Questions are the way to keep viewers?

[Wolfdemon]

So over the past month or so WWE has been using this tactic that you would expect to see out of a tv show like LOST or 24. They are making the viewers have several unanswered questions that leave them more confused at the end of the show.

For example we have the question about who took out Undertaker. What the NXT rookies are going to do next. Now tonight we have the question of who the new RAW GM is.

I do like this idea in moderation but when they work it to death it really does kill the idea of it. It is a great way to attract viewers though. So what are your thoughts on this tactic?

 

[SavageTaker]

Yes, having viewers continually guess what’s going to happen next is a way to keep them. It makes them intrigued and wanting more so as a result they keep coming back just to see what’s going to happen next.

 

[bko]

I like it. Just like Lost kept me guessing make me the veiwer feel like I have to watch next week, instead of thinking to my self "Meh... Just another RAW". When I was watch shows like Lost which does it constantly, it made me feel like I have to watch next week or I'll miss out on something important. Will it gain viewers? I don't know, but I know its gonna keep viewership.

 

[Hartfan]

Hey I like the idea of not telling us.... This makes Raw more interesting to watch and I agree, the more questions that they leave us the more we want to watch the show...

 

[barclayteo]

i like the idea in moderation i doubt anyone is gonna get their friends to watch raw or sm who dont even watch wrestling its a good way to keep them from turning to a differnt channel but if they do it to much it might turn people away i mean everything raw and smackdown if they mess it up it might hurt them more than it helps i dont want to find out the explaniation is stupid and then think to myself i wasted all this time trying to find out whats happening and they couldnt even come up with a good enough story i hope they dont mess up the nxt storyline but with daniel byran gone the only reason to watch them is for the guy from africa the one who did the attack off the top rope on vince he is the only one besides daniel who had talent. besides wade, that one who got to be guest host is only really on there cause who he married

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

I agree with you, it is killing the storyline and plot a little bit by dragging it out too long and having too many at once. If I'm being honest, the Undertaker's "vegatative state" storyline is just stupid. I think it's just a way to get Kane into some action seeing as he hasn't had much of it in a while. (Nothing good anyway).

And the NXT storyline is okay, I suppose. At first it was really exciting but for me now, it's just kinda boring. They ruin perfectly good matches quite often just for the sake of a storyline. At Fatal 4 Way, the main event was sorta ruined but I wasn't dissapointed with the result.

I think WWE need to get better storyline writers. You know, like the old tombstoning Linda McMahon, throwing people into fires, jumping off titantron's, being inside speeding Limo sort of storyline writers?

 

[Silent~Screamer]

This works well for regular TV shows, but as for WWE, not as much. They don't exactly reveal everything the next week and just add more to the list of questions. So it doesn't really work that well when no one is ever satisfied because they reveal NOTHING. Sure, the revealed Vince is behind the NXT's actions, but there are still to many unanswered questions.

As for the Undertaker, they are waiting until he can compete to reveal his assailant. So hopefully they can keep that from becoming stale until he returns in the next few weeks/month.

 

[Ferbian]

I wouldn't say it's only about questions that needs to be answered that keeps people coming back.

A clean ending to a show that doesn't necessarily leaves questions out in the open, but to be discovered are also a thing, and now you're probably thinking "But Ferbz, isn't that canceling out your own point?" no it is not, because by assumption reading the OP, the thread is about the open questions that are cleanly posed by the end of the show.

On the other hand, the one I'm thinking is something that comes up from lets say Randy Orton finally defeats Edge in a steel cage, feud ending match you know etc. that leaves you questioning whether the feud will continue, what will Randy Orton be doing now and what will Edge be doing, those are not questions that are openly posed by the ending of the match, but a question by the result of going deeper into the product and show.

And even if a show ends with an actual ending that couldn't possibly pose a question for people wanting answers to, it can still draw attention because for example a guest host who's interesting to people, but people kinda know what they can expect (backstage segment, quick on-stage segment, and probably some comedy skit) yet it can still draw you in terms of being interested in a guy like, Ashton Kutcher for example, Rampage Jackson etc.

So no unanswered questions at the end of a show, is not the only way to keep viewers.

 

[Thriller Ant]

It's pretty simple, really. Humans are curious creatures. If we get at all interested in something and not every single question is answered, we are gonna stop at nothing to find the answers. It's even moreso now in the Google age. Look at Lost. No one knew what the fuck was going on in that show, but millions kept tuning in hoping that week would give them answers.

WWE has done this for years, and won't ever stop. Who ran over Austin? Who vegetabled the Undertaker? Who's the GM? Cliffhangers keep people tuning in and keep us talking, which is exactly what WWE wants us to do.

 

[Dave]

Cliff-hanger endings are part of the reason that people come back, I will give you that. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that questions are the reason that people keep coming back. In fact, I would say that it is quite the opposite. I would suggest to you that the search for answers is infinitely more important than the questions that are asked. I mean, we only have to look at what is currently going on in the WWE and how the world has reacted to it.

Sure, we have had a lot of question but questions always remain static, for lack of a better word. However, there is always room for movement in answers. The WE Nexus angle right now is a prime example of this. We all know the question of “Who is behind the Nexus attacks”? However, the answers are infinitely more interesting and that has been shown around here on more than one occasion lately. People have their own answers and not everyone is likely to have the same one. The question will always be the same but it is the intrigue of getting the answer that people really latch onto.

Also, questioning endings will come and go with the current flavour of the month and clihh-hanger endings are only done in moderation. When this happens, people will tune in the next week because they want more questions and answers…

Both of them go hand in hand and by asking the right questions, you can start the more curious search for answers. Right now, everyone wants the answer to the question that I listed above so I guess you are partly right.

Good thread, I like it.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

This is nothing new. The WWE/F, and the rest of pro wrestling, used to do this all the time. Only in the last few years, have they really went away from it.

For the last few years, it seemed like every question was answered on every episode of Raw/Smackdown, even Impact. I think it has a lot to do with how impatient our society has become, as a whole. We want everything now, now, now.

When I first started watching wrestling, feuds would carry on for months (due to the fact there were less PPV's). You have to wait for answers. Things weren't just handed to you, you had to keep up with what was going on. Feuds took a long time to develop, and questions took a long time to be answered.

As a whole, the wrestling community has been spoiled. Each episode of Raw, for the last several years, has been treated as it's own PPV almost. Almost every question posed at the beginning of the episode would be answered within two hours. That's not how it used to be, and I think they are going back to that a little bit. The ratings have been up the last few weeks, so it's obviously having some kind of positive effect.