开云体育

=====================================================================
TO UNSUBSCRIBE : mailto:[email protected]
=====================================================================

_ _____ ___ ___ _____ _ ___ _ _ ___
\ \ / / _ \ __/ __|_ _| | |_ _| \| |/ __|
\ \/\/ /| / _|\__ \ | | | |__ | || .` | (_ |
\_/\_/ |_|_\___|___/ |_| |____|___|_|\_|\___|
___ _ _ _ ___ _ _ ___
/ _ \| \| | | |_ _| \| | __|
| (_) | .` | |__ | || .` | _|
\___/|_|\_|____|___|_|\_|___|
_ _ _____ _____ _ ___ _____ _____ ___ ___
| \| | __\ \ / / __| | | __|_ _|_ _| __| _ \
| .` | _| \ \/\/ /\__ \ |__| _| | | | | | _|| /
|_|\_|___| \_/\_/ |___/____|___| |_| |_| |___|_|_\


====================================================
Monday, January 6, 2025 Issue #7453
====================================================
Visit our website at
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Happy Raw is Netflix day to all those who celebrate it! Looking forward to tonight. I will be watching live at the cool time of 2AM. Bring it on!


========================================================


//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at

HISTORY-MAKING DAY FOR WWE AHEAD OF NETFLIX DEBUT

- A new era kicks in tonight for WWE as it makes its long-awaited debut on Netflix live at 8PM ET. Raw becomes the first weekly live broadcast on the streaming giant, airing in pretty much almost every corner of the world. For those living outside the United States, their deal is even sweeter: apart from live Raw, there will be live NXT, live Smackdown, live premium live events, and a lot of WWE library as part of their current Netflix subscription. This is a 10-year deal worth over $5 billion, a deal which was announced last year by the company as it shopped their weekly television broadcasts to different networks. It's the first time that Raw will not air on cable television since its inception in 1993 and it will be quite the change with Raw omitted from the weekly cable chart, a chart which has catapulted USA Network to the top for around eight months of the year. Netflix went all in with their promotion for WWE on their website, with a WWE: Live & Upcoming section showing what's coming. John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Rhea Ripley are part of the graphic hyping up tonight's live broadcast. Gunther, Dom Mysterio and Liv Morgan, and CM Punk each are used to promote the next three weeks of Raw. On social media, promotion is also at full force with Netflix accounts from different regions each hyping the broadcast. Over 16,000 fans already have their ticket to attend at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, with the brand-new arena sitting next to the majestic SoFi Stadium, the host of WrestleMania 39. The show is likely to break the gate record for any WWE event held inside an arena, with sky-high prices even for the nosebleed section. The cheapest tickets available are resale tickets for $442.80 plus taxes and fees on Ticketmaster. Third-party websites have even-higher tickets, starting from just over $500, an incredible get-in price for any show. Tonight's show will not be a regular Raw. It's a special event level Raw which will be used to gain new viewers from Netflix's 270+ million subscribers worldwide hoping they stick around for next week and the following week and the one following that. Netflix has a good track record of sending shows into the stratosphere. Shows such as Squid Game, Money Heist, Cobra Kai, and others all achieved status which was unheard of thanks to the Netflix machine. WWE is hoping they'll be the next ones to gain that level of popularity in places where maybe the product isn't followed as much. Tonight is the night history will be made and the (Netflix) world will be watching. Streaming is probably the future for many shows and just like it's usually the case, WWE is there to experience it first.

INCREDIBLE COLD OPEN FOR RAW SHOWCASES WWE HISTORY

- The cold open for tonight's Raw introducing the Netflix audience to the world of professional wrestling was published by WWE today. Narrated by WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, the three minute-plus hair-raising video gives a look at the history of how WWE evolved throughout the years as an artist paints the legends on a ring mat. Superstars such as Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ted DiBiase, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ronda Rousey, Goldberg, The Rock, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Undertake, Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair, nWo, CM Punk, and many, many others are all featured in the video. "The screen gets smaller, but the show gets bigger," Triple H says as the orchestra music reaches a crescendo. "Global. From television to streaming. America to the world. Ladies and gentleman, presenting the all-real, ever-fantastic, never-end...story of WWE." Notably missing from the intro? Vince McMahon. Not even featured for a millisecond. You can watch it at .

RAW PREVIEW

- Live from the sold-out Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, WWE starts a new era on Netflix with Raw streaming across the world on the planet's largest and most popular streaming service. It is going to be a packed, packed show with several matches already announced including Roman Reigns vs Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the title of Tribal Chief, Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan defends her WWE Women's World title against Rhea Ripley in a last woman standing match, The New Day take on Rey Mysterio and a mystery partner, and the main event of the much-anticipated CM Punk vs Seth Rollins. Plus, John Cena returns with his first stop of his 2025 farewell tour, Logan Paul makes his first appearance since SummerSlam, the debut of Penta El Zero Miedo, The Rock makes his presence felt, and many, many more surprises. WWE Legends and celebrities are also expected to be featured throughout the broadcast which at this point has no official time limit. Music superstar Travis Scott will also be in the house with his music serving as the new official theme for Raw. The show will be immediately available to stream on Netflix as soon as it ends.

HULK HOGAN TO APPEAR ON RAW TONIGHT

- WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be at the Raw on Netflix premiere live tonight from Inglewood, his first appearance since last year's Royal Rumble where he introduced the show just days after celebrating the 40th anniversary of the birth of Hulkamania. Hogan's appearance was originally reported by Dr. Chris Featherstone on X and later confirmed by other sources. It's a very important night for Hogan, whose Real American Beer has now become a sponsor for WWE. WWE took a minority ownership as well, and the logo of the beer will be on the mat in the corner every week on Raw, starting tonight. Hogan was expected at Saturday Night's Main Event last month but he was not there and instead was on a UFC card walking down the aisle with Colby Covington at the same time. He is, however, expected to be at the next SNME later this month from San Antonio. The former WWE and WCW champion is one of the many celebrities scheduled to be part of tonight's historic broadcast.

JOHN CENA'S FAREWELL TOUR STARS NOW

- John Cena's final year as an active WWE Superstar starts today with the Raw on Netflix premiere. Cena will reveal his plans for the rest of the year tonight on the highly-anticipated episode of Raw. The former 16-time world champion announced his 2025 retirement tour at the Money In The Bank premium live event in Toronto last July and will wrestle his final match in December of this year. "I’m so grateful to be invited back home so we can write the last chapter of this unforgettable ride. Sunsets are often the most memorable experience," Cena wrote in a social media post last year. "I can’t wait to share this sunset with my family. See you all very soon. The Last Time Is Now!” Cena has said in the past that he has given all of 2025 to WWE and will be appearing at WWE events throughout the year. In August, Cena revealed that he signed a new, long-term deal with the company that will keep him involved way long after he officially retires from in-ring competition.

NO RAW COMMERCIALS FOR INTERNATIONAL VIEWERS

- WWE Vice President Line Producer Brian Fadem revealed to the Sports Business Journal that Raw will not have commercials for those watching internationally. He also said that the usual 15 commercial breaks typically reserved for cable television for a three-hour show will be reduced. "While you might go to commercials if you’re in Texas, if you’re in Italy you’re going to see us continue content," said Fadem. "You're going to see the continuation of a match. You're going to see exclusive interviews with our talent. You might see an exclusive package that will only be viewed on that international level." The way WWE will handle commercials for Raw has been a talking point for months and international viewers not getting commercials makes sense since commercials in the United States do not apply for international viewers.

WWE HIRES DRONE TEAM FOR NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ACTION SHOTS

- WWE has hired a team dedicated to flying drones every week for their weekly television show, with their work starting tonight on Raw. WWE Line Producer Brian Fades told Sports Business Journal that the drones will be showing viewers never-before-seen shots of WWE talent both inside and outside the arenas moving forward. "That’s one thing we’re really going to try to lean into [today]," said Fades. "Getting these drones to be used in intimate ways and really take the viewer who’s at home, trying to get them to feel here like everyone else." Apart from drones, WWE also rehearsed using a point-to-point sky cam system and a techno crane for more intimate in-ring shots. WWE and Netflix used 1,200 drones during the weekend for the show they gave over the Los Angeles sky and 200 of those drones were also equipped with pyro. Tonight's Raw will also have a helping hand from the Goodyear Blimp which will give aerial views of the Intuit Dome.

MICHAEL COLE OUTLINES IMPORTANT CHANGE TO RAW COMMENTARY TONIGHT

- Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show earlier today, Michael Cole said that there will be some change to how they do commentary tonight for the Raw premiere episode on Netflix. Cole said that his and McAfee's job tonight is to explain to new viewers who the WWE Superstars and characters are without insulting the long-time fans. "We're going to have a lot of new viewers tonight, we're going to have lapsed fans that might not have joined us since the Attitude Era, so we're going have to explain who is Seth Rollins, who is CM Punk, and why are they important to our product and also basically to the world because these guys just don't wrestle, they do so many other things that are important to the entertainment industry," Cole told McAfee. Cole also revealed that during the production meeting, Triple H gave everyone a pep talk and everyone in the room was very emotional due to the importance of the occasion. McAfee was hosting his daily show remotely live from the Intuit Dome, the site of tonight's Raw.

WWE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH REAL AMERICAN BEER

- WWE today announced a multi-year partnership with legendary WWE Superstar and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer – one of the fastest-growing light beers in the U.S. – that will showcase Real American Beer branding within WWE’s weekly flagship program Monday Night Raw as well as other key WWE assets. As an official partner of WWE, Real American Beer will receive ring mat corner branding during every episode of Raw which makes its highly anticipated debut tonight on Netflix. Further, WWE will become a minority owner in the rapidly expanding company, which is now available in 20 states since its launch in June 2024. “Hulk Hogan has done a tremendous job introducing an exciting, new product to a competitive marketplace,” said Grant Norris-Jones, Executive Vice President & Head of Global Partnerships for TKO. “We are excited to unlock a new partnership category and to showcase Real American Beer in front of Netflix’s global audience.” “Well, let me tell you something brother! From the first time I stepped into the ring, I’ve always fought for something bigger than myself,” said Hulk Hogan, Co-Founder of Real American Beer. “I’m thrilled to bring Real American Beer into the ring with WWE. Together, we’re bringing that pride to America, one beer, one match at a time, brother!” Additionally, Real American Beer will receive social and digital support, including original, short-form content that will be distributed across WWE’s popular social and digital channels which reach more than 700 million users globally. WWE trademarks and Superstars will also be available for use on in-store point-of-sale materials and promotional displays throughout its growing network of retailers nationwide.

ROYAL RUMBLE SURPASSES 50,000 TICKETS

- The Royal Rumble has surpassed 50,000 tickets according to ticket tracking service @WrestleTix. As it stands now, it's the third most-successful Royal Rumble in history ticket-wise and has a big chance of moving up to second if they sell 2,000 tickets more in a couple of weeks. The 1997 Royal Rumble has the record with an attendance of 60,477 while the 2017 Rumble, held from the same Alamodome in San Antonio as the one from 1997, is the second most-attended with just over 52,000 people. Seats continue to open up at Lucas Oil Field with many sections on the side where it was supposed to be closed off now available for sale. Cheapest tickets are going for $150 plus taxes and fees in the 600 Level which is at the very top of the stadium. Tickets in the new opened-up sections in the 400 Level are priced $175 and up.

WWE AND NETFLIX LIGHT UP LA SKIES WITH DRONE SHOW

- Ahead of tonight's Raw debut on Netflix, WWE and Netflix lit up the Los Angeles skies last night with a drone show featuring several logos of WWE Superstars. The show started with large WWE and Netflix logos which then morphed in the new Raw logo. The logos of Jey Uso, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, John Cena, Steve Austin, and the WWE championship were all on display in colorful lights. The light display was done to the tune of the song Pure Water by Mustard & Migos. The biggest "surprise" was the Stone Cold Steve Austin skull but several insiders have revealed that Austin is not scheduled to be part of tonight's broadcast after talks fell through. You can watch it at .

DISAPPOINTMENT IN ATTENDANCE FOR WRESTLE DYANSTY AND WRESTLE KINGDOM

- Takaaki Kidani, the CEO of Bushiroad which is the parent company of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, expressed disappointment with the attendance for both Wrestle Kingdom 19 and the Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-views over the weekend. Wrestle Dynasty was the NJPW version of the Forbidden Door, with AEW, ROH, CMLL, and Stardom all participating. The Wrestle Kingdom 19 show from the Tokyo Dome on January 4 attracted 24,107 fans while the Wrestle Dynasty show the following day on January 5 from the same location did 16,300 in an arena which holds around 55,000. The majority of the first riser seats were all empty for Wrestle Dynasty, a big disappointment since it featured the return of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks to Japan and the first match of Mercedes Mone in the famous Tokyo Dome. Kidani told Tokyo Sports that next year they hope to attract 40,000 people for Wrestle Kingdom.

TNA RE-SIGNS THREE TALENT TO NEW DEALS

- TNA Wrestling today announced that it has re-signed Ash by Elegance, John Skyler, and its Knockouts champion Masha Slamovich to new contracts. The announcement was made by TNA in a post on social media. Ash by Elegance, the artist formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE, made her TNA debut last January at the Hard to Kill pay-per-view. She was previously released from WWE after a decade with the company. Skyler has been working for the promotion since 2021 and is one half of The Good Hands tag team. Slamovich, who won the TNA Knockouts title at Bound For Glory in October 2024, has been signed to the company since 2022.


========================================================
ADVERTISING:
(C) Copyright 1996-2025 Wrestling-Online.com
========================================================