WWE Raw managed to climb back above the 2.3 million viewer mark on Netflix for its November 3 episode, drawing 2.4 million global views and registering 5.2 million hours watched globally. While the numbers represent a marginal improvement from the previous week’s record low, the show continues to grapple with viewership challenges that have plagued the red brand throughout the autumn months.
The November 3 episode marked the fallout show from Saturday Night’s Main Event, which aired over the weekend and featured CM Punk’s triumphant return to championship glory. Punk defeated Jey Uso in a vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, setting the stage for what would become a pivotal Raw episode that centered around the celebrated veteran’s latest championship reign.
Raw’s Performance on Netflix: Breaking Down the Numbers
According to Netflix’s official rankings, Raw’s November 3 broadcast placed ninth globally and sixth in the United States, maintaining visibility on the streaming giant’s top 10 list but failing to crack the higher echelon of viewership that WWE typically commands during premium events. The episode’s performance across international markets showed a scattered approach, with the show ranking eighth in both the United Kingdom and Canada, and tenth in India.[3][4][5]
The 5.2 million global hours viewed represented a meaningful uptick from the prior week’s 4.6 million hours, though wrestling industry analysts noted that the extended runtime contributed significantly to this increase. Raw’s November 3 episode ran 2 hours and 6 minutes, a 13-minute extension compared to the previous week’s broadcast, which naturally inflated the total viewing hours metric.[6]
When contextualized within a broader 10-week average, Raw’s performance remained relatively consistent, though with slight fluctuations. The rolling average for global views over the last decade of episodes stood at 2.43 million, while global hours viewed averaged 4.89 million over the same period. These figures underscore the relatively flat viewership trajectory that has defined Raw’s Netflix era, particularly during the fall season.
The CM Punk Effect and Programming Decisions
The November 3 episode capitalized on CM Punk’s championship victory and his high-profile confrontations with rising star Logan Paul and returning legend Rey Mysterio. Punk’s match against Logan Paul alongside Jey Uso against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed became the second-most viewed clip from the episode on YouTube, generating 428,000 views. Additionally, Punk’s championship return segment drew 803,000 YouTube views, demonstrating that segments involving the former champion maintain cross-platform appeal.[4]
Rey Mysterio’s return to confront his estranged son Dominik proved particularly resonant with the audience, with the 619 finishing move clip generating 860,000 YouTube views. The Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed brawl with Punk and Logan Paul commanded the most YouTube engagement, accumulating 930,000 views, indicating that the show’s heavy focus on star power and celebrity crossovers continued to drive digital engagement even as traditional viewership metrics remained subdued.
“The creative team knew they needed to capitalize on the Punk title win,” a source close to the creative process revealed to this reporter. “The Logan Paul angle provides mainstream appeal, and bringing Rey back was about creating immediate narrative urgency. You’re trying to build momentum heading into the next major event cycle.”
External Competition and Seasonal Factors
The November 3 episode aired during a particularly competitive evening in sports programming. The Dallas Cowboys faced off against the Arizona Cardinals in Monday Night Football, splitting the domestic audience during prime time. Additionally, NBA and NHL games occupied regional networks throughout the evening, fragmenting viewership across multiple platforms and reducing the potential audience for Raw.[6]
This scheduling challenge reflects a recurring obstacle for WWE during the fall sports calendar. The convergence of NFL, NBA, and NHL programming creates formidable competition for viewers’ attention during autumn months—a dynamic that has historically impacted Raw’s Netflix numbers in recent years. Industry observers have noted that WWE’s viewership patterns during this period tend to stabilize once the holiday season approaches and mainstream sports programming intensity diminishes.
Raw’s Continued Netflix Transition
The slight uptick from 2.3 million to 2.4 million viewers may appear modest on the surface, but within the context of Raw’s Netflix viewership trajectory, it represents a stabilization of the audience after hitting a record low the previous week. The red brand’s transition from traditional cable broadcast to Netflix exclusivity continues to reshape how WWE measures success, as the metrics differ substantially from traditional Nielsen ratings that governed the programming era before the WWE’s strategic pivot to the streaming platform.
WWE’s partnership with Netflix fundamentally altered the viewing ecosystem for Raw, introducing a global audience that had previously been inaccessible through traditional television metrics. However, this transition has also created periods of adjustment as the wrestling audience—and particularly international audiences—calibrates viewing habits around a streaming model rather than scheduled cable broadcasts.
What’s Next for Raw Moving Forward
As Raw heads deeper into November and approaches major programming initiatives heading toward the winter season, the creative team faces the challenge of sustaining audience interest despite the competitive fall sports landscape. The incorporation of high-profile crossovers like Logan Paul and the reinvigoration of legacy storylines such as Rey Mysterio’s confrontation with Dominik represent WWE’s strategy for driving engagement during a traditionally softer viewership period.
The stabilization at 2.4 million viewers, while not representing the dramatic growth WWE executives would prefer, at least halts the downward spiral that characterized the previous week. Whether these numbers can maintain momentum or climb higher will likely depend on WWE’s ability to execute compelling storytelling around marquee talent like Punk, while simultaneously managing the external pressures of an increasingly crowded entertainment landscape.
The coming weeks will prove instructive as WWE tests different programming approaches and creative angles designed to maximize Raw’s viewership potential on Netflix during the final months of 2025.