Since first moving to the platform at the start of the year, the WWE Raw experience on Netflix has been a relatively smooth one.
That, however, wasn’t the case on Monday during a Raw episode plagued by technical glitches, including during the show’s climatic ending.
Raw‘s glitches included the Netflix feed repeatedly buffering and briefly cutting to a black screen — similar to the issues that affected the streamer’s presentation of November’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing event. They were most prevalent during the show’s closing segment, which saw CM Punk defeat Sami Zayn, who was then attacked in shocking fashion by his longtime friend/sometimes rival Kevin Owens.
“Netflix feed for WWE was a mess tonight. Frequent glitching, especially at the end of the show, ruining a big moment,” The Athletic’s Chris Vannini noted on X. “Hadn’t had any issues the first few Netflix weeks. Not sure what happened tonight.”
Downdetector.com logged a steady stream of complaints relative to Netflix’s typical baseline throughout Monday night’s Raw, with the issues peaking around 10:23 p.m. ET, when the show’s main event was taking place. Complaints regarding the Netflix stream were easy to find on social media, especially in the replies to a post from WWE’s X account asking fans for their reactions to the show.
Only reaction I had was being annoyed seeing flickering on & off.. felt like I was watching Raw on VHS. @TripleH talk to @Netflix on this. Tell them stay on top of it.
— FudgeWilde (@Fudgewilde) February 4, 2025
At this point, the cause of the issue remains unclear, although TheVerge.com pointed out that the Netflix logo was still visible on the screen during the brief blackouts, suggesting that the glitches might have been related to something on WWE’s end. It’s also worth noting that this was likely the most-watched Raw on Netflix since the show’s debut on the platform on Jan. 6, as it aired two days after the high profile Royal Rumble event and didn’t face the same stiff competition that previous episodes had.
Whatever the cause of the issue, WWE, Netflix and their fans are hopeful it’s just a one-time deal, especially with the streamer recently announcing a rise in prices and WWE now officially on its annual Road to WrestleMania.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.