CM Punk Rules Out Full Frontal Nudity & C-Words On WWE Raw
CM Punk has commented on the limitations that will still exist in WWE land even when the company heads to Netflix.
The WWE Monday Night Raw move to Netflix is just three months away with the first episode set to take place on January 6th, 2025.
There is a lot of excitement about the move because Netflix is the biggest streaming giant in the world with an incredible 278 million subscribers worldwide, which means the audience for Raw could grow substantially.
Since Netflix shows run without commercials if you pay for it, fans are wondering about what commercials will look like and the show’s length. Those questions have yet to be fully answered but should be known in time.
Another perk of being on Netflix is that the WWE television product could be a bit more edgy. If you are a Netflix user then you know that many of their shows can feature swear words, nudity, more violence than regular television, and so on.
CM Punk started in WWE in 2006 when the company was still TV-14, but by mid-2008 they went PG so the rest of his run (until his 2014 departure) was in a PG environment. The company remained a PG product when Punk returned in November 2023 and there is no indication that it will change any time soon.
While speaking to “The Hot Tag w/ Brady” on 103.5 KISS FM, CM Punk admitted that he didn’t think there would be a significant change in the WWE product.
“I don’t think you’re going to see much difference than what it is now. We’re pushing boundaries a little bit here and there. I just kind of want to temper people’s expectations because I think there is a section of the fanbase like, ‘Oh, they’re going to Netflix. There is going to be full frontal (nudity) and swearing.’ That is absolutely not the case.”
“I think we’ve learned from the Attitude Era that you can only do that for so long before you try to outdo yourself every week and then it just becomes bad television. Every one and again you can push the envelope. I think what you’re going to see in difference of what the product is now is, I think there are still going to be commercials on Netflix, I’m not 100% sure about that, but we might be able to fudge it to where it’s not during matches.”
“You’re going to see maybe some play with the format of the show. I’m not 100% sure on all that. Content-wise, I don’t think you’re going to see, as much as Rhea Ripley wants to come out there and talk like an Aussie and drop a C-word here and there, I don’t think you’re going to see that.”
While Punk didn’t mention it there, the WWE product is still performed in front of a live audience, many of whom are children, so it’s understandable that the company won’t go over the top that much.
CM Punk Has His Eyes On Different WWE Superstars As Future Opponents
In the same interview, CM Punk spoke about wanting to face some new opponents once he’s done his feud with Drew McIntyre.
“There is the crop of people that I’ve never been in the ring with. Chad Gable is one that really sticks out. I like watching (Ludwig) Kaiser. I think he’s pretty incredible. Gunther, obviously. It’s a fair mix of people I have existed with in the past and people I haven’t even been on-screen with. I did some dark matches with Dominik and I think I could do some pretty great television with him. Him and Liv are spectacular.”
“Damian Priest is another one. I got a loose promise with him that me and him are going to main event the Garden. He was supposed to main event the Garden with a dark match, he had really bad flight trouble and didn’t make it. I owe him that. The answer is everybody.”
It’s a busy week ahead for CM Punk since he will be on Monday Night Raw with his Bad Blood opponent Drew McIntyre, he will referee the NXT Championship match between Ethan Page and Trick Williams on NXT Tuesday and then on Saturday at Bad Blood, Punk competes against McIntyre in a brutal Hell in a Cell match.