Best Raw Ending- 2011

[IHW]

Over the course of 2011 WWE's flagship show Monday Night Raw has had many good and bad endings.

My simple question is-
What was the best Raw ending of 2011?
What is the worst Raw ending of 2011?

Some could include the moments during the summer of Punk, promos of The Rock, or even the 2011 WWE Draft.
Just pick one, or more, and if you can provide a video that would be nice.

(Rep to all the good ones)

 

[Spunky]

Punks "shoot" for sure, nothings made as much discussion as that did during this year.

 

[ITALIAN NYC]

2/14/11

Rock returns to raw was the best ending to raw this entire year.

Punks promo comes in at second. Punks discussion was from the IWC. Rocks return was all over the media.



Morrison vs Miz falls count anywhere for the title was the best raw opening imo

Dunno about the worst raw ending

 

[Bookman]

Punks "shoot" for sure, nothings made as much discussion as that did during this year.

This.

The shoot promo launched Punk's career and briefly brought mainstream attention to the professional wrestling industry. Too bad they screwed it up by having him lose to Triple H a month later.

 

[bk555]

come guys, no need to mark out because its punk. The Rocks return was easily the best ending to raw. Seven years gone. SEVEN YEARS. and he comes back and surprises everyone. no doubt about it.

 

[conici]

come guys, no need to mark out because its punk. The Rocks return was easily the best ending to raw. Seven years gone. SEVEN YEARS. and he comes back and surprises everyone. no doubt about it.

No need to mark out about the rock rock was speculated while punk PUT WRESTLING IN MAINSTREAM For awhile I'll leave it there rock's return was good but we haven't seen anything like that in a long time

 

[conici]

Honestly One of my favorite openings to raw was the Zack Ryder CM Punk Daniel Bryan Promo

A close second would have to be R truth Dressing as a confederate soldier I could not stop laughing

But for Endings

Nothing can Beat CM Punks shoot promo it bought doubt to the minds of IWC if it was real which in this time is a rare effect these days

Worst Hm Walk Out for me It was to me the writers being lazy and just dropping a stupid ending on the conspiracy angle that ended prematurely

 

[ITALIAN NYC]

No need to mark out about the rock rock was speculated while punk PUT WRESTLING IN MAINSTREAM For awhile I'll leave it there rock's return was good but we haven't seen anything like that in a long time

Punk put wrestling in mainstream? The rocks return was broadcasted throughout the country and talked about all over the media. Not just the wrestling media like punks promo was. Nothing beat the rocks return for me. Punks was second

 

[justinept]

2/14/11

Rock returns to raw was the best ending to raw this entire year.

Punks promo comes in at second. Punks discussion was from the IWC. Rocks return was all over the media.



Morrison vs Miz falls count anywhere for the title was the best raw opening imo

Dunno about the worst raw ending

Both were great endings for sure... But you're wrong about Punk's "shoot" promo. It did bring mainstream attention to the wrestling world thanks to Bill Simmons. Simmons - who is perhaps the most popular sports writer alive - couldn't stop talking about it. The promo garnered a column on the front page of ESPN ... a very elaborate CM Punk interview on his podcast ... and even mentions on PTI.

For excitement purposes, I have to go with Punk's shoot promo. The Rock's return didn't surprise me. In fact, I expected The Rock to be the guest host a week earlier when Vince said a guest host would be announced the following week. I still thought it was awesome when his music hit, and I thought his promo on John Cena was incredible --- but the ending with Punk was so unusual and unexpected that I have to give it the top spot.

---------------

I'm sure most will disagree, but I thought the best Raw opening was the week after the "walkout." This was heavily criticized on this website and on a lot of threads since the angle effectively turned the entire roster heel, but I REALLY enjoyed how it played out in that opening segment. For the first time in a long time, it looked like the wrestlers were just having fun in the ring, and I ate it up.

----------------

The worst Raw opening was the November 15, three-hour episode from Boston: The Michael Cole challenge. This one is only rivaled by the rap-off between JR and Cole that opened the Slammy Awards edition of Raw. The Cole Challenge wins because it lasted longer and was promoted for two weeks.

---------------

The worst Raw ending is tough for me since so many episodes had lackluster finishes. From a storyline standpoint, I have to say the worst finish was when John Cena took out Miz and R-Truth by himself, thus making it obvious that he didn't need The Rock to help him at Survivor Series.

 

[IHW]

Can we think of some outside of Punk Shoot Promo and Rock Return?

Those were by far the best, but any notable ones?

 

[justinept]

come guys, no need to mark out because its punk. The Rocks return was easily the best ending to raw. Seven years gone. SEVEN YEARS. and he comes back and surprises everyone. no doubt about it.

It isn't about marking out 'cause it was Punk. Both endings were great, and I wouldn't fault anyone for thinking one was better than the other. They were easily the two best endings to Raw this year.

But in terms of "Holy Crap, we might get some change around here finally" standpoint, Punk's promo easily tops The Rock, in my opinion. The Rock's return was temporary. At the time of his return, we figured he'd make a few appearances, but be gone after WrestleMania. Sure, it has lasted a lot longer than originally anticipated, but it is still just temporary.

When Punk delivered his "shoot" promo, we thought the WWE might take off in a new direction, that the company might focus their resources somewhere other than John Cena, and that they might actually bring an added hint of realism back to the product. Six months later, it appears that we were fooled by this - but it doesn't change how we felt at the time. The promo was HUGE.

 

[chief]

The best ending was Punks because it wasn't expected at the time.
Another one that was good was Kane coming out at the Slammys, no one knew exactly when he was coming back so this one caught almost everyone off guard.

The Worst, the Draft ending, when Cena went to Smackdown, only to be drafted back to Raw a couple of hours later. A short spell on Smackdown could have been great for Cena, especially since his fued with the Rock is mainly via Sattellite. The could have had recaps on Raw of Cena promos with the Rocks response live (via Sattellite) on Raw to keep Rock on the 'A' show. Then have Cena come back to Raw after WM28.

 

[Bossblood]

The best ending was the Rock's return.
The worst ending was Kane's return.

 

[20-1 Taker]

The best Raw ending was the Rock!!!! For sure... I mean "John Cena's lady parts trending on twitter." LOL that was hilarious!!! But the best part was a phrase I always say now... (BOOTS TO ASSES) But the Punk Promo Shoot was also great.
_________________________________________________________________________
Deadman Forever!!!!!

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

I loved Kane's return, the double mask, choke slamming Cena, it was perfect. Punks promo was amazing, and Rock returning had me really excited, but only for about a week.

 

[MrAdam87]

Gotta be Punks 'shoot', that left me speechless and with a big grin on my face.

 

[ner0]

Punk's shoot without a doubt. Had everyone talking. I also liked the Kane return, I'm still at this moment interested in where it's gonna go for certain

 

[JJ15776]

come guys, no need to mark out because its punk. The Rocks return was easily the best ending to raw. Seven years gone. SEVEN YEARS. and he comes back and surprises everyone. no doubt about it.

Lol, you don't want people to mark out because its Punk but you mark like a schoolgirl because it was Rock? And who the F was surprised? I don't know one single person that didn't know it was The Rock - the crowd was chanting his name BEFORE his music started, FFS!

When Punk delivered his "shoot" promo, we thought the WWE might take off in a new direction, that the company might focus their resources somewhere other than John Cena, and that they might actually bring an added hint of realism back to the product. Six months later, it appears that we were fooled by this - but it doesn't change how we felt at the time. The promo was HUGE.

Oh stop it. The "we" you're referring to is only the people that expected the entire company to change overnight. WWE's not that stupid and short sighted. When they change things, they do it the right way. Slowly, carefully, and intelligently. There has been a LOT of changes in six months, and there are probably more to come in the next six months and the next six years.

Also, to the person who brought up Bill Simmons talking about Punk, it wasn't just him. Jim Rome was among the many other mainstream media people who discussed it - he even offered Punk an open mic to finish his promo where it got cut off.

Anyway, clearly it's a toss up between Rock and Punk for best ending. They were both great in their own way. Rather than pick between them, I'll nominate another that I haven't seen mentioned - the return of Kane. Everyone thought he was going after Mark Henry, but he instead attacked Cena. That may have the most long term significance, along with the "Let's Go Cena/CENA SUCKS!" ending this week, of any ending as it's kicking into full gear a storyline that will likely result in a heel turn for Cena. (It started with the Piper's Pit segment, but now it's a main event storyline.)

As for the worst ending, this is an easy no brainer for me. This is the worst ending in the history of major professional wrestling events - I'm not exaggerating. The company walkout on Triple H. Not only was it stupid, boring, confusing, and stupid, but it castrated the Triple H CEO storyline before it really got going, kicked off the horribly idiotic beyond description Johnny Ace GM storyline, and it didn't make any damn sense. Not at the time and certainly not in hindsight - I like to give the WWE the benefit of the doubt to let things play out, but this played out and it just got indescribably worse the further away from it you got.

 

[Cosmic Hate]

As for the worst ending, this is an easy no brainer for me. This is the worst ending in the history of major professional wrestling events - I'm not exaggerating. The company walkout on Triple H. Not only was it stupid, boring, confusing, and stupid, but it castrated the Triple H CEO storyline before it really got going, kicked off the horribly idiotic beyond description Johnny Ace GM storyline, and it didn't make any damn sense. Not at the time and certainly not in hindsight - I like to give the WWE the benefit of the doubt to let things play out, but this played out and it just got indescribably worse the further away from it you got.

Also that walkout didn't make sense. R-Truth and the Miz attacked a few people a couple times and that's what earns a company walkout? Uncalled for attacks on other wrestlers is what MAKES FEUDS, it happens every damn Raw. Also, considering the degree to which Raw has gotten nuts, this was a worthless reason to walk out on the WWE.

Monday Night Raw has endured (without walkouts or protests):
-Two outside wrestling company invasions
-The Monday Night Wars
-A drunken southerner with a bad attitude driving trucks into the ring for the sole purpose of jumping his boss in front of a crowd of police officers and two demon brothers from Hell.
-Tanks being driven into the ring driven by an army of rebellious asshats who tell people to suck it.
-Hardcore wrestling matches
-The Nexus exercising its dominance, and before it the hundreds of different stables before it warring with each other for dominance in the '90s (ICP, Headbangers, DX, Nation of Domination to name a few)
-A boss who willingly tried to, in his own words, "poison" his own company by bringing in the New World Order as his hired hands.
-X-Pac
-Michael Cole
-The Deadman, who (in kayfabe) has demonic powers and has sent at least one wrestler to Hell (Edge via chokeslamming him through the canvas.)
-The Montreal Screwjob
-Etc, etc, etc

How was a former MTV personality and his loony sidekick any more threatening than ANY OF THE ABOVE?

"Triple H... we're just girls!"
God damn it Beth Phoenix, that comment made me rage SO HARD that night.

 

[coolant]

My Favorite ending was when Miz came out dressed as the Rock. When the camera was zoomed out for the shot of the arena, you could have sworn it actually was the Rock. When ya finally realized it was Miz, he had all the mannerisms down <from the little head shake to the way he squatted down in wait to deliver a rock bottom>. Crowd popped so hard. Then when Miz was revealed I personally couldn't stop laughing for like 10 mins after Raw went off the air.

Worst ending for me was when they gave Daniel Bryan the ending feature. Maybe that was smackdown. Maybe that did not happen. But if it did, it would have been bad!

 

[The Ram]

My Favorite ending was when Miz came out dressed as the Rock. When the camera was zoomed out for the shot of the arena, you could have sworn it actually was the Rock. When ya finally realized it was Miz, he had all the mannerisms down <from the little head shake to the way he squatted down in wait to deliver a rock bottom>. Crowd popped so hard. Then when Miz was revealed I personally couldn't stop laughing for like 10 mins after Raw went off the air.

Worst ending for me was when they gave Daniel Bryan the ending feature. Maybe that was smackdown. Maybe that did not happen. But if it did, it would have been bad!

It's extremely funny you said that because I was there and I was marking out the whole time even when he rock bottomed john cena and my sister finnaly told me that that's not the rock. Most embarassing time of my life because I was the last one to realize it... But my favorite ending well..... "that's gotta be kane.!" I love kane I always root for him any match. He's trying to be relevant again as he should. The mask is awesome, him chokeslamming somebody I hate when he returned was awesome. I been intrigued on what he will do next since he returned.

 

[Dr. IaN]

What was the best Raw ending of 2011?
It would be either Rock's Return or Punk's promo. I would think both caused major discussion mainstream wise. I can't really decide between the two. Also, The Miz dressing as The Rock was pretty amazing though. That was some trolling shit haha.

What is the worst Raw ending of 2011?
Hands down the fucking Halloween RAW. You have Cena go and ask The Rock to be his tag partner against Awesome Truth because they looked like a big threat, and what does WWE do? They have Cena lay out BOTH Miz and Truth. It was stupid because if Cena could take out both of them, why the fuck would he even need Rock's help. I couldn't see them as a credible threat after that.

 

[huwtimbrell38]

Worst ending to Raw? When Cena "announced" his partner for Survivor Series even though it had been announced both on Twitter and WWE.com several weeks prior!! Treated the fans like idiots....

Ignoring all the obvious ones that have been pointed out...Punks return with the WWE Title was pretty cool, yes it couldve been played out a lot longer, but the reaction he got, the new music, holding the titles aloft and outpopping Cena was a nice moment

 

[cult_of_icecream_bar]

I'd definetly put punk's shoot promo over the rock's return. Rock's return was expected..and was speculated for quite awhile. But punk's promo was out of the blue."I'd like to think that this company would be better after VKM's dead"-how can't this be the best??

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

There were so many great endings to Raw this year! Even some of the more lackluster shows had decent endings! I'll try to narrow it down to a handful, and pick from there:

-CM Punk shoot: Needs no explanation.
-CM Punk returns to Raw: Very intense moment between Punk and Cena. Had everyone off their seats, regardless of whether you think he came back too soon.
-Cena hits the AA on the Rock in Chicago: I was there live for this one, and it was awesome. My immediate reaction was to boo, as we all wanted to see Cena get his ass kicked, and for the Great One to layeth the smacketh down...but in retrospect it was really cool.
-WWE walk-out: The angle as a whole fell flat. This single instance...was awesome!
The Rock returns: Wow. The emotion was palpable.
-CM Punk takes Nexus: Remember the Barrett/Orton/Sheamus cage match for the control of Nexus? In the end, Punk looked like he was going to save Barrett, but instead ripped off his armband and put it on! Classic moment.
-Cena and Rock made official: The night after WrestleMania, Rock and Cena made the match of the decade official. The Corre would attack, and the faces would clean house.
-Cena/Punk contract signing: VKM, Cena, and Punk showed so much emotion. One of the best outings for Vince in YEARS!

I'm sure I'm missing about a dozen good endings to Raw from this year alone, but these are ones that stood out in my head above all the rest. If pressed, I think I have to go with the Rock's return. Punk's shoot follows behind by a microscopic percentage. Both amazing moments.