A definable end to the Attitude Era.

[PagingMr.ass]

The purpose of this post is to generate discussion about if there was a single event that can be defined as the end of the attitude era, and if so, what was it. The WWE has long considered Stone Cold's victory over HBK at Wrestlemania 14, the birth of the attitude era, but much less is said about a definitive conclusion. Over the years I've heard many different opinions, such as The WCW invasion, and even wrestlemania 17 when Stonecold beat The Rock by turning heal and joining McMahon. I was never sold on either of these events as a definable conclusions since the gritty style of the attitude era continued during and after the invasion, and wrestlemania 17 occurred even before that. Here are some possible choices I have brain stormed.

1. First WWE Draft March, 25 2002- This changed the very foundation of the WWE. For the first time the two prime time shows began running as two separate entities. It broke up three attitude era teams in the NWO, The Hardys, and The Dudley Boyz resulting in Hulk going full circle and returning to his pre-attitude babyface role. It also led to a simultaneous fading out of attitude main eventers like the rock and stone cold and an elevation of attitude mid-carders rising to the main event level due to greater oppurtunities through dividing the competition. These elevated mid-carders such as Edge, RVD, Jericho, Jeff hardy, Guererro, etc became the faces of a new era.

Some other possible endings i considered were wwf's change to wwe with the "get the f out campain/ McMahon awarding HHH the WHC, resulting in two different Heavy Weight Champs in WWE and the birth of the McMahon Helmsley regiem/ Ric Flair becoming co-owner of WWE with Vince after the invasions end/ Rock VS. Hogan wrestlemania 18 were the two biggest stars of the separate companys faced off.

So what are some events that you guys may consider the end of the attitude era?

 

[gunnascott]

The end of the Attitude Era IMO is WM 17. Afterwards Within a year the 2 biggest stars Austin and The Rock were gone and things were never the same

 

[SickJames]

Not this again, I wanna point out that this thread has been done thousands of times and yet mods never delete some redone threads, but whatever.

I just get sick of the arguments over this.

The Attitude Era's start and finish is common knowledge and WWE themselves, despite opinions of when some fans think it ended, have gone on record saying this in two seperate WWE magazines, both of which I have and a DVD (I'll have to find the statements though) and even wwe.com

but the greatest era ever, The Attitude Era started and stopped at the best event ever- WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 14 was the start and WrestleMania X7 was the end

People dont think logically though, Cena debuted in 2002, he was NOT apart of The Attitude Era, nor was Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio.

Hell some actually believe the MNW was the start, but it wasnt, The Attitude Era was brought about because OF the Monday Night Wars and fittingly so when it died... The Attitude Era died with it in 2001


I get pissed off when people confuse Eras with other things, ex: WWF changing to WWE is not the day The Attitude Era ended! It's the day the company had a name change, yet I've seen so many dumbasses continue to say it ended in 02, 03 or even 04.

Cena, Orton, Rey, these guys werent in that era, it's a fucking fact and that's it.

You had Austin, Rock go on after 01 so some ppl say it didnt end until they were gone in 03, BULLSHIT. Hogan still wrestled in 02 but it doesnt mean The Golden Era is still alive it ended a long time ago. Logic please.


And again, WWE has recognized this themselves.

97 sure as hell had some build to Attitude but WASNT Attitude Era, as everything has a spark leading to the actual thing itself, 97 was Pre-Attitude, 01-Invasion angle was post-Attitude, and The Ruthless Aggression Era started or what was known as that after Cena's debut where he echoed it and after Bischoff had a fetish with the term on the mic in 02 as well.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

From what I've seen the usual consensus is Wrestlemania X-Seven since Austin turned heel and things started to tone down along with the Invasion story line.

Obviously by 2002 it was over though since things were not as intense as 98-01. Most likely due to Austin's career winding down, Rock doing movies, etc.

 

[fredstephenson]

From what I've seen the usual consensus is Wrestlemania X-Seven since Austin turned heel and things started to tone down along with the Invasion story line.

Obviously by 2002 it was over though since things were not as intense as 98-01. Most likely due to Austin's career winding down, Rock doing movies, etc.

i agree with your date as the end of the attitude era but i dont think things got toned down at all if nething the storylines were more morally questionable then ever after twothousand and two we had the katie vick thing hot lesbian action edges live sex celebration and loads more stuff along those lines all the wwe really did was tone the blood down a little bit

i think in reallity the attitude era didnt really end till the pg thing begun but i think they stopped refering to it as wwe attitude around twothousandish

 

[805_COAM]

Not this again, I wanna point out that this thread has been done thousands of times and yet mods never delete some redone threads, but whatever.

I just get sick of the arguments over this.

The Attitude Era's start and finish is common knowledge and WWE themselves, despite opinions of when some fans think it ended, have gone on record saying this in two seperate WWE magazines, both of which I have and a DVD (I'll have to find the statements though) and even wwe.com

but the greatest era ever, The Attitude Era started and stopped at the best event ever- WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 14 was the start and WrestleMania X7 was the end

People dont think logically though, Cena debuted in 2002, he was NOT apart of The Attitude Era, nor was Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio.

Hell some actually believe the MNW was the start, but it wasnt, The Attitude Era was brought about because OF the Monday Night Wars and fittingly so when it died... The Attitude Era died with it in 2001


I get pissed off when people confuse Eras with other things, ex: WWF changing to WWE is not the day The Attitude Era ended! It's the day the company had a name change, yet I've seen so many dumbasses continue to say it ended in 02, 03 or even 04.

Cena, Orton, Rey, these guys werent in that era, it's a fucking fact and that's it.

You had Austin, Rock go on after 01 so some ppl say it didnt end until they were gone in 03, BULLSHIT. Hogan still wrestled in 02 but it doesnt mean The Golden Era is still alive it ended a long time ago. Logic please.


And again, WWE has recognized this themselves.

97 sure as hell had some build to Attitude but WASNT Attitude Era, as everything has a spark leading to the actual thing itself, 97 was Pre-Attitude, 01-Invasion angle was post-Attitude, and The Ruthless Aggression Era started or what was known as that after Cena's debut where he echoed it and after Bischoff had a fetish with the term on the mic in 02 as well.

Your right it ended when the Rock losses the belt to Kurt Angle at No MERCY 2000(tho he was good and he was a good heel) babied down WWE when he would cry - he was like the Pre MIZ Character WWE does today.

ULTIMETELY it is SMACKDOWN (late 2000 Version)who tones down the Attitude era with the RTC(right to censor).RIKISHI.& TOO COOL.Jerry The king Lawler leaving.Stone Cold turning heel and soft.

Then the Invasion comes and re-shapes the entire WWF.WCW's ECW stories and characters were mixed into WWF's.

The Post Attitude-Commercial ERA(2003-2005) is where it dumbed down
and RAW was just terrible. Smackdown was the by far better show.

Then John Cena Comes in with a lot popularity out of nowhere and makes it the
PG ERA(2006-2011)-Much respect to Cena for caryying a company who depended too much on older wrestlers that would eventually leave for TNA.
CENA,Orton,Batista.....HHH,HBK,....EUGENE(kdding.)

Now this new era is something more appealing to the
hipsters,punks,attitude nostalgic fans,
i guss CM PUNk does embody the fans.

 

[BobbyDigital]

I thought it ended when the Rock beat Austin at WM 19. It wasn't his last official match as I think he took on Bischoff once after. Austin reaching the "top of the mountain" signified the beginning and his last real match should signify the end.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

1. First WWE Draft March, 25 2002- This changed the very foundation of the WWE. For the first time the two prime time shows began running as two separate entities. It broke up three attitude era teams in the NWO, The Hardys, and The Dudley Boyz resulting in Hulk going full circle and returning to his pre-attitude babyface role. It also led to a simultaneous fading out of attitude main eventers like the rock and stone cold and an elevation of attitude mid-carders rising to the main event level due to greater oppurtunities through dividing the competition. These elevated mid-carders such as Edge, RVD, Jericho, Jeff hardy, Guererro, etc became the faces of a new era.

Some other possible endings i considered were wwf's change to wwe with the "get the f out campain/ McMahon awarding HHH the WHC, resulting in two different Heavy Weight Champs in WWE and the birth of the McMahon Helmsley regiem/ Ric Flair becoming co-owner of WWE with Vince after the invasions end/ Rock VS. Hogan wrestlemania 18 were the two biggest stars of the separate companys faced off.

So much wrong information in 2 paragraphs, let me correct you by saying that the NWO was drafted to RAW as a single entity during the draft so they were not split up by any means. Hulk Hogan was face weeks before the draft, he turned face at WrestleMania X8 and feuded with the NWO until the draft put Hogan on SD. The Hardys were both on RAW after the draft too, and lastly Eric Bischoff awarded HHH the WHC, McMahon hated Triple H at the time they feuded all year.

That all being said, the Attitude Era had its definitive end at WrestleMania 17. It was the WWF themselves that coined the Attitude Era, promoting it at the end of all their events during that time period, which stopped after WrestleMania 17. The Attitude hero, Stone Cold Steve Austin, joined the main heel of the Attitude Era, Vince McMahon, to end the Era. The Invasion storyline was a whole new era and then the Ruthless Aggression Era formed

 

[pepentorresHHH]

For me it was summerslam 2002 for 2 reasons: the new generation kid beat one of the attitude era's main stars, setting a new direction for the company and subsequently directly causing the creation of another world title.
Also shawn michael who was there the night the A.E. Started, returned the night it ended.

The other it could be, survivor series 2001... The ecw/ecw alliance storyline finally ended and the WWF was seen as the only company left.

WM 18.... The rock beat WCW's biggest star in Hulk Hogan....

 

[Jack-Hammer]

For all intents and purposes, the Attitude Era ended with the death of WCW. A huge component that fueled the Attitude Era was the real life company rivary between WWF and WCW. It gave wrestling a real life competitive edge to it that you just can't make up in a booking office. Professional wrestling is a "fake" sport, some see it as mock combat and this added a new dimension to wrestling.

We can sit and nitpick all we want at any particular angle or wrestling event. But when WCW was bought by Vince McMahon, it was pretty much all said and done. Oh sure, Attitude Era stars continued to be in the company afterward and much of the general content was still the same. I think another important thing to consider is the unpleasant truth that the Attitude Era was a fad. During the late 90s, television was dominated by controversial shows that were pushing the envelope as to what was acceptable and, in some ways, created new standards. It was fun while it lasted and generated some incredible moments but, in the end, it was still just a fad.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I have always believed that any era in pro wrestling is defined by the faces of that era and that the era comes to an en when these faces either retire or stop being the biggest stars of wrestling. Going by that definition, I would say that the Attitude Era ended at SummerSlam 2002 when The Rock was defeated by BrockLesnar for the WWE title.

From that point onwards Rock and Austin, the forebearers of the Attitude era torch stopped being the biggest stars in the WWE. They got replaced by Brocklesnar and even though both guys came back and had a somewhat successful run, Brock still main evented over them which showed that they had stopped being the most important thing in the WWE which, in my opinion, spelled the end of the Attitude Era.

 

[relentless1]

id say the attitude era died when WCW did, IMO the attitude era was created as a necessity to WWF gettin their ass beat in the monday night wars, once the competition died, there was no reason to push the envelope as much, so from then on, the attitude era slowly faded away.

 

[pessimism101]

While I agree that the Attitude Era essentially ended at WrestleMania X-Seven, I just want to point out that the WWE still included the word "Attitude" in their signatures until 2005. So.. it's at least somewhat understandable why some people (especially those who became fans near the end of or after the Monday Night Wars) would believe that the Attitude Era ended in either 2002 or 2004.

 

[DeathClutch]

There is debate here but this what I'd class the pre-post attitude era.

King of the Ring 1996 - WrestleMania 14 pre-Attitude Era,
This is where they started to get edgy and more in your face, even Bret Hart stated in his time away the rules had changed and it was outlaw land or something to that effect, but that is what I class the pre-attitude era.

WrestleMania 14 - WrestleMania 17 is the Attitude Era,
Self explantory really.

WrestleMania 17 - Survivor Series 2001 being the post Attitude Era.
Basically this was WWE ceasing all Attitude Era storylines and feuds finishing off WCW. As I said this is all my opinion.

Classic Era in wrestling that will probably never be replicated or at least as popular with 18-49 audience.

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

For me the Attitude Era ended when Stone Cold finally got beat by the Rock at WrestleMania 19. That was Austin's last match and The Rock's career winding down too. For me that match was bitter sweet, it was sweet because the Rock could never beat Austin earlier and I was a Rock fan at the time and was happy when he got the 1, 2, 3. but it was also bitter nowing that Austin lost his last match and like the Rock i was a fan of Austin's too and the vest he wore said bulletproof but he couldn't take it anymore in the ring so it was like the only way Rock could be Austin was when he was past his prime which i hate saying even till this day.

 

[DeathClutch]

For me the Attitude Era ended when Stone Cold finally got beat by the Rock at WrestleMania 19. That was Austin's last match and The Rock's career winding down too. For me that match was bitter sweet, it was sweet because the Rock could never beat Austin earlier and I was a Rock fan at the time and was happy when he got the 1, 2, 3. but it was also bitter nowing that Austin lost his last match and like the Rock i was a fan of Austin's too and the vest he wore said bulletproof but he couldn't take it anymore in the ring so it was like the only way Rock could be Austin was when he was past his prime which i hate saying even till this day.

Dude, Rock NEVER pinned Austin until November 2001, between November 1996-November 2001 how many feuds/ SINGLES matches did they have? (not including RAW's)
PPV's, DX97, ManiaXV, Backlash99, Mania17 and Rebellion 2001 5-0 Austin went before Rock got his win at Mania 19, yet the rock was the more entertaining in the ring if you ask me, but Austin winning was what WWE needed he was their star, Rock was the go to guy to be the 2nd in command and chase the belt, he did a pretty good job between ManiaXV-Backlash 2000. I do agree Austin/Rock III (Mania 19) was the last of the Attitude Era feuds cease but it happened in the Ruthless Aggression Era.

 

[RJJ]

Officially, it ended in WM X7, but IMO the attitude era ended the moment rock and hogan shock hands after their WM X8 match, you can tell things were not the same anymore. There was no more attitude after this, everybody started to show respect for their opponents, and it became more of a family show.

SS 2001 could also be the end of the attitude era. Rock and austin in the ring with vince standing on the with his hands raised above his head, like if to say that they finally won the monday night war, personally I saw it as vince celeberating with his two biggest stars for winning the war.

 

[Chris1-16]

Post X7

The WWF just seemed weird afterwards with Austin being a heel and The Rock taking extended time off. There was a little "leftover" Attitude for the remainder of the year, but starting with the Invasion and then later the Brand Extention it was a major change.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

April 1st, 2001. The night Austin and McMahon stood in the ring together and shook hands during the final moments of WrestleMania 17. These two are what made the attitude era, sure Rock, DX, Mankind, etc. all had a big part, but these were the two guys who had hated each other for years and made us want to switch from Nitro to RAW every week. You can't argue that. Many people will say it ended in 2002 when the ruthless aggression era started, but from April 2nd, 2001 to when Vince McMahon came out and declared that the NWO were gone and a new era had begun- is what I like to think of as a winding down period, where the WWE were just getting all the "attitude" out of their system and getting ready for the next generation.

 

[Chris1-16]

April 1st, 2001. The night Austin and McMahon stood in the ring together and shook hands during the final moments of WrestleMania 17. These two are what made the attitude era, sure Rock, DX, Mankind, etc. all had a big part, but these were the two guys who had hated each other for years and made us want to switch from Nitro to RAW every week. You can't argue that. Many people will say it ended in 2002 when the ruthless aggression era started, but from April 2nd, 2001 to when Vince McMahon came out and declared that the NWO were gone and a new era had begun- is what I like to think of as a winding down period, where the WWE were just getting all the "attitude" out of their system and getting ready for the next generation.

I think things would've been a lot more interesting if Rock didn't have to take time off afterwards. Without The Rock around, there was really no one to step up against Austin, Vince, and Triple H. Kane and Undertaker were the closest, but the feud was kind've one sided in the Power Trip's favor.

 

[Why Always Me]

I have to agree with the masses and say the Attitude Era started at WM14 when Austin won the WWF Title and ended at WM17 with Austin turing heel and then The Rock leaving the next night cemented it IMO.

For me the Attitude Era ended when Stone Cold finally got beat by the Rock at WrestleMania 19. That was Austin's last match and The Rock's career winding down too. For me that match was bitter sweet, it was sweet because the Rock could never beat Austin earlier and I was a Rock fan at the time and was happy when he got the 1, 2, 3. but it was also bitter nowing that Austin lost his last match and like the Rock i was a fan of Austin's too and the vest he wore said bulletproof but he couldn't take it anymore in the ring so it was like the only way Rock could be Austin was when he was past his prime which i hate saying even till this day.

It pains me to this day that Rock never got a victory over Austin in the 'Attitude Era'. Not once. Apparently the initial plan for their fued was for them to fued for about 4 months from WrestleMania 15, but because The Rock became too popular that was scrapped. If that would of happened I would of had Rock retain at Mania, lose it at Backlash, maybe win it back at Over The Edge (could make it a Triple Threat with Undertaker) then lose at KOTR (make it a Fatal 4 Way with Triple H).

Dude, Rock NEVER pinned Austin until November 2001, between November 1996-November 2001 how many feuds/ SINGLES matches did they have? (not including RAW's)
PPV's, DX97, ManiaXV, Backlash99, Mania17 and Rebellion 2001 5-0 Austin went before Rock got his win at Mania 19, yet the rock was the more entertaining in the ring if you ask me, but Austin winning was what WWE needed he was their star, Rock was the go to guy to be the 2nd in command and chase the belt, he did a pretty good job between ManiaXV-Backlash 2000. I do agree Austin/Rock III (Mania 19) was the last of the Attitude Era feuds cease but it happened in the Ruthless Aggression Era.

By the time Austin got run over, The Rock certainly wasn't the Number 2 guy. At the very least he was equal, some would say he had surpassed him. Rock was selling more merchandice (this has been proved which figures from the summer of 1999 onwards from WWF Shopzone) & was getting bigger pops (see segments where both men are in the ring together leading up to Survivor Series 1999). Austin should of done the job for The Rock during that time to pass the torch whilst he was gone for ten months but he didn't. Guess what, The Rock took the torch and became the man WITHOUT Austin putting him over.

 

[Chris1-16]

By the time Austin got run over, The Rock certainly wasn't the Number 2 guy. At the very least he was equal, some would say he had surpassed him. Rock was selling more merchandice (this has been proved which figures from the summer of 1999 onwards from WWF Shopzone) & was getting bigger pops (see segments where both men are in the ring together leading up to Survivor Series 1999). Austin should of done the job for The Rock during that time to pass the torch whilst he was gone for ten months but he didn't. Guess what, The Rock took the torch and became the man WITHOUT Austin putting him over.

In the summer of 1999 Austin was in the biggest storyline of the WWF and had the title, but the storyline had been going on for more than a year and Rock had the gold 3X already, with his 1st title win not even 9 months old yet at the time, they were equally over in the middle of the year but Austin had the advantage of being a face longer than The Rock, who was the top heel of the company earlier in the year.

From September-November it was more than obvious that Rock wasn't a #2 guy since Austin no longer had the title and the Austin/McMahon rivalry turned into HHH/McMahon.

 

[Chris1-16]

I also wanna add that Austin wasn't a #2 guy either in the fall of '99, but Rock's superstar status in the fall of 1999 compared to the fall of 1998 was one of the biggest jumps in wrestling history.

 

[sharpness83]

they did title Fully Loaded 99- End of an era.

 

[ejc8710]

Look the attitude era started at wrestlemania 14 and ended at wrestlemania 17 end of story it didnt start at king of the ring 96 or in 1997 and it didnt end in 2005.After wrestlemania 17 Austin turned heel The Rock Left Triple H was out during the whole invasion storyline Mick Foley was not wrestling anymore all of dx was gone xpac the new age outlaws and chyna was never seen again in the wwe after wrestlemania 17 and WCW and ECW where both dead everything that made the attitude era what it was died when wrestlemania 17 went off the air end of story