CM Punk Doesn’t Want WWE RAW Netflix Move To Be ‘A Crutch’ To Drop F-Bombs

WWE is set to move to Netflix in 2025, a change that has generated significant excitement among fans. This move means that RAW will be available commercial-free on the streaming service, and the shows will also be uncensored. CM Punk recently shared his thoughts on WWE’s transition to Netflix.

Starting in January 2025, Netflix will become the new home of WWE Raw, marking the first time since the show’s premiere in 1993 that it will not be on network television. In an interview with Jimmy Traina on the SI Media podcast, Punk discussed the implications of the move and the potential for more creative freedom once Raw is on Netflix.

“I feel like we’re pushing the envelope now, and I don’t want people to use Netflix as a crutch to say the F word. I feel that’s immediately where everybody goes, ‘We’re going to get to swear.’ No. If everybody swears, it doesn’t mean anything. If everybody is throwing the bird, it doesn’t mean anything. If every show, someone is bleeding, and they fall off a building, it doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that excites me about Netflix is what should excite everybody about Netflix; we are going to be seen by billions more people. It’s unfathomable to a lot of people what the Netflix deal means to a wrestler in WWE. USA Network has broadcasted professional wrestling for WWE for decades. Raw has always been on USA. For it to go to a streaming service. I don’t have the USA Network app on my phone, but I have the Netflix app on my phone. I guarantee it’s like that worldwide. We are going to have doors kicked in in a lot of different markets and countries all over the world. To me, that’s exciting.”

When the topic of less censorship and creative freedom for talent was raised, Punk responded to say that a filter is important. Their move to Netflix won’t open the floodgates on NSFW content, but they may get a little edgier.

“Yeah, but I think a lot of people need a filter. A lot of people need somebody to produce them and say, ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’ Netflix doesn’t mean you’re going to get all these wild lesbian angles or something like that, as wrestling fans seem to think. Maybe we can be a little more edgy, maybe. I already feel like, since Vince (McMahon) is gone, a lot of what people thought were kind of strange, like not calling a hospital a hospital, calling it a medical facility, all that is in the past. I’m looking forward to the reach Netflix has.”

WWE will keep RAW on the USA Network throughout 2024, but they had to sign a short-term deal to make that happen. WWE signed a $25 million domestic media rights agreement with NBCUniversal so that RAW would remain on the USA Network for the fourth quarter of this year.

We will have to see if anyone drops an F-Bomb on RAW, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. One thing we do know for sure is that WWE won’t have to censor fan chants anymore, because Netflix has much more adult-oriented programming on the service.

What’s your take on WWE airing RAW uncensored on Netflix? Do you think that they will take things over the line? Let us know what you think in the comments section!