WWE subjected to major UK ban 

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It was decided by Prime Minister Kier Starmer that social media apps which include TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The changes will go live in the Spring of 2027 and is bad news for both WWE and AEW.

It means that no children under the age of 16 in the UK will be able to access wrestling shows on YouTube so Saturday Night’s Main Event will be the main thing effected for fans of the Stamford based promotion.

Netflix has not been made subject to the ban which means that younger fans would still be able to watch the shows live on the app, but replays or clips on X and Facebook would not be accessible.

What does this mean for WWE?

WWE fans are often younger than 16 and grow up watching the business, which means that the company may find a way to move YouTube based shows so that they are fully accessible.

At present, all kick-off shows and Countdown events ahead of Premium Live Events are on YouTube which could now be changed in line with new legislation.

AEW could be looking to make some changes of their own, given that much of their fanbase is from the United Kingdom and they present a Wembley show annually.

In the UK this move wasn’t taken lightly and in a similar way to Australia, this was to protect children while they’re online.

Content which is adult restricted is often more accessible online which is why restrictions have been made about children accessing this on social media.

As noted, these changes will come into action at the beginning of 2027, so the wrestling business has some time to make the changes, which could see them move a lot of their content over to Netflix instead, which hasn’t been mentioned as part of the new laws.