A Perspective of the Eras

[FSWWE]

That's right another thread about different eras, however I'm not going to talk about how WWE should be TV14 again or how good is PG too, I am going to talk about the impact that the old wrestlers could make because of the TV 14.


In the old days we had guys like Chris Jericho, Edge, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, The Rock, Stone Cold and HHH and they all became major stars in the Attitude Era, however I feel that some of them couldn't had been such legends if they had debuted in the PG Era...

Currently we have guys like The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Christian, Randy Orton, CM Punk and Cena as our major stars, but lets take Alberto Del Rio case here:

He made Rey Mysterio tap out in his debut, he went on to win the RR 2011 and main eventing WrestleMania and now he is feuding with The Big Show, and as far as I see he doesn't have that good amount of pop when his theme plays, and why?
CM Punk is the best WWE Superstar right now, and lets face it he isn't that over to be a fully capable main eventer, and why?

So my questions is:

• Do you feel that is harder to make an impact now than it was in the Attitude Era?
• Name Wrestlers that couldn't had been legends in the PG thing and why?
• Name current Wrestlers that could have been huge in the Attitude Era and with the PG effect, makes them look irrelevant.

 

[jccool420]

The real difference is Shock Value...

Back in say, 96... Wrestling was kind of boring, Bret and Shawn were plain good guy heros and they still had the stupid characters running around...

So, out of staleness came feshness... lol

Everything was so popular in the Attitude Era partly because of that peroid of staleness... New "real" characters like DX, Rock and Austin changed the game and people ate it up because the business was becoming stale... WcW was kicking their ass, so they shot big and it worked...

I'm kind of thinking Vince may have been smart enough to pull it off again... I mean, we have been having the dumbass themed RAWs and the Guest host period and the whole PG Era has been pretty stale and the decline in ratings prove this...

But... What if? Vince planned the PG Era, just so he could come back with a new version of the Attitude era?

That's what makes things like the debut of Nexus and CM Punk's promo stand out, because we have been overwhelmed with dumb child pandering crap... It's what makes us boo Cena for being the boring face.... We as adults are the ones spending the money on the product and we want to be entertained...

They just need to control the shock value... In the Attitude Era, they did stupid shit just for the point of doing stupid shit and it almost ruined the business all together...

 

[Gore Illa]

The thing is, everything's been done.

Take a look at some of the current Superstars.

Around 2006-2007, John Cena's promos were exactly like The Rock's. Same old, roasting WWE Superstars, make a penis/nuts/etc. joke, and when interviewed, make fun of the interviewer. And of course now, he is a Hulk Hogan.

Alberto Del Rio is a Mexican JBL. Not to say I don't enjoy his character, but he is.

Randy Orton is Stone Cold Steve Austin without the promo skills. The same methods of a heel but still be a face.

CM Punk (sans his Monday promo) is Chris Jericho's old gimmick. The Miz has some characteristics of this as well.

Now could you imagine yourself complaining about a product where Stone Cold, The Rock, Hogan, JBL, and Jericho were the stars?

All of the above listed superstars are great at what they do, but I'm just saying how hard it is to have shock value when everything has been done before. Back in the 90s, it was a big deal for someone to hit McMahon, hence why Stone Cold was so big. Now when we see it, we don't look twice.

The current product isn't groundbreaking, but the Attitude Era set the standard too high because everything was new at the time. It's like when people compare every remotely good NBA player to Michael Jordan, so that player pales in comparison in most people's eyes.

 

[wrestlingfan]

The real difference is Shock Value...

Back in say, 96... Wrestling was kind of boring, Bret and Shawn were plain good guy heros and they still had the stupid characters running around...

So, out of staleness came feshness... lol

Everything was so popular in the Attitude Era partly because of that peroid of staleness... New "real" characters like DX, Rock and Austin changed the game and people ate it up because the business was becoming stale... WcW was kicking their ass, so they shot big and it worked...

I'm kind of thinking Vince may have been smart enough to pull it off again... I mean, we have been having the dumbass themed RAWs and the Guest host period and the whole PG Era has been pretty stale and the decline in ratings prove this...

But... What if? Vince planned the PG Era, just so he could come back with a new version of the Attitude era?

That's what makes things like the debut of Nexus and CM Punk's promo stand out, because we have been overwhelmed with dumb child pandering crap... It's what makes us boo Cena for being the boring face.... We as adults are the ones spending the money on the product and we want to be entertained...

They just need to control the shock value... In the Attitude Era, they did stupid shit just for the point of doing stupid shit and it almost ruined the business all together...

The debut of Nexus was simply to do something with the NXT Rookies, and CM Punk's promo may not have happened if he chose to stay with the company. You as adults may be the one spending ht emoney on the product but at the end of the day your kids come first, They're the ones going to be with wrestling for a while and are the current demographic.

The IWC needs to get over the fact that there's not going to be another Attitude Era unless some competition comes up and forces Vince to change his product, The ratings may be going down a bit but not much to drive Vince to the point of bankruptcy as WCW did.

 

[jccool420]

The debut of Nexus was simply to do something with the NXT Rookies, and CM Punk's promo may not have happened if he chose to stay with the company. You as adults may be the one spending ht emoney on the product but at the end of the day your kids come first, They're the ones going to be with wrestling for a while and are the current demographic.

The IWC needs to get over the fact that there's not going to be another Attitude Era unless some competition comes up and forces Vince to change his product, The ratings may be going down a bit but not much to drive Vince to the point of bankruptcy as WCW did.

What happens when you grow up (Assuming you are young) ?

When the young fans from this era grow up, how long will the same ole good guy always wins in the end "super" face formula that they are doing with Cena and Orton now last...? It's been boring for me for the past couple of years...

There may never be another Attitude Era, but... WWE needs to produce edgier more "real" storylines or we will just keep seeing the ratings fall only to be saved briefly by stars from the 90s...

WWE needs a change... it's stale...

 

[The Perfect Max]

The WWE is like any other company, it has it's highs and lows. Look at the NFL for example, you may have the most boring season there is, then, the next season is frigging amazing with things done that have never ever been seen before. That's why the "PG Era" sucks in comparison the "Attitude Era". Cause it was the best. But, that's the point, you get the best and the second best comes after.

When something sucks, it gets better like the first man said. Look, timeline:
1985 - 1997
PG rated wrestling. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, The Undertaker, Sid, Ric Flair etc. Good wrestlers, just stale.

1997 - 2001
The Attitude Era rated M for Mature. Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Kane, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, Chris Benoit etc. Real good wrestlers and good product.

2001 - 2008
The Ruthless Agression Era. Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, Kane, The Undertaker, Batista, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Booker T etc. Goodish wrestlers and good product.

2008 - Present
PG Era. John Cena, Randy Orton, Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison, Christian, The Big Show, Kane, The Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Sheamus etc. Alright wrestling and alright product.

Look how things change. The WWE in 2012 could blast us away with something better than the Attitude Era (unlikley) but it is possible (maybe).

It is easy to make an impact now seen as more kids are involved and kids tend to overreact to things, but not in a bad way. The Nexus? Big Bang! Kharma (I know a diva - wait - what was The Rock said to Mae Young at WrestleMania - divasaurus?)? Big Bang! Alberto Del Rio? Small Bang, but a bang! Mark Henry? Strongest Bang!

They are just some impacts. Others like CM Punk's promo was huge and so was Ezekiel Jackson's mini rampage:
"Look at me, if I inject myself each morning with steroids I can do this - (body slams Big Show) - hurray.

Stone Cold and The Rock would still work today, but maybe not as huge. Realistically, DX wouldn't work in the same way as the 90's but the modern DX didn't dissapoint.

I personally don't think there is any current WWE Superstar that wouldn't fit in the Attitude Era. Every gimmick can be tweaked to fit, right? The product is stale because of the writers. If you want to complain, go to them.

 

[wrestlingfan]

The WWE is like any other company, it has it's highs and lows. Look at the NFL for example, you may have the most boring season there is, then, the next season is frigging amazing with things done that have never ever been seen before. That's why the "PG Era" sucks in comparison the "Attitude Era". Cause it was the best. But, that's the point, you get the best and the second best comes after.

When something sucks, it gets better like the first man said. Look, timeline:
1985 - 1997
PG rated wrestling. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, The Undertaker, Sid, Ric Flair etc. Good wrestlers, just stale.

1997 - 2001
The Attitude Era rated M for Mature. Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Kane, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, Chris Benoit etc. Real good wrestlers and good product.

2001 - 2008
The Ruthless Agression Era. Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, Kane, The Undertaker, Batista, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Booker T etc. Goodish wrestlers and good product.

2008 - Present
PG Era. John Cena, Randy Orton, Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison, Christian, The Big Show, Kane, The Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Sheamus etc. Alright wrestling and alright product.

Look how things change. The WWE in 2012 could blast us away with something better than the Attitude Era (unlikley) but it is possible (maybe).

It is easy to make an impact now seen as more kids are involved and kids tend to overreact to things, but not in a bad way. The Nexus? Big Bang! Kharma (I know a diva - wait - what was The Rock said to Mae Young at WrestleMania - divasaurus?)? Big Bang! Alberto Del Rio? Small Bang, but a bang! Mark Henry? Strongest Bang!

They are just some impacts. Others like CM Punk's promo was huge and so was Ezekiel Jackson's mini rampage:
"Look at me, if I inject myself each morning with steroids I can do this - (body slams Big Show) - hurray.

Stone Cold and The Rock would still work today, but maybe not as huge. Realistically, DX wouldn't work in the same way as the 90's but the modern DX didn't dissapoint.

I personally don't think there is any current WWE Superstar that wouldn't fit in the Attitude Era. Every gimmick can be tweaked to fit, right? The product is stale because of the writers. If you want to complain, go to them.

I see you didn't put the Television Era since wrestling wasn't big back then but for the PG Rated Wrestling at the same time you have to split that into two eras, the Golden Age and New Generation, big gap in terms of characters.

The thing is, everything's been done.

Take a look at some of the current Superstars.

Around 2006-2007, John Cena's promos were exactly like The Rock's. Same old, roasting WWE Superstars, make a penis/nuts/etc. joke, and when interviewed, make fun of the interviewer. And of course now, he is a Hulk Hogan.

Alberto Del Rio is a Mexican JBL. Not to say I don't enjoy his character, but he is.

Randy Orton is Stone Cold Steve Austin without the promo skills. The same methods of a heel but still be a face.

CM Punk (sans his Monday promo) is Chris Jericho's old gimmick. The Miz has some characteristics of this as well.

Now could you imagine yourself complaining about a product where Stone Cold, The Rock, Hogan, JBL, and Jericho were the stars?

All of the above listed superstars are great at what they do, but I'm just saying how hard it is to have shock value when everything has been done before. Back in the 90s, it was a big deal for someone to hit McMahon, hence why Stone Cold was so big. Now when we see it, we don't look twice.

The current product isn't groundbreaking, but the Attitude Era set the standard too high because everything was new at the time. It's like when people compare every remotely good NBA player to Michael Jordan, so that player pales in comparison in most people's eyes.

Well the Miz is just the classic cocky heel and CM Punk is Y2J or, the Mentla Mastermind (what do you mean by Jericho's old gimmick)
Randy is like Stone Cold but as much as they're both tweeners at the same time they have two completely different gimmicks, same for the Rock-Cena comparison but that was better then the Orton-Austin. Alberto, Mexican JBL, that's a good fit but JBL was more of a corporate conservative business man but again good comparison.

 

[mrpops]

Ill keep on saying it. The current product sucks because there is no storylines. Each show has 1 storyline. Thats it. Its the cena show or orton show. Before that it was the HHH show. WWE currently only focuses on 1 guy for the entire show. Everyone else is a nobody.

The attitude era/ruthless agression eras were amazing because EVERYONE had a storyline. Everyone got TV time. God i could watch the full 2 hours and be entertained. Id have jericho feuding with benoit, al snow doing a hardcore match, stone cold stunning vince, kurt winning the european belt and trish being a tramp all in one episode!

Know i get..... Cena....cena.....more cena.....generic wrestler x not talking...followed more generic x wrestler....then end the show with cena.