Arguably no one was happier to see 2025 turn into 2026 more than WWE officials concerned over “Raw’s” viewership on Netflix, after the red brand failed to place in Netflix’s global top ten rankings five out of the last six weeks. Not only did a new year promise a potential fresh start, but it also provided “Raw” with its biggest show since November, with a show that featured several championship matches that had been promoted for several weeks.
It turns out that those matches were just what the doctor ordered. Wrestlenomics reports that the January 5 “Raw” drew 3.2 million views across the span of the week, the first viewership numbers anyone has seen for “Raw” since December 8. In addition, the show also drew 5.9 million hours viewed during a week’s time; both numbers were well up from December 8’s 2.5 million views and 4.4 million hours viewed.
In a sign of how strong viewership is for Netflix content, the 3.2 million views was still almost not enough for “Raw” to place in the top ten, as the show wound up placing only 10th overall. Of all “Raw” episodes that placed in the global top ten since August 25, January 5’s 10th ranking would be the lowest “Raw” has placed when making the list. The show fared better in Netflix’s domestic top ten by placing 6th, up from last week’s 8th place ranking.
“Raw’s” loaded lineup was headlined by CM Punk defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker, with Punk overcoming Breakker in a wild match that saw both men overcome awkward landings. While Punk retained, other champions weren’t so lucky, as Asuka and Kairi Sane dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships to IYO Sky and Rhea Ripley in the show opening contest, while Becky Lynch finally overcame Maxxine Dupri to regain the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Read the full article here
