Thousands of wrestling fans have headed to London’s O2 arena to watch superstar John Cena face off against rival Cody Rhodes for WWE’s flagship Raw broadcast.
Cena shocked fans when he returned to the ring earlier this year and ditched his good-guy image to turn heel – wrestling slang for “villain”.
The headline-grabbing turn happened just after WWE began airing all of its output on Netflix in a deal worth more than $5bn (£4bn), and ratings have soared since.
WWE’s chief content officer Paul Levesque, better known to fans as Triple H, says the streamer has “no input” on the creative direction of the shows.
“We create the superstars, we create the storylines. We do all of that and the world watches,” he tells BBC Newsbeat.
Netflix only decides “how long the show is, when we go off air, or what time we’re on air”, just like other live events, he says.
“As far as the content of the shows… someone doesn’t tell the NFL how football’s played. They distribute our product,” he says.
Raw – the company’s flagship brand – was shown on broadcast TV around the world for 31 years and was pro-wrestling’s most popular show.
Since airing on Netflix for the first time in January, it has been a top 10 show for nine out of ten weeks in the UK.
The deal also entitles Netflix subscribers outside the US being to watch all weekly shows such as SmackDown, NXT and live events including pay-per-view specials such as SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.
The partnership, though, faces possibly its biggest test with showcase event WrestleMania – often WWE’s most-watched event.
Cena has become one of WWE’s most popular and profitable stars, now building a brand of his own with many successful Hollywood films.
Triple H says Cena decided to retire after realising: “Physically, I can’t do this any more”.
“He was wonderful enough to say ‘I want to have a year-long retirement run’ and go see everyone and thank them.
“What’s the biggest way we can do that? To explore avenues we haven’t gone down.
“So, 20 years later – John, who’s the ultimate good guy and always does the right thing – becomes a bad guy.”
Cena’s return to the ring is part of a “farewell tour” – which has become a selling point for Wrestlemania next month.
Newsbeat didn’t see John Cena before WWE Raw’s main event, but did get time to speak to Cody Rhodes.
He’s had a front-row seat to his rival turning from “the nicest guy on the planet” into, well, “not the nicest guy on the planet”.
He’s also due to square off with Cena at Wrestlemania next month.
“I am not wrestling John Cena. John Cena’s wrestling me,” Cody tells us.
WWE also held a tryouts event in London over the weekend for aspiring stars to show off their skills in front of the company.
Speaking to Newsbeat, 23-year-old Hannah Foster say Netflix, with 283 million subscribers, could get more people interested in professional wrestling.
That’s in addition to team-ups with big apps such as Clash of Clans, which is launching a collaboration featuring top stars in the run-up to Wrestlemania.
Cody says up-and-coming wrestlers need to remember that getting to the top of the tree takes a lot of work.
“If you’re a young wrestler, the biggest thing you need to do is look at what matches and rivalries sell tickets,” he says.
“WWE is currently able to be where it’s at because of certain wrestlers and matches that pay for the match.
That’s something missing from the youth – understanding that.”
He says veteran stars such as Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio are good examples of the work ethic.
“They’ll never lead you the wrong way,” he says.
Hannah from Luton, decided to give wrestling a go even though she hadn’t really watched a full match before.
She says she wants her in-ring persona to be one of a fearless woman.
“I want to show girls that they can be strong and powerful,” she says.
“Before I thought this was more of a men’s sport. I want to inspire that young generation as I wasn’t able to see that growing up.
“It doesn’t matter about the men, the women are definitely tougher.”
Credit: BBC
