Netflix Exec Talks WWE Blood & Cursing Amid Censorship Questions
Ojas Kulkarni, Wed, September 9, 2026 at 2:48 PM UTC · 3 min read
Netflix executive Gabe Spitzer has addressed WWE RAW censorship. Spitzer discussed recent issues involving blood and profanity. The discussion comes after several recent censorship incidents.
Last week, Netflix blurred The Usos’ bloody faces and also censored Jacob Fatu’s use of profanity. The changes have frustrated some WWE fans online. Some fans believe Netflix has become too restrictive.
Netflix Executive on Blood and Cursing Standards
Spitzer, Netflix’s Vice President of Global Live Sports and Entertainment, recently spoke with Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media podcast.
"We’re almost two years in and this was our first big live sports entertainment deal. I’ve been a fan for a long time. Great partners over there with people like Paul Levesque, Lee Fitting, and Nick Khan."
"They’ve been great partners. We’re thrilled with the results so far. We knew in the US, with something like Raw, having that every week, there was going to be that passionate and loyal fanbase that was going to show up. They have come in expected ways over to Netflix. It ticked every metric we hoped for on the US side."
Spitzer said Netflix expected strong American interest in Raw. However, international growth has surprised the company positively.
"The place where we’ve been surprised, in a good way, that will continue to grow is outside of the US. That’s really where we see the potential and continue to grow this partnership. In the US, we have Raw only; outside of the US, in most countries around the world, we’re the home for all of WWE."
"It’s been cool to see as different countries have come online; Italy came online this past year, and they did a big PLE in Italy. They’re working with us and saying, ‘What are the countries you want to continue to grow and how can we boost that viewership?’ They’re going back to Australia; they’ve been to Europe; they’re going to Mexico for a big Raw. That’s been the cool evolution of the partnership. Beyond the loyal and passionate viewers—and there are a lot of them—to see how we can bring new fans around the world into the WWE experience."
