WWE furthered its mainstream appeal by sealing an extremely lucrative contract with streaming giant Netflix, but the latest development has not please some of their biggest stars.
The company debuted on Netflix in January, with WWE Raw appearing on the streaming giant across the world.
WWE and Netflix have announced a new show, Unreal, which is set to delve deeper into the backstage happenings of the professional wrestling giant.
The sneak behind the curtain has not pleased fans and Rhea Ripley and CM Punk have been outspoken about the new show.
Rhea Ripley is wary about WWE Unreal
Fresh from Ripley’s incredible bout with Iyo Sky at Evolution, the star has shared her uncertainty about WWE Unreal.
Ripley was diplomatic about WWE Unreal, before addressing her real concerns with Netflix’s latest wrestling show.
“WWE, they’re always trying new things and bits and pieces to make it different and make it grow,” said the Australian on Progressive. “And this is just one of the next steps.”
The star revealed: “Do I think that everything should be shown? No… It was really strange while having the camera crew around.”
CM Punk thinks WWE should ‘protect the business’
Punk came under fire for his morals in WWE after agreeing to face John Cena at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, but he’s sticking to his traditions when it comes to WWE Unreal.
The Best in the World is incredibly suspicious of the show and believes giving away trade secrets is a mistake.
Speaking on the same podcast, he said: “It’s that my entire existence in my profession, professional wrestling, you’re taught and you’re brought up—and if you’re old school—you protect the business. It’s always been that way.”
“It’s just really strange for me, at least, because I’ve always been taught you protect the business,” revealed Punk.
“You don’t let the insiders in on all the inside information. It just—it goes against everything I think that was instilled in me when I first started.”
Punk and Ripley were both on press duties for the Netflix show, which is not a great look for the streaming company or WWE.