Top 5 Wrestling News Stories Of The Week 12/02: WWE PLE Classics Moving To Netflix, WWE Forced To Scrap Bronson Reed Plans, Absent AEW Star Removed From Company Roster Page & More
Each and every week, the weird and wonderful world of professional wrestling never fails to captivate fans with a plethora of captivating stories that make their way into the news cycle.
Whether it’s shocking upsets, dramatic showdowns, or behind-the-scenes drama, the happenings within professional wrestling always keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Here are the Top Five Wrestling News Stories of the Week.
WWE PLE Classics Moving To Netflix
There is going to be classic WWE PLE content available for fans on Netflix in 2025.
The debut episode of WWE Monday Night Raw on Netflix is on January 6th. While that will be a historic night for the company, the January 3rd episode of SmackDown will air first on Netflix for international fans in the UK, Ireland, Canada, and elsewhere around the world.
There will be no more WWE Network as of January 2025. In the UK and Ireland, fans are getting WWE Network for free in December 2024 as a thank you for their loyalty to the service.
International wrestling fans have wondered what would happen to classic content that was a part of WWE Network such as past WWE PLE/PPV events, WCW shows, ECW, and other companies as well. It appears there is finally an answer for fans because searching for WWE content on Netflix reveals that there will be classic shows coming to Netflix starting in January 2025.
Fans in non-American countries can search Netflix for WWE shows like Evolution 2018 or No Mercy 1999 and can see that they will be available on Netflix starting January 1, 2025. A search for SummerSlam 2024 reveals that PLE will be available on Netflix on January 1st.
Some titles of past WWE PLE shows have different debut dates on Netflix with events like Stomping Grounds 2019 coming in February 2025.
It appears as though Netflix will likely have a soft launch of past WWE content starting January 1st and in the months that follow, they will likely post more WWE PLE/PPV content.
There’s no indication of whether fans will be able to access the archives of past WWE TV shows like Raw, Smackdown & NXT, or other company TV shows like WCW Monday Nitro.
In the United States, Raw will be on Netflix starting in January 2025, but SmackDown will remain on USA Network while Peacock will air PLE shows until their contract expires in 2026. At that point, WWE will likely negotiate with Peacock, Netflix, and other interested companies about a new deal.
WWE Forced To Scrap Bronson Reed Plans
At Survivor Series, The OG Bloodline teamed with CM Punk to defeat Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline in WarGames. Solo Sikoa looked to have found the upper hand as he recruited Big Bronson Reed as his fifth man before Paul Heyman returned to WWE with CM Punk to join Roman Reigns’ squad.
During WarGames, Bronson Reed looked to put Roman Reigns out of action by delivering a massive Tsunami from the top of the cage to a prone Reigns who was laid out on a table. However, CM Punk put his issues with the OTC to the side and saved Reigns from disaster as Reed crashed and burned.
Roman Reigns ended up pinning Solo Sikoa for the win but for Sikoa’s squad, it was more than just a loss they’ve been left to deal with.
Bronson Reed faces surgery for an apparent broken ankle due to his disastrous fall and it seems he’ll be out of action for quite some time.
Now PWInsider has revealed what WWE’s plans were for Reed in the coming weeks that they’ve been forced to scrap. Reed was set to be part of Steel Cage matches with Seth Rollins on the upcoming WWE holiday tour but those plans have now been abandoned due to Reed’s injury.
Seth Rollins brawled with CM Punk on Raw as the issues between those two men look set to explode on the road to WrestleMania.
WWE Launching New “LFG” Competition Series On A&E
The WWE partnership with A&E will continue. It was announced by WWE and AEW that a new competition series called “WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats)” will feature in-ring matches and training of young talent looking to earn a WWE contract.
There are several big names associated with WWE LFG including WWE Executives Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels. Additionally, Hall of Famers The Undertaker, Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley and WWE legend Mickie James will be weekly regular coaches on the show.
More details have been revealed in the press release from WWE:
“WWE LFG” will offer viewers an inside look at the rigorous training process, featuring iconic WWE Legends such as Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels and weekly regular coaches Undertaker, Booker T, Mickie James and Bubba Ray Dudley as they mentor a new generation in weekly matches on their quest to become the next WWE Superstars. Executive producers for WWE are Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Lee Fitting, Ben Houser, Shawn Michaels and Jeremy Borash. Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Abramson serve as Executive producers for A&E.
“Literally filled with blood, sweat, and tears, there’s never been a series that combines in-ring action, behind-the-scenes reality, high-stakes drama, and some of WWE’s greatest icons all in one package. From total unknowns to legends, ‘LFG’ will give viewers a raw, ground-up, 360-degree view of what it truly takes to make it in the WWE,” said Rob Sharenow, President of Programming, A+E Networks. “Our collaboration with WWE has clearly struck a chord with audiences, and we’re excited to continue producing premium content that resonates with a diverse viewership.”
“A&E has proved to be an excellent home for WWE content, and we’re excited to partner with their fantastic team on these new show concepts and the latest season of WWE Rivals,” said WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Absent AEW Star Removed From Company Roster Page
A former World Tag Team and World Trios Champion has left AEW.
After months of uncertainty, it was reported on December 1st that Penta El Zero Miedo was now a free agent. The star, and his brother and tag team partner Rey Fenix, have been heavily linked with a move to WWE, but the path to the sports entertainment giant has been anything but straightforward.
Neither Penta nor Fenix have wrestled for AEW since July, notably, just before the pair reportedly made it clear they wanted to leave.
Following the reported expiry of his contract, Penta has now been removed from the company roster page on AEW.com confirming his departure. Fenix is still listed.
Following the extensive speculation around his future, Rey Fenix hit back at those starting the rumours, telling fans to be patient. The star stated that “professionalism is first and foremost” before adding there are things that should “always be respected.”
The comments came after it was reported Tony Khan had no plans to use Fenix despite adding time to his contract. His current deal runs well into 2025.
The Lucha Brothers have been with AEW since February 2019. During their time with the company, the pair won the World Tag Team Titles, and the World Trios Titles alongside PAC. Fenix also claimed the International Title in September 2023.
WWE Forced To Change Original Plans For New Day Split
WWE had slightly different plans for The New Day.
On what should have been a night of celebration, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston blew apart The New Day on the December 2nd edition of Raw.
Instead of celebrating ten years as a group with the returning Big E, Woods and Kingston decided it was time to remove their friend from the equation.
The pair claimed Big E had turned his back on them since getting injured, saying that Steve Austin and Kurt Angle returned after breaking their necks so why hadn’t he? Woods told him to stop lying to himself and his fans, and just admit he’d never be cleared to return.
Despite the hostility, Big E tried to embrace the duo, but they were having none of it, leaving him to head backstage alone.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer praised the segment on Raw before revealing original plans called for things to play out differently. Meltzer explained that creative was forced into making some changes after Odyssey Jones was fired in September.
We were told this had been planned for months. When Odyssey Jones came in, they were going to tease issues with them not getting along but it would end up with Kingston & Woods going heel by choosing Jones and having him publicly replace E. But then Jones got fired and the whole thing was put on hold. It was smart to do it this way.
Odyssey Jones was fired by WWE in early September after allegations of domestic abuse emerged online. Although there was no official comment from the company, Jones was removed from television with all creative plans dropped.
Jones signed with WWE in 2019, but despite being called up to the main roster in 2023 he was forced to wait until August 2024 to make an impact when he briefly teamed with The New Day.