You might notice that Netflix has been getting into livestreaming a lot these days. There was the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight in November, followed by back-to-back NFL games and a Beyoncé halftime show in December. And on Monday, Netflix premiered its first live episode of “Raw,” the flagship show of World Wrestling Entertainment, pro wrestling’s biggest company.

The premiere, which was broadcast from the Intuit Dome outside Los Angeles, garnered a lot of hype. John Cena appeared, along with Travis Scott, who reportedly wrote the show’s new theme song. Some of WWE’s top stars — CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan — were all scheduled for matches. And Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson showed up fresh from his Golden Globes cameo.

That’s a lot for the show, which celebrated its 1,650th episode with the Netflix premiere.

Since 1993, “Monday Night Raw” (which has been called “Raw,” “Raw Is War” or “Raw SuperShow” over the years) has lived on the USA Network, where it showcased the biggest and brightest of professional wrestling. Military tanks, cage matches, beer trucks: You name it, the show had it. It was helmed by disgraced WWE co-founder Vince McMahon, and it included some of WWE’s sexually promiscuous, racially charged and otherwise derogatory moments, many of which have resurfaced in recent months amid legal strife and a documentary.

In January 2024, WWE and Netflix agreed on a deal reportedly worth over $5 billion to bring “Raw” over to the streaming service exclusively, leaving traditional television for the first time.

It’s fitting that this happened now, given that WWE’s style of professional wrestling has evolved into a more cinematic experience. The industry has moved past the hokey days of Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Today, younglings often celebrate WWE as “cinema,” and many see it more as sports entertainment with narrative arcs than men running around in tights. (Although, yes, that does still happen.) In many ways, WWE has never been more ready for its transition to Netflix, where millions of dollars worth of scripted content lives and breathes.

If you haven’t watched professional wrestling since the 1980s or ’90s, which is generally considered the not-quite-sport’s apex, then you’re probably confused about what you’ll see on Netflix. To help prepare you, here’s a guide to all things pro wrestling: how the matches work, what “kayfabe” means and why this form of scripted entertainment is worth billions:

The basics

WWE has three main shows right now: “Raw,” “SmackDown” (which moved from Fox back to USA Network last year) and “NXT” (which airs on the CW).

“Raw” is historically a two- to three-hour program that mixes wrestling matches with backstage and in-ring speeches (called “promos”) to tell a weekly episodic story about the wrestlers on the “Raw” roster. Think of it as watching “Monday Night Football,” but with behind-the-scenes access.

Writers, producers and creatives often revise the scripts, hatch plans and make real-time decisions for the entire show. Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque (who many might know as the wrestler Triple H) often has a hand in what happens in today’s WWE storylines.

From there, wrestlers have their matches. A winner is predetermined, often in service of a larger story or narrative. A win might help a wrestler grow their reputation, or it might fuel an ongoing storyline. Matches can be planned in advance and rehearsed, but wrestlers have admitted to making changes on the fly in service of a better crowd reaction. Rarely does a match decision ever change on the fly (though that has been known to happen).

It’s all in service of the story: When you see someone lose or win, there’s always a reason. Maybe the winner is receiving a “push,” meaning the creatives want that person to become a headliner, or maybe it’s part of a longer tale that the company plans to tell over the course of several weeks.

Wrestler gimmicks and theme songs

Wrestlers come to the ring with their own entrance music, and many work the crowd. The bad guys, called “heels,” will do whatever they can to make the crowd boo — like insult the local city or make fun of its sports teams. The good guys, called “baby faces” or “faces,” will try to hype the crowd up.

For example, the wrestler “Main Event” Jey USO started using the word “yeet” — a word seen across pop culture — as a catchphrase to excite the crowd. When he runs to the ring, the crowd will chant “yeet” and move their arms up and down. (This is different from the yeet dance move.) Fans might also yell it during the actual match to show support for USO.

How matches work

Matches generally last five to 20 minutes. The most common types are singles (one vs. one), tag-team (two vs. two) and triple-threat (one vs. one vs. one). Bouts end when a wrestler taps out from a submission move or is pinned to the mat for a three-count. (The crowd will always chant “one, two, three” during these moments, so feel free to chant along.)

Most matches end after wrestlers hit their “finishing moves,” which usually have nicknames (John Cena’s finisher, where he puts a wrestler on his shoulders, then slams him down, is called the “Attitude Adjustment,” for example) and often take place toward the ends of bouts.

The moves wrestlers perform in the ring are not completely real. For example, they’re not actually punching each other (though that, too, has been known to happen). There are often little tricks and sleight-of-hands that limit the physical impact of their moves. Still, wrestlers get really banged up in the ring. Concussions, broken feet, torn ACLs and other sports-related injuries are commonplace within the squared circle.

What’s real and what’s not?

Generally, wrestlers take on a persona or gimmick that dictates their on-screen decisions. They stay in character in the ring and while giving their speeches. The industry refers to this as “kayfabe”: the fake world of wrestling.

This is where the man Terry Bollea becomes superstar wrestler Hulk Hogan, or where wrestlers Kane (Glenn Jacobs) and the Undertaker (Mark Calaway) are brothers who were separated after the Undertaker burned down a funeral home and left Kane for dead … or something. Anything goes in kayfabe.

Longtime fans can spot the kayfabe of it all. When Rhea Ripley won the women’s world title at WrestleMania XL in April, many knew that it was because of her top-tier work ethic in the ring and because she resonates so well with the crowd, not because she physically beat the former champion to a pulp.

In recent years, kayfabe has become a little less obvious as WWE has looked to blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not. The most prominent examples of this include the Rock’s comeback to WWE this past spring, during which he was never clear about whether he was in-character for interviews, which made his answers hard to read.

Wrestling today is cinematic

The changing ratio of realism to kayfabe has a specific goal: to elevate the stories. And wrestling, more than before, is leaning into storytelling and world-building.

On WWE’s Netflix debut, for example, there was a “tribal combat” match between Roman Reigns and his cousin Solo Sikoa for the coveted Ula Fala, a traditional Samoan necklace that signifies social status. In the kayfabe storyline, Reigns held the Ula Fala for years as reigning world champion and leader of the Bloodline group of wrestlers. But once he was defeated, his cousin (both in kayfabe and real life) Sikoa stole the Ula Fala and the group from him, claiming to be the head of the Bloodline. They battled each other to see who really deserves the honor. Stories about the Bloodline are often centerpieces of the cinematic experience.

Tricks of the trade

Some extra pointers to keep in mind:

• If wrestlers leave the ring and the “10-count” begins, you can usually disregard it. Matches rarely end that way.

• When a referee is knocked down during a match, get excited. Some shenanigans are about to begin!

• If a star walks into the ring and starts speaking to the crowd with a microphone, you can bet that another wrestler will come out to confront them.

• Understanding the flow of the match helps a bunch! Get a feel for the momentum and the crowd’s reactions. Is the match dull and quiet? It’s unlikely to end. Is it lively and reaching a crescendo? The final three-count is coming!

• Remember, wrestling is basically a soap opera. Shows and matches will end with either a villain or a hero on top — or whatever will make you tune in next week.