WWE stars given backstage warning that casts major doubt on fans hopes for 2025
WWE is speeding towards its brand new home on streaming giant Netflix, but a backstage meeting has hinted it won’t quite be the free-for-all some are expecting.
For fans in the UK, wrestling’s biggest company finds an exclusive, new home come the New Year as WWE switches its television offering and pay per view events to Netflix.
It takes WWE off linear television for the first time since Sky first landed a deal with what was the World Wrestling Federation decades ago, the global switch also seeing US fans tune into the streaming service for the company’s Premium Live events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
The move has generated plenty of excitement among wrestling fans, who widely expect to be tuning into an altogether edgier and less censored product once WWE settles on its new home.
Company Head of Creative, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque even suggested that things could start getting tastier on air, lamenting back in June the issues they presently face with censorship on traditional TV networks.
“Right now, just as an example of us being on FOX, if the crowd chants ‘Holy s***’ or something much worse, they just take that audio. Sometimes they take the picture and the audio off, and it’s just a black screen,” the wrestling legend explained, before pointing at the example of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who regularly turned the air blue during his last run in WWE earlier this year.
“You sorta kinda can’t tell The Rock what to do. What are we gonna tell him?
“So, he does what he does, [but] we won’t have those issues with Netflix. The ability to be live globally, the ability to have everything seen all at once everywhere, it’s a game-changing moment.
“I think in many ways, not to disparage other partners because we want to be everywhere, but that’s sort of where the world is heading is streaming services.”
Such comments had left fans convinced of what was to come in 2025 and beyond but, according to a new report, WWE might not be quite ready to let the handbrake off completely – particularly when it comes to bad language.
US outlet Fightful detailed news of a backstage meeting held by officials with wrestlers at this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
Talent were said to have been assured there would be ‘less censorship’ next year, there still needed to be a conscious effort to curb bad language when performing on screen.
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The report explained: “There was a talent meeting ahead of WWE Raw, where many things were discussed.
“Among them included encouraging talent to not curse as much on camera and to be cognizant of when a camera is on them.
“They were told that it won’t be a free for all on Netflix, but there would be less censorship.”
Speaking of the Netflix deal, reportedly worth in the region of $5billion, Mark Shapiro – president of WWE parent company TKO said: “This deal is transformative.
“It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years.
“Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”