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Many kids that watch WWE today weren’t even born when The Attitude Era ended, let alone when it began. For those of you who do remember, we will walk down memory lane and reminisce about the good old days.
Back then, the entertainment was set on an entirely different level than it is today. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just a sign of the times. We had a blissful but short five years between 1997 and 2002 what most consider to be the best years of WWE history.
Only then, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) was WWF (World Wrestling Federation). With the change in the name came draft picks for SmackDown and Raw similar to basketball colleges having the March Madness bracket. Many more things have changed since then, so let’s review the beginning and the end of The Attitude Era.
The Dawn of The Era
The event that marked the beginning of the Attitude Era was the so-called “Montreal Screwjob”. Brett Hart, current WWE champion at that time, was screwed out of the championship title by Vince McMahon during his match with Shawn Michaels, because Hart was intending to leave WWE to join WCW (World Championship Wrestling).
The competition between WWE (WWF at the time) and WCW for television viewers was fierce. It was time to move towards edgier content to win the crowd over. So began the Monday Night Wars that were more brutal and violent than ever before.
Hardcore championship and content
The Attitude Era officially began after Stone Cold Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble in 1998. Former heavyweight boxing champion, Mike Tyson made a guest appearance the following night on Raw.
McMahon introduced Tyson as the “Special Guest Enforcer” referee for the championship match at Wrestlemania XIV but the introduction was interrupted by Austin who “flipped off” Tyson resulting in a brief fight.
Since then, hardcore content was omnipresent throughout WWE events. Even Hardcore championship and belt were introduced. The title could be won at any time and any place, not just the official match. That led to battles all over the arena and tables, ladders and chairs, among other “tools” were often used to beat down opponents.
The most iconic and memorable match of all times happened between Mankind and The Undertaker in a Hell In a Cell match back in 1998 that was so extreme and violent to the point where Mankind ended up knocked unconscious suffering multiple injuries.
Farewell to a legend
The Attitude Era was one of the best periods in WWE history marked by the rivalry between Stone Cold and Vince McMahon but all good things come to an end eventually. Of course, WWE wouldn’t be what it is today if they didn’t have a good story to tell.
In early 2001, Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon each bought out WCW and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) respectively in order to invade WWE and overthrow their father Vince. The event was called “The Invasion” and marked the end of the Attitude Era.
After WWE has won the “competition” many of the WCW and ECW wrestlers were absorbed into the regular WWE roster.
The real reason behind the end of this legendary era was immense backlash against the content by PTC (Parents Television Council) whose founder characterized WWE hardcore content as “cheap sex, vulgarity and violence of the most sadistic sort”. WWE was eventually forced to tone it down thus creating PG-13 content that was more child-friendly.
Closing Words
WWE has moved away from what it used to be more than a decade ago. Although it still has “its charms” it’s a completely different content than what most people were used to. Some were utterly disappointed while others dealt with it and continued watching the shows to this day.
