Tony Khan breaks silence on WWE's blockbuster deal with Netflix
AEW CEO Tony Khan recently spoke about WWE's Netflix deal, which was recently made official.
The Stamford-based promotion recently inked a five billion dollar deal with Netflix to air Monday Night RAW for ten years, starting January 2025. The deal also allows the company to extend it for a decade if they wish to. The move to Netflix will end Monday Night RAW's incredible streak of being the longest-running episodic television show since 1993.
Speaking with Payne & Pendergast, AEW CEO Tony Khan was questioned about the five billion dollar deal.
"Absolutely! We're excited to get big media rights renewals in the wrestling business. That's great to see for everybody. We're in a big contract year, too, and I think AEW is going to get big media rights. Right now, we have a great partnership on TBS and TNT that I want to continue for a long time. We've been on since 2019, it's [been] five years now we're going on TBS and TNT, and it's been great, and I want to keep it going because there is a great tradition of wrestling on those channels,'' said Khan. [H/T: Fightful]
Matt Hardy reflects on the WWE Netflix deal
AEW star Matt Hardy recently commented on World Wrestling Entertainment's Netflix deal that took the wrestling world by storm.
Speaking on Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the former United States Champion noted how Netflix can produce a lot of content with Stamford-based promotion after the big deal.
"It was big; it was shocking. Once I heard that, I started hearing the details, and I educated myself on what was going on. That’s massive. That’s a massive deal. Just the fact that they have this massive platform from Netflix. Literally, you can put out your own WWE-branded content pretty much without limit. It’s not like a TV station where you have [a] certain time; everything is streaming, so that would allow for so many projects outside of the regular pro wrestling. You can have The Undertaker have a show; you can have guys that retire that can’t wrestle [have a show]; the potentials are endless when it comes to that," he said. [H/T: Fightful]
He added:
"The fact that WWE is putting RAW on Netflix—I know this was a big Vince thing, but I’m sure it is embedded in the WWE mindset, ‘Make sure to say this; it’s very important!' WWE is the first company ever to have their flagship program streaming. First-evers were always a great way to try and get your point over [sic] in WWE if you’re trying to sell something. If it was the first ever, that was a strong selling point with [sic] Vince, and I’m sure it’s still embedded in the WWE culture now.''
Monday Night RAW's new home will be Netflix from January 2025, and it will be interesting to see the changes the company makes to the look and feel of the flagship show.
What is your favorite Monday Night RAW moment of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.