At the dawn of 2025, a seismic shift in wrestling is poised to alter the viewing habits of fans worldwide, with WWE relocating “Raw” to Netflix and migrating its entire programming repertoire, including Premium Live Events, to the streaming platform for international audiences.
This move, slated to commence in early 2025, holds significant implications for WWE, but its ramifications may reverberate even more profoundly for AEW.
During a recent installment of “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer underscored the international ramifications of WWE’s migration to Netflix, asserting that it presents a plethora of opportunities for AEW, as numerous channels worldwide will seek out wrestling content.
“This gives AEW a real shot in these markets like Germany, or India, or whatever, you’ve got these stations that have historically had wrestling, and in India, Sony Six has had great success with pro wrestling, and they’re not going to have it anymore after this current deal is up and it goes to Netflix.
So WWE doing the whole world on Netflix opens up a lot of stations that traditionally had wrestling, and had success with wrestling, the best wrestling they’re going to be able to get is AEW.”
Already, AEW boasts a strong international presence, airing on platforms such as ITV in the United Kingdom, Eurosport in India, and TSN in Canada, where it consistently garners robust viewership.
Additionally, streaming platforms like Triller TV cater to international audiences by offering AEW’s extensive back catalog for a monthly subscription fee.
Notably, AEW’s successful broadcast on channels like ITV in the UK played a pivotal role in the triumph of the All In event at Wembley Stadium, given ITV’s widespread accessibility across the nation without additional charges.
