The streaming giant, Netflix, has announced it has secured the exclusive rights to stream one of America’s most popular and celebrated sporting events, WWE, in a 10-year deal worth upwards of $5 billion USD (~$7.6 billion AUD)… and it’s come outta nowhere.

The days of Dave Batista, Steve Austin and the people’s champ Dwayne Johnson may be long gone, but the enduring star power of America’s biggest wrestling promotion has yet to fade. It’s why Netflix has staked a $5 billion USD (~$7.6 billion AUD) bet for the exclusive streaming rights for the next decade to secure another live sporting event for its growing portfolio.

17.5 million viewers tune in to watch the explosive action inside the WWE ring every week in the U.S., whilst WWE boasts more than 1 billion followers across its social media platforms. Since launching the first event more than 70 years, ago the WWE has evolved into the world’s biggest pro wrestling promotion, with over 1700 episodes aired.

RELATED: Netflix Is Taking Over Live Sports So What Could That Mean For Formula 1?

Although the likes of Stone Cold, The Rock and The Undertaker may have hung up their lycra for the last time, new heroes such as Logan Paul and Australia’s Grayson Weller have emerged onto the scene, proving WWE is still one of the hottest tickets in town.

Netflix’s acquisition of the sport represents an inverse to the tried and tested Formula 1: Drive to Survive script that brought resounding success, not only to F1 but to Netflix’s reputation as the number one streaming giant for sport.

With WWE, Netflix will hope to continue in the same vein as Break Point and Full Swing and of course, Drive to Survive, but will instead look to take a sport that’s so inherently American and loved in every state, and attempt to promote it worldwide.

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Bela Bajaria, chief content officer at Netflix. “By combining our reach, recommendations and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members.”

RELATED: The Netflix Cup Tees Off Before Las Vegas Grand Prix… And It’s Pure Chaos

Netflix announced record numbers of 260 million subscribers worldwide mere hours after closing the deal to secure the rights to WWE, and Netflix will expect to see that number increase with the introduction of another live sport.

WWE’s flagship weekly program, RAW is set to air exclusively on Netflix in the U.S., with plans to roll it out to other countries including Britain from January 2025. It’s suggested that Australia will have access to WWE when the programming is “added over time”, the company said in a statement with TKO Group, the owner of WWE.