Varying the End of Raw Brings Added Excitement to WWE Television

Rarely has an episode of WWE Raw shown so much promise. 

For the first time since the introduction of the three-hour format, the WWE created a show that was full of intrigue. This has had the effect of emphasizing the midcard, especially the tag team division, and so made those workers as integral to the overall entertainment as the usual cluster of main-event names. 

The end result was a joyful program that sparked the imagination and left the viewer wanting to know what happens next.  

Yet the show initially appeared to be coming to a disappointingly generic finish with one wrestler, in this case John Cena, standing tall in the ring having got the better of his opponent, who on this night was CM Punk.  

Not only have wrestling fans seen Cena standing tall over his opponent as the show goes off the air countless times, but this being the third month of the Punk verses Cena feud, fans have seen this image as recently as the last few weeks. 

So it is to the WWE’s great credit that they added the final segment with Punk attacking Mick Foley, only to find Ryback standing in the way of any further violence toward the hardcore legend.

The final scene of Ryback staring down the champion opened up many questions that will stay with WWE fans throughout the week. Such imagery helps build anticipation to a palpable level of excitement, which the WWE can exploit next week as Raw roles around again. 

Now there will be a debate held elsewhere whether Ryback is an appropriate opponent for CM Punk while Cena recovers from injury, but this should not diminish the importance of the WWE varying the end of the program. 

Simply giving the audience a moment to contemplate is a huge step forward in reigniting the energy that makes the WWE unique. 

Fans have become increasingly jaded to the classic image of one wrestler besting another as the show ends. Adding the final segment has immediately changed the expectation of the viewer, as they wonder if the show has one final twist.

That unpredictability will keep fans engrossed to the very end of the broadcast, rather than tempting the audience to channel surf to Monday Night Football or the MLB playoffs.  

Questions posed by the open ending will also get the audience, especially casual members, talking about possible repercussions of what happened at the end of the show.

This is fortunate as structured endings, finishing with the one wrestler standing tall over another, don’t offer the same level of excitement anymore. Fans have come to expect the situation to be forgotten by the next episode as both participants in a feud have regained equal footing. 

Consistently making the audience question the outcome of an event captures the imagination and plasters the fighters involved into the fans' memory. That translates into more viewers as the buzz generated reaches lapsed and casual fans, which in turn should mean more money for the company.   

Even more exciting is the fact that the WWE have already shown that they can exploit a moment into something with lasting appeal, as seen in the revelation a few weeks ago that Punk had sided with Paul Heyman. This bombshell was also used to end a broadcast of Raw.

How these two characters’ business relationship works, and what benefits each man gains from their alliance, is a question that has formed in all fans' minds.

Keeping both men in the spotlight has only added to the intrigue without necessarily answering any of the burning questions, which has made fans get more and more excited about the potential possibilities. 

Of course, this would not be good for the company without the backup of a much-improved product, but the two in tandem could bring the WWE out of the doldrums that the company has been in for some time. 

Hopefully more unpredictable ends will come the WWE audience’s way, and a new age of excitement will take over.