The Attitude Era Should Remain Dead...

[mikde_]

Am i the only guy in the world that thinks the attitude era should never return?

I dont want to sound like a hater but im so tired of hearing people say that the WWE should bring back blood, hardcore matches, huge bumps ect ect
Wrestling does not need these corny gimmicks and downright dangerous stunts in order to do well. All you need is a creative team with some good logical ideas and bunch of guys and girls with talent and the drive to do well.

I just wish people would focus on the present and future instead of wanting to see a rehash of a age gone by.

I've also noticed that many of the people that pray for the attitude era to return are also the ones that rip on TNA for hiring 'Old WWE wrestlers' or for 'Doing nothing original'. Hypocrites?

What do you guys think?

 

[vthokie8]

I agree with you 1,000,000,000,000,000% however, you have just opened a can of worms. There is an attitude era post on this board every week and people talking about how much better it was than this "watered down crap that it on TV now." Be prepared to be based my friend. I do support your post though hopefully you survive the barrage, good luck.

 

[dude_d_dude]

I think we're always hearing "ZOMG ATTITUDE ERA FTW" because people are so fixated on the crazyness/unpredictability that was apart of that era. I mean don't get me wrong I love the attitude era as much as the next guy, but there was A LOT of garbage/unsafe nonsense going on at that time.

Unprotected chair shots to the head? Blood flying everywhere? Come on guys that stuff cuts down life spans rapidly, people are always so adamant about going back to 'the old days'. Why? Do you all want to see Cena/Orton dead in 10-15 years? I don't think so.

I mean of course some stories/matches in the era of course were epic but the aftermath/effects of it either killed wrestlers or put them on the shelf.

It's like you say, we don't need lesbians, pointless amounts of blood, and moronic stories to make THIS era good, we just need creative ideas.

On the other side of things though, some people don't want that era back in full swing, some people would just like to see a little blood in realistic situations (you get your face rammed into a steel cage) and maybe a little more attitude-like edge to some stories.

At the end of the day though, you're not gonna please everyone all the time so WWE is just gonna keep doing what they do. And we're gonna watch every minute of it regardless.

 

[mikde_]

Do you all want to see Cena/Orton dead in 10-15 years? I don't think so.

i think if these forums were not modded as good as they are then we would be getting alot of people answering with a stupid comment regarding that statement!

but yeah, i think that blood can add alot to a storyline if used rarely. A major beatdown. A big payoff match (i.e. HIAC, Cage Match ect) and also a little bit of madness would also add to the product but it just seems that many many people just want to watch blood and bodies fly and in my opinion that is not what wrestling is about.

In my opinion, whilst great at the time, the attitude era had such a negative effect on the industry as a whole in the long run because it made fans expect a 100mph show every week and when they didnt get that it made many many people very cynical.

Its time for a new era, a new age in pro wrasslin'....the reality era!

 

[hollowpoint]

I appreciate the Attitude Era for what it was and what it brought to the table, but I also enjoy what im watching now. One of the main differences between what is going on now vs then is the level of talent that exists. The WWE is in the middle of a youth movement where all of the older stars are fading out and the new stars are getting more opportunities and bigger roles within the company.

 

[772Attitude]

As much as i love the Attitude era ( grew up on it) I think they should never attempt to recreate it again. It was great while it lasted but its dead and gone. So lets just move on. Create some new era lets not bring back the dead.

 

[holdingholder]

It is and has always been my contention that the Attitude era was great not because of the over the top storylines and of the wall action, but because of all the incredible stars that were there to make it work. With Rock and Stone Cold leading the charge it just brought the level of everyone around them up. At the time they had what was most likely the greatest assemblage of talent ever all in their primes. Taker, HHH, Angle, Benoit, Kane, Big Show, Edge & Christian, Dudleys, Hardys, Foley, the list is incredible and mostly all those guys were in the prime of their careers. Unless you can assemble such awesome talent again, there will never be another era like the attitude era.

 

[nerd4life]

attitude era bst era in wreslting. period.

that being said it will never happen again it was a one time thing. Thery dont have enough stars and actual wreslters to have that era again. Punk is trying to start a reailty era but there will never be another attitude era.

Its unfortunate because attitude era was hands down best era ever. But nothing lasts forever right?

 

[King_Kong_Brody]

I agree with the OP, the truth is: If you need blood, chaos, vulgarity, sexual innuendos and all the other nonsense the attitude era ushered in...you're not a wrestling fan. I could care less what the rating of program is as long as the matches are good, entertaining and dramatic...you don't need blood and spots to tell a compelling story in fact I'd argue too much of that stuff takes away from it's impact when it's used sparingly.

 

[hollowpoint]

Back then the E didn't have to rely on storylines because there was so much talent in the ring. We didn't have to worry about "dream matches" because every week was like watching a PPV. Every division meant something. Hell even the women were worth watching with Trish, Lita, Ivory, Jazz. That is why it is so nastalgic even to this day and it will never be forgotten. It was like the Dream Team in the Olympics in '92. The assmeblance of talent will probably never be re-created.

 

[911 JP]

I personally want to see the Attitude Era comeback not for the blood, not for the over the top violence but for A) The over the top storylines would bring in a whole new entertainment level to a new audience that havent seen it before and B) For the divas not only would they be entertaining again but it would widen their audience back to the males that have moved to UFC, plus some of the stuff the Divas have done outshined their wrestling which would mean that the actual wrestling Divas would get TV time while the divas like Kelly Kelly, Maryse, Bellas, Layla etc will be doing the bikini contests and what not.

 

[mikde_]

I personally want to see the Attitude Era comeback not for the blood, not for the over the top violence but for A) The over the top storylines would bring in a whole new entertainment level to a new audience that havent seen it before and B) For the divas not only would they be entertaining again but it would widen their audience back to the males that have moved to UFC, plus some of the stuff the Divas have done outshined their wrestling which would mean that the actual wrestling Divas would get TV time while the divas like Kelly Kelly, Maryse, Bellas, Layla etc will be doing the bikini contests and what not.

i have to disagree with you on the bit about the divas. I think they are showcased (although poorly) much better now than in the attitude era. It was all about boobs and ass in those days. Women running around in bra and panties and yes as a male i do enjoy that to a certain extent but i think like many other men if i want to see tits and ass i will watch porn. I want to see wrestling when i watch wrestling and even though they are rarely given the chance to shine now, they do get alot more respect and more in ring time.

I watched Summerslam 2000 not long ago and Terri and The Kat fought in a stinkface match or something and they were both in bra and panties just fighting (very poorly) in the ring and whilst they are both pleasing on the eye i kinda felt embarrased for them. Womens wrestling has came along way.

 

[Jackal960]

I am also one of the AE guys, and I will try to defend it, anytime! Not because it was flawless or anything. It is just because it was BETTER than todays WWE. I would prefer watching AE over simply any other era on any promotion. Reasons?
Hmm lets start with the fact that the viewers then were 3-4 times more than today. Maybe there is a reason we have to talk on forums instead of our friends, because the number of people that gives a crap about WWE is 25% of what it was in 1999. Any reasons why???
Also yes there were great stars, but I also remember Rocky Maivia becoming Rock, Ringmaster becoming SCSA, or Hunter H...H.... becoming HHH. Just think who they became during this era? And how they became? Just think of SCSA without a beer on his hand, with PG words on his mouth, and no sign language. Not even 3:16. Imagine if it would look fun to watch? AE gave edgy characters to to wrestlers so they have more FREEDOM to improve themselves, get a character. I can't believe even Mark Henry got a character which was fun to watch. So today we might still have these great wrestlers, hmm sorry, performers, but being on PG make them boring as hell. Give an example? Rock came back and made a promo where he basically killed all the promos before him. Then it got stale? Maybe if other wrestlers had their own fun promos it wouldn't. You would always have someone else to watch all the time. You would create superstars. Since Rock's promo what was the next great promo? CM Punk? Was it PG? Or Cena's replies to Rock? Weren't they edgy? It's not blood or swearing or bikinis. It was as a whole. It is called more FREEDOM to get a character. Don't limit yourself!

 

[RicoLen]

The Attitude Era will be brought back eventually in a new format sooner or later. The attitude era was about blurring the lines between faces and heels, and giving the finger to authority, and about being pretty over the top with their matches.

That said, I never really liked DX, Big Emo/American Badass, Dudleys, Hardyz, E&C, Val Venis, Godfather, nor even Stone Cold, though he grew on me. I only really liked The Rock, & Kurt Angle.

I was definitely an nWo/WCW guy right up until sometime mid-late '99.

For me though, the attitude era was reminiscent of what the attitude era fanboys are to the PG-Era. I watched Stone Cold treat Jake Roberts like s**t at KotR '96 and even while I realized what I saw was huge, I absolutely hated Austin for that.

I couldn't stand the no-name, WCW rejects, & rookies that flooded WWE as all the real talent went to WCW. Yeah ok I get it now that that group of no-names, WCW rejects, & rookies turned out to be one of the best casts the WWE has ever had. But put yourself in my shoes by thinking about it like this: Imagine TNA picked up Steve Austin, The Rock, Angle, Mick Foley, DX, Taker, and a few others you knew and liked back in the Attitude Era, and then compared that to this cast you see now?

WCW had all the golden age guys I grew up knowing and loving, Hacksaw, Nasty Boys, Flair, Sting, Luger, Macho Man, Hulk Hogan, Hall & Nash, Dusty Rhodes, Big Bossman, Mr. Perfect, Ted DiBiase, I.R.S., Brutus Beefcake, Bret Hart, The Anvil, British Bulldog, The Steiner Brothers, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Bobby The Brain Heenan, Mean Gene Okerlund and then they developed new talent in Paul "The Giant" Wight, DDP, Goldberg, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Tank Abbott, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, Stacy Keibler, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Raven, Konan, Chris Canyon... ok get the point?

For a guy like me, who by 1996 had been watching wrestling for almost 10 years, the contest was a no-brainer and I looked at WWF as just utter crap. Well we all know how that turned out. Lesson learned there by me was to give the PG-era a chance.

However I'm still not a fan of the attitude era, and if you were tell me that the cast the WWF had back in '96 was going to turn into what it did I'd've called you crazy. Fast forward to today, you look at the guys in this current cast in the WWE, and this time around I see potential stars EVERYWHERE.

It shouldn't happen again in terms to sleazy BS they had then, but it probably will go to a more attitude era-esque kind of product pretty soon here. The public relations nightmare for the WWE is almost a thing of the past now, and that opens things up for them to really do what they do best.

 

[mikde_]

i think this thread has took the unfortunate turn id feared of...its become a generic AE discussion

i wasn't asking for peoples opinions on the current era or the attitude era and theres no reason for anyone to come and defend either because i wasn't trying to say either is bad or either is good.

What i wanted to know is why are so many fans unable to grasp the concept of moving forward and doing something different? Jackal960 no offence, you do make good points on everything you said but everything you said is not really relevant to the discussion that is taking place. You are simply giving your opinion on why the attitude era is better than the current era and thats the type of comment i so desperatly wish we would have avoided...alas i failed

i'll let you guys carry on with your generic discussion about which era is better.

 

[CameronKO]

Even though i did like the attitude era and some parts of me would like to see it come back, its dead and buried and it will more than likely stay that way due to the PG angle. CM Punk refered to this era as the 'reality era' which i dont think fits in with what the wwe are putting on tv right now. Certain asspects of the attitude era can be brought back to make raw and smackdown more entertaining to watch which i feel cm punk is trying to do but Raw and Smackdown are still 'PG' shows and i cant see the wwe changing that.

 

[The_Grimace]

i think this thread has took the unfortunate turn id feared of...its become a generic AE discussion

i wasn't asking for peoples opinions on the current era or the attitude era and theres no reason for anyone to come and defend either because i wasn't trying to say either is bad or either is good.

What i wanted to know is why are so many fans unable to grasp the concept of moving forward and doing something different? Jackal960 no offence, you do make good points on everything you said but everything you said is not really relevant to the discussion that is taking place. You are simply giving your opinion on why the attitude era is better than the current era and thats the type of comment i so desperatly wish we would have avoided...alas i failed

i'll let you guys carry on with your generic discussion about which era is better.

I was planning on posting about your topic but now I feel like I need to say I feel your pain. I too believe that we should just respect the past eras for what they were, and pray that the future is better. That being said I love the direction the WWE is heading with this reality era( if they don't drop the ball with it.). The future is always changing so who know even with the pg era we can get a product that we can all enjoy and bring about the success that the attitude era brought the WWE.

 

[Shouldabeenawrestler]

First and foremost I agree with the subject of this post. The attitude era cannot be replicated for the reason that professional wrestling will never again have two edgy and dominant promotions.

As a spectator who can often correctly predict the outcomes of matches and storylines; it would be nice to see an element of unpredictability back in the business. That's what excited me about the initial CM punk angle.

Like JR said 'anything can happen in the WWF (E)'. If that quote was lived up to a bit more in contemporary wrestling, I feel fans worldwide (10%ers-90%ers) would have less to criticise and more to look forward to.

 

[SickJames]

I wanna say this. I think people need to stop criticizing the greatest era of all time, and it was, not even being biased, it raked in more ratings and was actually suspenseful week to week. It spawned from The Monday Night Wars and was the most successful period in wrestling and the best time to be a wrestling fan no matter which company you liked and that's a fact! And many legends have gone on record agreeing with that.


The thing I want to point out is you stated people say, bring blood back, bring back hardcore matches like that's all that defined Attitude, but really they had blood before that and hardcore bouts. Attitude took things up a notch, pushed the envelope and made for compelling TV to look forward to EVERY week, pushing entertainment and wrestling


And now that this era is as close to Attitude as it can be without breaking PG proves it's what people really want, as it's defined as more than cursing and sexy Diva gimmick matches and such


Attitude rocks and it should come back... when the time is right, I'd say why not 2016

 

[911 JP]

i have to disagree with you on the bit about the divas. I think they are showcased (although poorly) much better now than in the attitude era. It was all about boobs and ass in those days. Women running around in bra and panties and yes as a male i do enjoy that to a certain extent but i think like many other men if i want to see tits and ass i will watch porn. I want to see wrestling when i watch wrestling and even though they are rarely given the chance to shine now, they do get alot more respect and more in ring time.

I watched Summerslam 2000 not long ago and Terri and The Kat fought in a stinkface match or something and they were both in bra and panties just fighting (very poorly) in the ring and whilst they are both pleasing on the eye i kinda felt embarrased for them. Womens wrestling has came along way.

Not trying to start an argument here but I am disagreeing with you. 90% of the divas right now are models and cant put on a great match, and most of them are out there to showcase their bodies. Thats how Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler and Sable amoung others got famous. They want to show case their bodies and I am sure they were more than willing to bounce around in the ring in next to nothing.

I am not saying the attitude era needs to come back but it will do much more for the company than the current era is. The divas will have something to do other than be in the ring for 3 minutes attempting to put on a match. The divas that CAN Wrestle will be in the matches and the divas that are eye candy will be in the ring next to naked. Plus WWE will appeal to a much wider audience.

Just sayin... ... It makes sense No?

 

[The_Grimace]

Not trying to start an argument here but I am disagreeing with you. 90% of the divas right now are models and cant put on a great match, and most of them are out there to showcase their bodies. Thats how Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler and Sable amoung others got famous. They want to show case their bodies and I am sure they were more than willing to bounce around in the ring in next to nothing.

I am not saying the attitude era needs to come back but it will do much more for the company than the current era is. The divas will have something to do other than be in the ring for 3 minutes attempting to put on a match. The divas that CAN Wrestle will be in the matches and the divas that are eye candy will be in the ring next to naked. Plus WWE will appeal to a much wider audience.

Just sayin... ... It makes sense No?

I have a problem with that, like someone else said if I want to see naked girls I have a girlfriend for that, I want wrestling not more degregation of women for ratings, I enjoy wrestling I hope they give divas who can wrest more time once kong gets back and we can get down to real female wrestling, not most of the crap we see now. What the hell is twin magic anyhow a waste of 5 mins if you ask me.

 

[THEpapachamp]

I personally feel that this era has surpassed the Attitude era in every way.

Go watch a RAW in 1998, terrible acting, overplayed storylines, half naked woman and cursing every two seconds.

The acting is 10x better then that time, whether it be scripted or not. it's entertainment, if not we'd just have another jersey swore on our hands.

 

[Azane]

I don't care for blood, but I absolutely loved the story telling and antics they've perfoemd in hardcore matches, I actually enjoyed the Hardcore Title and it's 24/7 era.

Certain parts of the Attitude era are entertaining, nobody wants the same product, but something more like it.

 

[dwduck004]

The issue I see with returning to an 'Attitude Era' is that its all been done! IWC will be complaining and and wanting the WWE to bring it back, but as soon as it returns (if) the IWC will be complaining about that fact its nothing new and we've seen it all before. As a wrestling fan of over 20 years (I know that not long in several cases) I wanna be captured by a realistic storyline. The current VKM, HHH, CM Punk storyline is realistic albeit rushed, but its half believable and has had many of us sucked in debating exactly how real this so called story is.

If the past few weeks are anything to go by, then I think us fans will be in for an unpredictable ride over the next few years. And who knows, we may be discussing after the end of the 'Reality Era' holding it in the same stead as the Attitude Era.

I'm loving WWE's work right now. Its fresh and quite daring.

 

[Ares405]

Going to put it this way, In Rome there sits a Coliseum, where men died in sports, got ripped apart by animals, where they fought to the death...Its human nature to want blood and gore, sure, we dont want to see our favorite wrestlers get seriously injured, but we do want to see people bleed, fake injuries, its all for the show. The reason why the Attitude Era did so well, was because they didnt hold back, it was crude humour, blood, injuries, sexual content, adult scenarios, it wasnt for the kiddies, even though we were all kids watching. Plain and simple wrestling is for the mature, the more adult viewers. The best thing the Attitude Era brought, were whats called "gimmick guys", Guys like Stone Cold, The Undertaker, The Rock, Y2J, hell even John Cena, but with everybody taking the safe route, and not being let loose, then nobody can really create, develop, and become a gimmick guy. Point is, wrestling right now is a hit or miss type of thing, one week its good, the next it makes you question why the hell you are still watching, thats not going to say they need to bring back the Attitude Era per se, but just like before (history repeats itself) Pro Wrestling needs to recreate itself and take the boring "good boys" programming off the air...Bring in a new age of creativeness, a more adult surrounding, and we got ourselves a new age attitude...