Everything you need to know to start following WWE on Netflix again
A refresher on old and new faces in WWE
Although it remained almost always available via subscription through Sky and Discovery+, the love affair between wrestling and Italy abruptly ended in June 2007, following an incident that directly involved the famous and beloved WWE wrestler Chris Benoit. Mediaset's decision to stop the free-to-air broadcasts of WWE programs had the effect of temporarily disconnecting the strong bond that had formed between Italian viewers and American wrestling, similar in intensity to that which exploded in the 90s thanks to Hulkamania and Dan Peterson's Italo-American commentary.
In reality, it was never a complete detachment. WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, the most famous and relevant wrestling federation in the world) broadcasts continued in Italy, but on Sky's pay channels, drastically reducing the audience. Despite this, the relationship between Italy and WWE never truly ended: some loves go on immense journeys and then return, as evidenced by the various live shows brought to Italy by the company even during these years of declining popularity.
Since the post-pandemic, WWE has been experiencing a renewed period of success in Europe, and the recent resurgence of wrestling in Italy (favored by easier access via social media or subscriptions) along with the improved familiarity with English shown by the Italian audience in recent house shows have convinced the company to schedule a PLE (Premium Live Event) in Italy, Clash in Turin, which will take place in Turin on May 31st. With the inclusion of all WWE programs in the Netflix package, which therefore includes not only episodes of Raw and SmackDown, but also NXT and all other shows including the previously paid PLEs, it's easy to imagine that wrestling's popularity is destined to rise again in our parts. To help everyone catch up on lost time, we have prepared a special with everything you need to know to resume (or start) with WWE on Netflix.
What happened to John Cena and the others?
As can be guessed, almost two decades have passed, and most of the athletes from that era have left the ring. Some very recently, like John Cena who celebrated his career with a farewell tour in 2025, unfortunately marred by a poorly executed heel (villain) stint due to external faults (we'll discuss this in the next paragraphs). Others, like Triple H who is now the boss of WWE (we'll talk more about him shortly) or The Undertaker, have hung up their boots more or less some time ago. Of that generation, few wrestlers are still active, such as Rey Mysterio. The Mexican luchador now even shares the ring with his son Dominik: yes, the very one from the disputed paternity with the late Eddie Guerrero.
Among the talents from that period who can still make their mark in the ring, Randy Orton stands out, protagonist of the Main Event of the first night of WrestleMania 42, in pursuit of his fifteenth world title. Others (I refer to Edge and Chris Jericho) are involved with a new rival federation, AEW, which we will discuss shortly. Two faces who, at the time, were quite young and who, after long vicissitudes, are still with the company are Cody Rhodes and CM Punk: however, we should talk about them later.
What happened to Vince McMahon?
WWE viewers from that era will undoubtedly remember Vince McMahon, the flamboyant owner of World Wrestling Entertainment who carved out the on-screen role of the federation's flamboyant owner! The line between reality and fantasy has always been quite blurred: Vince McMahon brought to the screen and into the storylines of his federation the figure of a gruff and irritable boss, capable of changing his mind from one minute to the next and publicly humiliating anyone who dared to contradict him. If you recall, just before Chris Benoit's death, Vince was even the protagonist of a storyline culminating in the explosion of the limousine he had just entered.
If that storyline was over the top, and was even stopped to celebrate Benoit before the nature of his act was known, only to then erase all traces of the Canadian wrestler from the federation's archives, the rest of Vince McMahon's career was certainly no more sober. First, he staged the illegitimate son storyline, culminating in a questionable ending involving a wrestler with dwarfism. After that, Vince ended his active wrestling career by making peace in the ring with Bret Hart, a wrestler with whom he had broken ties, again due to an unpleasant incident, more than a decade earlier.
After slowly moving away from the spotlight, still making sporadic appearances, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE in 2022, but retained his shares and returned to the helm of the Board of Directors in 2023. In January 2024, however, he was forced to resign due to the publication of documents concerning his conduct at the top of the company in past years, but not before a final absurd live TV appearance to laugh about his troubles, as if nothing had happened.
What happened to WWE?
In 2023, WWE reached an agreement for its sale with Endeavour, the company that owns UFC, the main mixed martial arts federation. The operation led to the creation of a new company, called TKO Group Holdings, which houses both UFC and WWE.
The change in management was not painless. At the top of the decision-making chain remains Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, former wrestler and husband of Stephanie McMahon (Vince's daughter), but TKO has repeatedly imposed its will from above at pivotal moments. Furthermore, The Rock sits at the top of TKO, and on several occasions, he has decided to insert his character into the most important storylines, obviously with a prominent role. Last year, for example, The Rock played a key role in John Cena's turn to villainy, but without finding a way to participate in the most important chapter of that storyline at WrestleMania.
This year too, in the period leading up to WrestleMania, TKO interfered, imposing the presence of Pat McAfee, an influencer who orbits the sports world, in one of the most important storylines. The state of tension between the different souls of the company is evident, yet at the same time, under TKO, the agreement with Netflix has arrived, which can potentially expand the reach of the WWE brand like never before.
Furthermore, as already mentioned, WWE now has a solid and credible competitor federation, as has not happened for some time. This is AEW, All Elite Wrestling, a federation founded by some wrestlers, including Cody Rhodes who was out of WWE at the time, with the support of an entrepreneur with considerable capital and a great passion for wrestling. AEW's style is different from WWE's, less focused on entertainment and more on in-ring technique. In the battle between the two federations, WWE still seems solidly in the lead, but the presence of a fierce competitor is a signal that the federation cannot ignore.
Who are the protagonists in WWE today?
The RAW and SmackDown roster is more robust than ever. However, the four WrestleMania title matches illustrate well who the prominent figures in the federation are. In the women's division, Women's World Champion Stephanie Vacquer had to defend her title against Liv Morgan, winner of the Royal Rumble, while on the SmackDown roster, the titanic WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill faced challenger Rhea Ripley, now a veteran despite her young age.
In the men's division, the first night of WrestleMania 42 saw the aforementioned Randy Orton challenge Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, the prodigal son who returned after leaving WWE years ago, even founding AEW along the way. In the Main Event of the second night of WrestleMania 42, CM Punk entered the ring as World Heavyweight Champion to face Roman Reigns. The latter, who plays Akuma in the upcoming Street Fighter movie and is a descendant of a large family of Samoan wrestlers, has essentially carried the federation on his shoulders for the past five years, playing the role of the dominant and manipulative villainous champion for over 1000 days, in one of the best storylines ever developed in WWE.
What's the best time to pick up from?
Ideally, the answer should be WrestleMania 42. Historically, at this famous annual event, WWE stages the culmination of its storylines, packaged with nice summary videos before the action in the ring. This year, however, this video tradition was lost, replaced by a more sparse video production, both due to the invasive presence of commercials and some choices such as the little time reserved for in-ring action, compared to all the surrounding elements (the second night in this sense was definitely better than the first).
For this reason, therefore, perhaps the best return episode is the Raw after WrestleMania, the one airing on the night between Monday, April 19th and Tuesday, April 20th in Italy, where historically we see the “pilot” of the new season, with returns, surprises, and the start of new rivalries.
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