WWE’s expansion onto Netflix in Japan has reportedly gotten off to a disappointing start, with neither RAW nor SmackDown appearing in the country’s daily top 10 rankings during their first week on the streaming platform.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, neither show managed to enter Netflix’s Japanese top 10, even on its first day of availability.
WWE programming officially moved to Netflix in Japan on October 1, following the conclusion of the company’s previous arrangement with ABEMA.
Meltzer described the Japanese results as the most significant development from the week’s Netflix viewership figures, particularly given the country’s longstanding importance to professional wrestling.
Japan has historically ranked among the world’s largest wrestling markets and remains, by Meltzer’s assessment, no lower than fourth globally.
Despite RAW attracting substantial audiences across 58 countries on Netflix, Japan has yet to emerge as one of its stronger markets.
The October 5 episode of RAW, which featured Roman Reigns, experienced a 3.5% decline in first-day Netflix performance compared to the September 28 broadcast.
However, the show continued to perform strongly in several international markets.
RAW’s first-day Netflix rankings included:
United States: No. 1 (unchanged)
Australia: No. 2 (down from No. 1)
Canada: No. 2 (down from No. 1)
Mexico: No. 2 (unchanged)
New Zealand: No. 2 (unchanged)
United Kingdom: No. 2 (unchanged)
Italy: No. 4 (up from No. 7)
India: No. 5 (down from No. 3)
France: No. 6 (up from No. 7)
RAW also topped Netflix’s daily television rankings in the Bahamas, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago.
Combined with its No. 1 position in the United States, the show secured eight first-place finishes, doubling the four recorded the previous week.
Meanwhile, SmackDown’s international Netflix performance remained largely consistent with recent weeks.
The show appeared in the weekly top 10 in just two countries, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago, ranking sixth in both markets.
WWE’s slow start in Japan is particularly noteworthy considering Netflix’s established presence in the country.
The streaming service announced in 2024 that it had surpassed 10 million Japanese subscribers.
According to a Media Partners Asia report, Japan’s paid streaming market grew 15% in 2025, reaching approximately $7.2 billion in revenue and 67.3 million subscriptions.
Netflix led the market in revenue share at 22%, although Amazon Prime Video had the largest subscriber base with approximately 19.3 million subscribers. The free, advertising-supported TVer service accounted for the most viewing time.
Japanese viewing preferences may also provide context for WWE’s early performance.
The same report found that Japanese dramas reached 73% of streaming viewers in the country, while anime reached 50%. American programming reached 22%.
Netflix Japan’s October 9 top 10 featured several domestic titles, including Detective Conan, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Vivant.
Netflix also secured Japanese broadcasting rights to the 2026 World Baseball Classic, further highlighting the platform’s investment in content tailored to local audiences.
While WWE continues to achieve strong Netflix rankings in North America and several other international territories, its early results in Japan suggest that establishing a significant streaming audience in the country may take additional time.
The rankings reflect WWE’s initial performance following the October 1 launch and do not necessarily indicate how the programming will perform over the longer term.
