible. For a re-introduction to Brock Lesnar after all his years away from the sport, it couldn’t have been done better. The final result is still a divisive one for many fans, myself included, who see Cena’ victory as a colossal mistake, but that doesn’t take away from the sheer brutality this managed to convey, especially with many doubting the levels it reached considering the company guidelines.

It may not be a ‘mat classic’, but in terms of story & spectacle, you’d struggle to find anything as jaw-dropping as what these two men on this night in Chicago. As many times as I’ve seen this, it holds up remarkably well to this very day & was an early warning of just how chaotic the next few years of Brock Lesnar would come to be in WWE. Besides being a phenomenal event, it was everything the Extreme Rules mantle should represent.


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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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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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