WWE's move to Netflix in the new year is fast approaching as wrestling fans in the UK prepare to say goodbye.
The wrestling giant announced in early 2024 that its flagship program Monday Night Raw would be leaving linear television in the new year for the first time since its launch in 1993.
It will be Netflix and WWE's pay-per-view offerings like In the United States and around the world, the changes are more profound. Here in the UK, for example, all WWE programming is moving to the streaming platform.
This means that while in the US the likes of SmackDown and NXT will be available to watch on their respective TV networks beyond January, Netflix will be the one-stop shop for Brits looking for WWE content.
The groundbreaking move is extremely lucrative for WWE and the deal should be worth it .
However, this will bring some big changes, not least the demise of the hugely popular WWE Network, the company's 24/7 in-house streaming channel.
It was home to all of its major events such as Mania, SummerSlam and in the last decade before it was phased out in North America.
It's still live in the UK, and fans continue to have access to the huge library of archive content and new premium live events – for now.
In preparation for the big change, UK fans subscribe Network was informed via email over the weekend that the service would be shut down and subscriptions would be canceled.
There was a softener of sorts: fans can keep their access until December 31st before the service is shut down entirely.
“On January 1, 2025, WWE Network will no longer be available in your region and Netflix will be the new exclusive home of WWE,” the letter reads.
“As a result, your WWE Network subscription has been disabled in the App Store and will not renew on your next billing date.
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“As a thank you for being a fan and valued subscriber, we welcome you to continue enjoying WWE Network with free access through December 31, 2024. After that, you'll need to subscribe to Netflix to continue enjoying WWE content, including all premium live events, as well as Raw, SmackDown and NXT – streaming live in one place for the first time ever.”
The note continues: “If you already have a Netflix subscription, you're good to go.”
Fans on social media lamented the closure, pointing out that at least some of the massive library of niche archive content would likely be pared down in favor of a selection of previous recordings.
“It's definitely going to be missed,” one fan mused. “I'm not sure Netflix will actually have anything other than the live shows.
Another said: “End of an era. I will actually miss the network. Made me watch WWE again,” while a third added: “I'll miss the WWE channel.” It was great to have the ability to just go back and watch a random episode or rough cut or SmackDown 25 years ago. “
Fans also noticed and applauded a surprising fact about WWE Network. Since launching in the UK in late 2014, the introductory price of £9.99 has remained the same, with the company never choosing to increase the price over a decade in which the cost of almost everything else has risen.
One happy fan added: “I was always surprised it never rose but I'm also glad it didn't. It was £7 well spent every month just in savings for PLEs and it was incredible to have this huge video library.”
The network's impending closure comes hot on the heels of one – probably the last major WWE appearance of its kind before the Netflix move.
At the Survivor Series, a new American champion, Shinsuke Nakamura, was crowned over LA Knight and a win for Roman Reigns' team in the men's War Games main event.
