Disruptive commercial breaks

Netflix is a business. WWE is a business. We all know these facts to be true. For the most part, these truths didn’t disrupt the viewing experience of Monday Night Raw outside of the ridiculous all-black ring tattooed with brand logos from entities like Fortnite, Hogan’s Real American Beer, Snickers, Cricket Wireless, and Netflix. It became a major issue, however, when the advertisements began to cut into the action.

During an intense exchange between Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Title, the fight went from Ripley power-bombing Morgan on a table outside of the ring to a commercial for Subway sandwiches, and when it returned to the action, Ripley was being pummeled by Morgan in the ring. This is a reality for the 70 million subscribers of Netflix’s ad tier, and will continue to be one for the foreseeable future of WWE events on the streamer. Let’s just hope Hulk Hogan hawking his beer doesn’t pop up right as John Cena is about to break Ric Flair’s WWE championship record.