WWE Raw's February 24, 2025, episode has marked the show's lowest global viewership since its arrival on Netflix, raising concerns among fans and analysts. The flagship program managed to garner only 2.6 million viewers throughout the week based on Netflix's viewing metrics, which measures global audience engagement over seven days, as reported by Netflix's Tudum site.
This decline is notable, as it reflects a 7.1% drop compared to the previous week's episode, which had attracted 2.8 million views. The February 24 episode of Raw ranked eighth among English language programs globally and sixth within the United States, showing its continued ability to pull audiences, albeit less than before.
Parts of the drop are perhaps expected, following the initial surge seen when Raw debuted on Netflix. The views for the premiere episode on January 6, 2025, peaked at 5.9 million. Since then, the show's numbers have steadily declined, averaging around 3.35 million views per week, with the latest figures indicating Raw's global viewership has plummeted by 56% since its launch on the streaming platform.
The February 24 episode also accumulated 5.5 million total viewing hours, showcasing the continued, albeit dwindling, engagement with the content. This show was particularly significant as it served as the go-home episode for WWE Elimination Chamber, featuring key matches and major storylines leading up to the event.
Within this episode, viewers were treated to high-profile matches, including the defense of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship by Bianca Belair and Naomi against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, as well as action featuring other wrestlers like CM Punk and Logan Paul. The competitive atmosphere was palpable, though it did not seem enough to maintain the viewership levels achieved earlier this season.
The top highlights included Jey Uso's confrontation segments, capturing 847K views; Seth Rollins' unexpected interruption of Cody Rhodes, which drew 732K views; and other moments like Logan Paul slapping CM Punk, which secured 673K views. Despite strong storytelling and character dynamics, the numbers suggest viewers may be experiencing fatigue or dissatisfaction with the direction of the narratives.
Commentators have noted the contrasting performance of Raw on Netflix compared to its historical performance on USA Network, often dominated by Nielsen ratings focused only on live and same-day audiences. This juxtaposition raises questions about how the transition to streaming has affected viewership habits and WWE's branding.
The preliminary insights from this week lead analysts to speculate whether upcoming episodes could see improved numbers as pressure builds around the latest twists and turns, particularly with John Cena's heel turn to join forces with The Rock against Cody Rhodes post-Elimination Chamber. Although Cena, Rock, and Rhodes were absent from this latest episode, the story's advancement generated significant buzz among the audience, which is expected to thrive on the anticipation of their future appearances and conflicts.
WWE's partnership with Netflix is structured to last for up to ten years, but there are provisions included for Netflix to withdraw after five—raising stakes for the entire franchise. Predictions abound as the wrestling promotion navigates its streaming success amid fluctuated viewership. While the current numbers are alarming, the company may still recuperate its standing against the competitive backdrop of sports entertainment.
The wrestling organization has found itself grappling with these viewing figures and will need to ratchet up its production quality and storytelling to cater to fan expectations continuously. The incident of the falling ratings was likely exacerbated by the inflated numbers experienced during the show's peak episodes, driving home the realization of necessity for sustained engagement through creativity and promotion.
Fans of wrestling and media analysts alike will be keeping close tabs on any shifts following this decline, particularly with the anticipation of what’s next following Elimination Chamber and whether or not WWE Raw can turn around its slipping ratings. Only time and upcoming weeks will reveal the programming's resilience as it tackles challenges within this new digital frontier.