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But a skeptical Thurston asked for evidence to prove that, in a pointed back and forth during the hearing.

Thurston then asked the basis for that finding.

“I’m bound by the evidence that I have,” Thurston concluded at the end of arguments.

The Netflix/WWE deal reflects changes in viewing habits, and also speaks to WWE's eagerness to be promoted by the "winner of the streaming wars", the Wrestlenomics website editor Brandon Thurston tells the BBC.

However, Thurston's research suggests that Raw and Smackdown viewership has since levelled off to numbers seen on USA.