WWE has a lot of history, and they need somewhere to put it all. After all, everything was recorded and fans want the ability to search the archives. With ongoing media rights deals, the landing pad for all that content is another question.
The future of WWEs massive content library is getting harder to track. During a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer recently broke down how WWEs deals with Netflix and ESPN are reshaping where fans will actually be able to watch wrestling history.
The biggest takeaway is timing. Netflix only has access to WWE pay-per-views through September 2024. After that point, any new pay-per-view content will air on ESPN and stay there.
Dave Meltzer explained that Netflixs current access is limited and temporary, while ESPNs role expands after September.
That everything else includes a lot of material fans have spent years tracking down. Meltzer noted that territory footage like AWA, WCW, and other legacy libraries are slowly disappearing from paid platforms.
There is still a chance WWE could sell parts of the archive separately, but interest may be limited. At this point, we will have to wait and see.
The situation gets even more tangled when it comes to weekly TV libraries. Dave Meltzer outlined how Raw, SmackDown, and NXT are all split across different homes.
For fans, the result is a constant struggle to figure out which service has what show. Pay-per-views move to ESPN. Older content drifts to YouTube. SmackDown stays with Peacock. NXTs archive becomes a question mark. We will keep our fingers crossed that things dont get more complicated.
The WWE library still has value. Its just no longer in one place. Netflix will house a lot of those older shows and pay-per-views, but only time will tell where WWEs archives will be in another 10 years.
Whats your take on WWEs media rights deals? Do you miss the WWE Netflix for $9.99 a month? Let us know what you think in the comments section!
