SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Warning: This take contains minor spoilers for episode 1 of WWE Unreal on Netflix.
WWE Unreal has been released on Netflix today. The series features five episodes that each range around 50 minutes long. The goal of the series is to peel back the curtain and give fans an inside perspective of WWE behind the scenes. The talent featured during the series will include John Cena, COdy Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, C.M. Punk, Jey Uso, Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green, Charlotte Flair, and Xavier Woods.
The director of the series, Chris Weaver, who is also a senior producer with NFL Films revealed a major goal of the show during an interview with the Miami Herald. “I know it’s been a polarizing discussion in the wrestling realm, but the next fan coming in is what we’re after. Bringing in new fans,” said Weaver.
Having watched the first episode of WWE Unreal, it seems the show suffers from an identity crisis. The show reveals some interesting footage of things that go on behind the scenes in WWE, but at the same time, it also serves as a brief overview of the major players and their roles in WWE and ends up doing neither thing particularly well.
There’s been a lot of news items coming out today from those that have watched most of the series, which I have not watched yet, which is promising in terms of the series offering up some interesting behind the scenes items that people did not previously know about.
The first episode is mostly about the debut of Raw on Netflix in January and all four episodes cover the time period from Raw’s debut on Netflix through WrestleMania 41 in April. Triple H narrates the footage being shown and as he is joined by other members of WWE’s creative team in discussing how the creative process works, but nothing really interesting is revealed.
A graphic of four calendars is shown on screen at one point that hilariously only features Monday’s and Friday’s marked off as Raw and Smackdown respectively. It also shows the dates and has graphics for the various PLE that are scheduled to take place building up to WrestleMania. This certainly will give new fans an easy way to adjust their schedules.
Punk’s return to WWE and subsequent feud with Seth Rollins is covered, but the show barely digs below the surface in terms of covering Punk’s departure from WWE and the circumstances surrounding his return. It also doesn’t mention his time in AEW at all where he worked as a main event talent for WWE’s top competitor. The show does a good job of catching people up on the Rollins vs. Punk feud ahead of their match on the Raw debut on Netflix.
There’s a brief look at Triple H in the writing room and there’s some interesting hints at Cody Rhodes’s involvement (or lack thereof) on the debut episode of Raw on Netflix and the creative team led by Triple H trying to find a way to make him a major part of the show, which they ultimately fail to do. Triple H gives a very corporate answer about why less of Cody on TV is more, as he says he wants to provide some scarcity to his presence so that it is special when he does appear.
The most interesting part of the episode is when they break down how the gorilla position works. It is really interesting to see the producers and agents work backstage to edit the debut episode of Netflix on Raw in real time and how they deal with issues that come up such as running long on time. The fly on the wall camera in this setting is effective.
This show is hardly like Hard Knocks in terms of anything really interesting being shown behind the scenes. There’s no conflicts shown between Triple H and the creative team. They all seem to get along fine when they’re shown in the writing room together. There’s also no tension shown between wrestlers shown behind the scenes either.
The first episode of WWE Unreal is somewhat of a disappointment in terms of content, but I’m hoping the rest of the season will peel the curtain back more and show fans how WWE operates behind the scenes without it being so sanitized by the WWE corporate machine. There’s definitely some hope moving forward with several newsworthy moments being posted as news stories from other episodes of the series on various wrestling outlets today from, so I’m cautiously optimistic that WWE Unreal can get better moving forward, but I have my doubts we’ll get an accurate accounting of what went on during the road to WrestleMania, especially when it comes to the involvement of The Rock creatively.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.
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