WWE fans in Japan will have a new place to watch from October 1, with Netflix officially confirmed as the company’s next broadcast home in the country.

The move will follow the end of WWE’s agreement with Abema in late September. Abema has carried Raw, SmackDown, NXT and WWE premium live events since 2023.

Further details about the Netflix Japan launch are expected soon. The announcement graphic features stars from across WWE’s three main brands, including Roman Reigns, IYO SKY, Giulia, Shinsuke Nakamura, Naraku and Kendal Grey.

The switch has been anticipated since May, when news of NJPW’s sale from Bushiroad to TV Asahi and CyberAgent included word that WWE programming would leave Abema for Netflix before the end of 2026.

CyberAgent, Abema’s parent company, also owns Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT Pro Wrestling and Tokyo Joshi Pro through its CyberFight subsidiary.

For Netflix, the agreement brings another major market into its growing WWE partnership. WWE President Nick Khan recently explained on The Varsity podcast that the streaming service had expressed interest in securing international rights long before their deal came together.

Khan recalled a conversation involving Netflix executive Brandon Riegg and Stephanie McMahon:

“There’s an executive there named Brandon Riegg, who when I was in my prior profession [as an agent] and I had the good fortune of representing WWE, this is pre-COVID, you know, seven, eight years ago, told myself and Stephanie McMahon at the time, ‘Hey, I’m not saying we’d ever get into live, but if we did, you should probably line up your international rights at WWE.’ Because Netflix is not in the business of, ‘Hey, guess what? Big news. We’re announcing a deal with WWE in two small countries.’ They wanted global rights. So we did that, WWE did that. And boom, the Netflix deal was born. So far, so great.”

Japan was one of the biggest markets still available as WWE and Netflix worked to expand their international reach. With a start date now confirmed, fans can expect more information about the service in the coming weeks.