Hall of Famer believes WWE's current situation with Netflix is "confusing as hell"
WWE and Netflix are inching toward one of the biggest partnerships in the entertainment industry. A Hall of Famer believes that a recent move by the world's largest streaming service has made things a little confusing.
RAW will begin airing on Netflix in January 2025. This will be one of the biggest leaps in the company’s history, especially without Vince McMahon at the helm. However, Eric Bischoff believes that the former chairman's current status and the streaming service’s recent production could turn a few heads.
Netflix is set to release a documentary about former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Speaking on the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff opined that the two parties could be at odds if the documentary stirs more controversy.
"I'm confused. The situation is confusing for me. This is Netflix, who just signed a $5 billion deal with WWE. The ink is still drying, they haven't even had their first show yet, but Netflix is going to take, what has been the face of WWE, and they're going to expose him to the world in a way that is not going to be flattering to the brand. One would think it would not be flattering to the brand."
The Hall of Famer stated that the world's largest streaming service could be looking to get the documentary out months before RAW’s premiere on its service. That could help the Stamford-based promotion’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, distance itself from Vince McMahon.
"There's no need to do this, unless there's a reason for it — to further distance TKO from Vince McMahon," Bischoff said. "Otherwise it's just confusing as hell." [H/T WrestlingInc]
The documentary about Vince McMahon will be released on September 25, 2024. It could bring more attention to the Stamford-based promotion, both negatively and positively.
WWE on Netflix could undergo many changes
Netflix and WWE will look to make some positive changes to RAW in the coming year. One such change could update the runtime of the red brand.
RAW is a three-hour show that will be cut down to two hours on the USA Network before its contract expires. Since the streaming service doesn’t have programming run one after the other, the creative team could have the flexibility of producing shows with different runtimes every week depending on the content.
John Cena’s return in 2025 for his retirement tour will also boost RAW’s ratings on the streaming service. He's still a big name in the entertainment industry.
Many top stars could also move from SmackDown to RAW to bring more viewership to the product and make it the flagship show again. Additionally, a few major titles could change hands as things get more interesting.