Fans and wrestlers are excited for next year when WWE Monday Night Raw moves from the USA Network to Netflix due to the streaming service’s reach.
It all starts in January 2025. The Raw deal is for ten years and more than $5 billion, valued at least at $500 million per year. WWE’s deal to air Raw on USA Network runs through the end of September 2024, although the show will remain on the network as a bridge until it starts on Netflix.
WWE is expected to load up the first show to make an impact, with John Cena already confirming that he’ll be there as he kicks off his retirement tour at the end of 2025. WWE also announced this past weekend that Joe Tessitore would debut as the Raw play-by-play announcer in October, while Michael Cole is slated to move to SmackDown.
However, the move is temporary, according to Dave Meltzer. It was said the current plan is for Tessitore to be moved to SmackDown in January, while Cole will be put back on Raw when it moves to Netflix.
Despite the move to WWE, he will stay at ESPN, where Tessitore is a broadcaster for college football and Top Rank boxing. He has previously called the NFL’s Monday Night Football and College Football Playoff games.