{"id":201913,"date":"2025-07-29T17:15:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T22:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=201913"},"modified":"2025-07-30T12:46:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T17:46:40","slug":"radicans-take-wwe-unreal-on-netflix-tries-to-take-fans-behind-the-curtain-but-fails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/07\/29\/radicans-take-wwe-unreal-on-netflix-tries-to-take-fans-behind-the-curtain-but-fails\/","title":{"rendered":"RADICAN&#8217;S TAKE: WWE Unreal on Netflix attempts to take fans behind the curtain, but fails in debut episode"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-411676105\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>Warning: This take contains minor spoilers for episode 1 of WWE Unreal on Netflix.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81928921\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WWE Unreal<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=12&amp;v=23hOwsnWr1Y&amp;embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.f4wonline.com%2F&amp;source_ve_path=Mjg2NjQsMzY4NDIsMjg2NjY&amp;themeRefresh=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a> with the Miami Herald. \u201cI know it\u2019s been a polarizing discussion in the wrestling realm, but the next fan coming in is what we\u2019re after. Bringing in new fans,\u201d said Weaver.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-4.01.36\u202fPM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-184790 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-4.01.36\u202fPM-259x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"155\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-4.01.36\u202fPM-259x300.png 259w, https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-4.01.36\u202fPM.png 276w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 155px) 100vw, 155px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>The first episode is mostly about the debut of Raw on Netflix in January and all four episodes cover the time period from Raw\u2019s 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\u2019s creative team in discussing how the creative process works, but nothing really interesting is revealed.<\/p>\n<p>A graphic of four calendars is shown on screen at one point that hilariously only features Monday\u2019s and Friday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Punk\u2019s return to WWE and subsequent feud with Seth Rollins is covered, but the show barely digs below the surface in terms of covering Punk\u2019s departure from WWE and the circumstances surrounding his return. It also doesn\u2019t mention his time in AEW at all where he worked as a main event talent for WWE\u2019s 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.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3561643907\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s a brief look at Triple H in the writing room and there\u2019s some interesting hints at Cody Rhodes\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>This show is hardly like Hard Knocks in terms of anything really interesting being shown behind the scenes. There\u2019s no conflicts shown between Triple H and the creative team. They all seem to get along fine when they\u2019re shown in the writing room together. There\u2019s also no tension shown between wrestlers shown behind the scenes either.<\/p>\n<p>The first episode of WWE Unreal is somewhat of a disappointment in terms of content, but I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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\u2019m cautiously optimistic that WWE Unreal can get better moving forward, but I have my doubts we\u2019ll get an accurate accounting of what went on during the road to WrestleMania, especially when it comes to the involvement of The Rock creatively.<\/p>\n<p><em>Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3719564284\"><div id=\"pwtor-1260250656\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Warning: This take contains minor spoilers for episode 1 of WWE Unreal on Netflix.\u00a0 WWE Unreal has been released on Netflix today. The series features five episodes that each range around 50 minutes long. The <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/07\/29\/radicans-take-wwe-unreal-on-netflix-tries-to-take-fans-behind-the-curtain-but-fails\/\" title=\"RADICAN&#8217;S TAKE: WWE Unreal on Netflix attempts to take fans behind the curtain, but fails in debut episode\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":201914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,59,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-take_radican","category-opinion_stafftakes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2025\/07\/IMG_0513.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201913"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201956,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201913\/revisions\/201956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}