Why 2025 Is the Year WWE Will Become Mainstream Again
In 2024, WWE saw the return of The Rock, the most popular wrestler in the history of the sport. It resulted in the WWE getting much more attention and played a factor in Roman Reigns also becoming a household name. The Rock was the main event at WrestleMania 40 alongside his cousin against Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes, two names that benefited massively from this return. For the first time in a decade, John Cena had a staredown with The Rock in the middle of a WWE ring, signaling a potential match during Cena’s upcoming retirement tour. It was a great year for the WWE, as it resulted in multiple gate highs, as well as seven international Premium Live Events. With that being said, it’s certain that this is just the beginning for WWE, as 2025 will see the return of WWE once again becoming mainstream for the first time since the early 2000s.
On January 23rd, 2024, the WWE made arguably their biggest deal ever, as it was announced that Monday Night Raw would be heading to Netflix in 2025. The deal was reported to be five billion dollars for 10 years of programming of WWE’s flagship weekly show. Netflix currently has over 280 million paid subscribers, which is 200 million more than USA Network, the channel Raw has been aired on for years. Raw’s debut on Netflix is set to happen on January 6th, and many fans believe that it will include The Rock and John Cena, along with the already confirmed Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins.
Netflix is popular among young adults, which is an audience that WWE has struggled to win over within the past few years as it has transitioned into a much more family-friendly product. This move to a major streaming service will allow the company to reach a new audience, which is arguably the most important audience in the world. 2024 saw The Rock state on multiple occasions that wrestling has become cool again, and the company will look to continue that agenda on Netflix. This deal is a monumental one for the WWE, and it will be the main reason that wrestling can once again become household.
That’s not the only reason, though, as John Cena will be having his retirement tour in 2025. Cena, who is the second most popular professional wrestler ever, has become a staple among fans and is beloved by even those who don’t watch the sport. His retirement announcement was viewed by the entire world and will likely bring in a massive audience for WWE. It has been speculated that Cena will have matches with his long-time rival Randy Orton, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, and potentially even The Rock. Cena was a huge reason as to why many fans tuned into WWE, and when he stopped appearing full-time, it was a huge reason as to why many stopped.
Considering that the storylines between Roman Reigns and The Rock, as well as Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, are still ongoing and that John Cena will be having his last-ever matches, it’s certain that WWE will take a massive leap in 2025. They have taken a huge step when it comes to the international market in both 2023 and 2024, and that will likely be expanded heavily this year. Their deal with Netflix puts WWE on the most viewed streaming platform in the world and will reach many more eyes. Given all this, it seems that 2025 will be the year that WWE will once again become mainstream.
