The Attitude Era

Ah since this was a pretty big time in the WWE, is still highlighted by fans as the best time of the company and responsible for making some pretty big stars while competing with World Championship Wrestling I thought it only made sense to make a thread about it.

For those who don't know the Attitude Era was from 1996 - 2001. It was when WWE rating went up to TV-14 and centered around more edgy storylines, matches were a bit shorter, and I guess you could even say it was a desperate attempt by Vince McMahon to compete with WCW which have been beating them in the ratings some times during 96 and throughout 1997 on Monday nights.

So what are your thoughts on the Attitude Era overall? I thought it was pretty badass. I started watching WWE on a weekly basis January of 1999 on what I consider to be the height of the Attitude Era really. I was just in time for The Rock/Mankind feud, the apex of the Austin/McMahon feud, the introduction of The Ministry of Darkness, the debut of SmackDown on Thursday nights and Triple H's rise to fame by becoming WWE Champion. Basically I think I've picked one hell of a time to become a wrestling fan. The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane and Mankind were my personal favorites at the time and still are to this day.

A personal favorite moment was when Vince McMahon was revealed as the higher power even though it made NO sense to the storyline whatsoever. I still mark out to, "IT'S ME AUSTIN!"

JR, "Oh son of a bitch!"
The King, "What!?"
Mr. McMahon, "It was me all along, Austin."

The reveal itself was spoiled by that shitty camera plan before Vince removed his hood and we pretty much knew 30 seconds before the actual reveal it was him.

Personally, I think the apex of the Attitude Era came during the fall of 1998, when Austin's feud with The Undertaker & Kane was in full motion. Back then, WCW was still putting together strong shows, despite struggling a little bit in the ratings at that time. It truly was the Golden Era of pro wrestling as even ECW was coming into his own and fans had a lot to choose from back then. The Attitude Era kinda ended for me when Stone Cold had to take that 1-year hiatus because of neck surgery. It gave us a chance to witness some pretty cool matches featuring The Rock and Triple H but I do believe that had Austin been 100%, we could've seen even better things.