BREAKING: Reported location for first RAW on Netflix revealed (Exclusive)
RAW on Netflix is set to begin in January 2025 – starting a new era for WWE. The 10-year, $5 billion deal is the biggest broadcasting deal in the history of the wrestling industry and the location for the first episode has been revealed.
On this week's WrestleVotes Radio on Backstage Pass, JoeyVotes and TC went into detail about several major hot topics in WWE, like the backstage plans for Chelsea Green, big changes to The Viking Raiders' name and presentation, and more.
JoeyVotes and TC revealed the details on WWE's location for the RAW Netflix debut – Los Angeles. The final RAW of the USA Network run will be in Houston. It's also being speculated that WWE could host the debut episode in the Intuit Arena in Inglewood rather than their go-to venue, Crypto Arena (formerly Staples Arena).
There's further speculation that WWE might be looking for some celebrity presence as it's just around the corner from Hollywood.
CM Punk gave his honest take on what to expect on WWE RAW on Netflix
There seems to be the expectation that with Monday Night RAW going to Netflix, we could see the return of an Attitude Era-esque style of programming from WWE. According to CM Punk, that isn't going to be the case at all.
On The Hot Tag on 103.5 FM, CM Punk said that while WWE will be pushing the envelope a bit, we should not expect a flurry of non-PG content. Tempering the expectations, he explained why The Attitude Era is an example of how swearing and violence isn't always the solution:
"I don't think you're going to see much difference than what it is now. I think we're pushing boundaries a little bit here and there. I just want to kind of temper people's expectations because I think there's a section of the fan base that's like, 'Oh, they're going to go to Netflix. There's going to be full frontal and swearing!' That's absolutely not the case. I think we've learned from The Attitude Era that you can only do that for so long before you try to outdo yourself every week, and it just becomes bad television. I think every once and again you can push the envelope," Punk said.
Either way, the argument could be made that WWE doesn't need to go back to full-blown non-PG content. There's been a rising shift in the sentiment of Gen-Z that adult, explicit content isn't necessary in movies. Considering that Gen-Z is also WWE's target audience, they are likely to follow modern trends. So while we might see edgy content from time to time, a return to Attitude Era-style programming may not be the direction that WWE needs to go.
Check out the full episodes of WrestleVotes Radio only on Backstage Pass.