Lastly… WWE’s Monday Evening Uncooked has debuted on Netflix, beginning a brand new chapter, or period, as the corporate likes to name it. The premiere episode, which is streaming for anybody with a Netflix subscription, had loads happening with The Rock’s complicated return to the corporate’s flagship present, John Cena kicking off his farewell tour with a tease for the Royal Rumble, and Hulk Hogan getting mercilessly booed by the WWE Universe, and a few nice TV matches within the three-plus-hour present.
However now that the mud has settled and the joy is beginning to die down (for now, anyway), I can’t assist however take into consideration some lingering questions which were going by my head since CM Punk pinned Seth Rollins in the primary occasion. Listed below are issues I’ve been pondering about Uncooked and the way the premiere episode will influence upcoming WWE occasions.
What’s The Deal With The Uncooked Runtime?
A number of months after WWE had the first two-hour Uncooked in over a decade, the corporate shifted again to the three-hour format for the Netflix debut. Nonetheless, it’s by no means been made explicitly clear if this would be the commonplace transferring ahead or an outlier. Admittedly, I’ve gotten used to the longer runtime since 2012, and going again to 2 hours left loads to be desired.
Earlier than Uncooked shifted over to Netflix in January 2025, Paul “Triple H” Levesque advised Sports activities Illustrated’s SI Media Podcast that the corporate could be “versatile” with the runtime since Netflix was a “barely totally different platform” in comparison with the cable channels that hosted the present for the primary 32 years of its existence. Whereas it’s thrilling that WWE is taking a distinct strategy to the runtime every week and never over-or-under-stuffing the present, I’m nonetheless a little bit confused.
How A lot Will We See John Cena All through 2025?
There are fairly a couple of upcoming John Cena motion pictures, TV exhibits, and different initiatives within the works, together with his long-awaited but long-feared retirement tour. The prolific wrestler-turned-actor had an ideal section within the first episode of Uncooked on Netflix the place he teased the upcoming Royal Rumble and his objectives for the ultimate stretch of his in-ring profession, however there’s nonetheless one main unanswered query: how typically will we see Cena this 12 months?
Will it’s a part-time run the place he exhibits up within the lead-up to main WWE occasions like WrestleMania 41, SummerSlam, and Cash within the Financial institution, or will we be seeing him week-in and week-out placing on enjoyable matches with longtime rivals and new rivals? I sincerely hope it’s the latter.
Is WWE Retconning The Complete “Ultimate Boss” Story? As a result of It Seems That Method
I beloved seeing The Rock return to WWE through the Uncooked Netflix premiere, however it felt like we have been getting Dwayne Johnson dressed up just like the “Ultimate Boss” as an alternative of the heel persona that revitalized his wrestling profession in 2024 and made the WrestleMania 40 most important occasion one for the ages. The truth is, with The Rock being all chummy with Cody Rhodes lower than a 12 months after viciously beating him out and in of the ring, it sort of feels like WWE is retconning the entire story.
Perhaps the “Ultimate Boss” continues to be hiding in there someplace with that gaudy Individuals’s Championship belt of his, ready to assault once we least count on. I sincerely hope that’s the case, however I’m not holding my breath… for now.
This Has To Be The Finish Of Rhea Ripley And Liv Morgan’s Feud, Proper?
Earlier than the tip of 2024, considered one of my colleagues wrote about potential WrestleMania 41 matches in addition to some they don’t need to see. A kind of was Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley for the Girls’s World Championship, and I’ve to agree that this ongoing feud wants to return to an finish. And after the clear finish to their stellar match on Uncooked, which noticed Ripley win again the title, I hope that this was the ultimate chapter.
Nothing towards Ripley and Morgan, however there are such a lot of totally different wrestlers they every might feud with transferring ahead, which might give different members of the roster an opportunity on the title or a satisfying story. Yeah, I do know there’s the entire rematch clause, however WWE is so quick and free with that as of late.
Netflix Did not Actually Censor Too A lot Throughout The Premiere, However Will That Proceed?
The Proper To Censor heel faction in all probability wasn’t blissful, as a result of WWE didn’t censor an entire lot through the Uncooked premiere. The Rock saying “bullshit,” followers chanting “Fuck you Solo” with out being muted or having the display go black, and Travis Scott holding a lit joint whereas strolling with Jey Uso to the ring all made Uncooked really feel much less just like the PG present we’ve come to know the previous decade-and-a-half, and extra like one thing out of the Perspective Period or Ruthless Aggression days.
However is that this an indication of issues to return or only a one-off the place WWE confirmed followers that the brand new format is much less restrictive than the cable days? I imply, they confirmed us the place WWE’s new censorship line is (The Rock’s F-bomb was muted), however it’s nonetheless a thriller.
Regardless of being on Netflix, Uncooked nonetheless had business breaks throughout its premiere. Certain, they weren’t as unhealthy or typically because the previous cable days, however not like the worldwide followers (they’d no breaks), we missed out on quite a lot of in-ring spots and unique interviews and packages. Will we ever see that footage, a minimum of from official channels?
I imply, you will discover a few of the content material on social media platforms the place customers are sharing clips, however it’s not from WWE or Netflix. I went again to see if these missed segments have been added to the on-demand model, however they weren’t and the commercials have been included.
How Lengthy Till WWE Begins Touting Uncooked Being In The Netflix High 10?
I wasn’t shocked when Uncooked had among the best spots on the Netflix High 10 after its debut, and I assure it received’t be lengthy earlier than we hear Michael Cole and different WWE commentators touting that metric alongside feedback like “No 1 trending subject on X” on each present, each press convention, and in all places else.
The query is how lengthy till this occurs? Friday evening on SmackDown, subsequent week on Uncooked, or someday sooner? We will see.
Actually, Is Hulkamania Lifeless?
And lastly, is Hulkamania lifeless? One of many greatest surprises of the evening was Hulk Hogan getting booed by the capability crowd. I’m not speaking heel warmth from the WWE Universe, however as an alternative “go away” warmth. WWE posted a YouTube brief displaying the Hulkster’s return, however it was reduce off earlier than the boo birds have been in full impact. The corporate additionally didn’t submit a full clip on its YouTube web page, which is odd contemplating Hogan is likely one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and primarily carried the corporate on his again within the ‘80s.
A colleague of mine wrote at size in regards to the crowd response, arguing that it wasn’t simply due to Hogan’s political feedback in current months (The Undertaker, who can also be right-leaning, obtained a hero’s welcome upon his return the identical evening). I don’t see WWE bringing Hogan again out, a minimum of not in a market like Los Angeles or anyplace else filled with vocal wrestling followers.
Regardless of these lingering questions, I can not wait to see how Uncooked does on Netflix transferring ahead. I imply, the present helped kick off the 2025 TV schedule in nice vogue, and we haven’t even gotten to the post-Mania Uncooked or different massive episodes but.