Fans lapped up the debut episode of Raw on Netflix but die-hard WWE supporters had one major issue from the show.
WWE have signed a monumental $5 billion deal with the streaming giants for their flagship Monday Night Raw show to be aired live to millions around the world with no added cost to their Netflix subscription.
It's a game-changing deal and it all kicked off in front of a sold-out crowd at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Monday night. The stacked episode featured huge bouts between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa, CM Punk and Seth Rollins, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley, as well as appearances from John Cena, Hulk Hogan and Logan Paul.
After chief content officer Triple H kicked off the new era, TKO board member and WWE legend The Rock made his entrance to the ring and spoke about the exciting new period for WWE on Netflix.
He would later present the Ula Fala - an important necklace in Samoan history - to cousin Reigns after he knocked off Sikoa in a superb opening bout to reclaim his Tribal Chief title.
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But The Rock, carrying the People's Championship given to him by Muhammad Ali's widow, irked WWE's regular viewers as did not adopt the villainous 'Final Boss' persona displayed last year in the build-up to WrestleMania 40.
Rock was beating up Cody Rhodes all over arenas and doing his best to stop the 'American Nightmare' from becoming WWE champion.
Yet on Raw it was all pleasant between the two, and with his daughters and mother in attendance, the Moana star played a very corporate role which seemed to cater to the casual audience - but annoyed the die-hards.
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One wrote: "Why is he just being The Rock again, where is my The Final Boss."
A second said: "That was The Rock, but the streets NEED The Final Boss! WAKE TF UP."
A third agreed: "The Rock being a babyface corporate merchant right now! NO, WE NEED THE FINAL BOSS THE ROCK."
A fourth stated: "Cody hugging Rock like we ain't forget about the ass whoopings he got from the Final Boss."
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A final person made the point: "This show was for the casuals. They saw Dwayne Johnson The Rock. Hopefully we see The Final Boss and the High Chief soon."
The Rock lands more shares in TKO
The Rock became a member of the TKO board of directors around a year ago in a move which was to "reflect TKO's commitment to delivering long-term value and strong performance for shareholders through strategic growth initiatives across both UFC and WWE."
As per an SEC filing, he has now acquired 96,557 Class A shares of TKO stock, bringing his total to 289,673. The value of his latest shares is believed to be $14 million - with the total worth around $41 million.
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As part of the arrangement, the People's Champion also received full rights to 'The Rock' name.
Topics: WWE
Josh Lawless