Chris Jericho and his thoughts on PG vs Attitude Era

[The Max Attack]

Chris Jericho had an interview with Fanhouse.com and here was his thoughts on the whole PG Era vs Attitude Era.


"Yeah, Not me. I was never really the big swearing guy. I had a couple of things - ass clown, shut the hell up and stuff like that. If you're creative and you're smart and intelligent, there's a million more where that came from. No choking – fine. No chopping – fine. It takes two or three matches to get used to it but that's it. And no choking, that's no blatant choking with a wire or tie. I mean, it's still wrestling. That's one of the reasons why I'm still on top. I've been able to adapt to the changes anywhere I've gone. And PG, I think, is a great idea. To me, the Attitude Era was stupid. Hot Lesbian Action and Meat with a (expletive) (expletive) in his pants because he has a (expletive) and Mark Henry getting a (expletive) from a guy and necrophilia. That's not entertaining by anybody's standards. That's just stupid and I never liked that stuff. For me, for them to go family oriented, I'm all for it. It's family oriented but in this day and age where you can still go out there and have kick ass matches. It's still edgy, there's still great characters. I've got no problem with it. I like it much better than the Attitude Era because I thought the Attitude Era was just childish, dropping (expletive) on each another and stuff. C'mon, that's not funny if you're five years old."

Seeing as if everyone is always saying that the PG Era is messing up wrestling. What do you think about Jericho's thoughts on this topic?

 

[spacemonkey424]

Jericho brings up some good points and for the most part i agree with him. I think that really people's feelings towards the "Attitude Era" really comes from when they began watching WWE/F. If they were on of the many who were attracted to the product during that era, and just happened to keep on watching until this point, then i could understand their frustration.

The Attitude Era was all they knew. It made Pro Wrestling "cool" again, in the eyes of mainstream culture. Back when it was just as cool to wear a Stone Cold Steve Austin T-shirt as it was to wear some sort of trendy Heavy Metal band T-shirt. Now for the most part, you wear a shirt with a wrestler on it, and you'll most likely get this comment....

"You know that sh*ts fake right?"

Honestly, i've had my fill of ridiculous wrestling angles. The days of people raping dead people, and Kane causing Lita to have a miscarriage (If i remember that whole thing right) are over. People who began watching wrestling in the Attitude Era, have grown up.

Most of the people who began watching during that time have not only grown up, but probably stopped watching wrestling altogether. Ratings reflect that. So that leaves younger kids as WWE's main demographic, and lets face it. There are more of them, than there are of us. Kids can beg their moms and dads for WWE products and ticket...

I'm a full grown man. Begging my mother and father for WWE products and tickets not only wouldn't work, it'd also be really creepy.

WWE no longer needs to push its product beyond conventional boundaries, because it has no immediate competition. WCW is no longer around to pummel them in the ratings, or give away WWF results on the air.

WWE only has itself. Some can make the argument for TNA being WWE's main competition but the famed "Monday Night Wars 2.0" not only debunked that claim, but made all those who flew that flag feel just a tad bit silly... And that's putting it nicely.

As it's being discussed already on the forums, i'm personally interested in this NXT angle. This all seems like a nifty little idea that's being handled well. Of course it could all come crumbling down within the next week or two, but still. I'll bask in what i've seen so far. Hopefully this will tide the folks calling for the death of PG wrestling over, or it could just give them something else to complain about.

 

[peep4life]

like spacemonkey424 most people who love the "attitude era"probally started to watch it during the that era. me i missed the attitude era i started watching around WM 20 but i've watched videos on youtube of the "attitude era" it was great but WWE's main adueince is kids nowadays just like back in 80s they were PG because they're main aduince was the kids. so im glad CHRIS is behind the PG ERA he realises thats it is kinda better for wrestlers like he said its still wrestling its still entertaining(sometimes espically with the NXTWO) just without all the cussing and sex jokes even thought TED DIBASE and MARYSE'S SEX JOKE ON RAW LOL and CENA saying HEll and i think JERICHO CALLED COLE A JACKASS ON RAW A FEW WEEKS AGO ON COMMENTARING AND CENA SAID PAIN IN THE ASS FANS AFTER FATAL4WAY(ithink)BUT WWE IS STARTING TO PUSH IT A LITTLE BIT ESPICALLY WITH THE NXT ANGLE BUT NO COMPLAINENTS HERE. me personally doont mind the PG ERA its keeping the wrestlers safer which means longer and healthier carreers and lifes but there are some bad things to mainly KELLY KELLY cant pose for PLAYBOY but thats another story

 

[Matt7584]

I agree with Jericho. i think its nice to put on wrestling and not hear the bleeper blocking out words that we could all fill in the blanks. You dont need to always sell sex for ratings and although their numbers are down in ratings, they are selling out most shows and can be proud of a product that the whole family can once again watch. people forget that wcw for the most part was PG even in the NWO days and they too succeded.

I think people are hung up on the PG thing but are really upset with quality of the superstars and writing. The WWE is focused on pushing stars we dont know because they have run out recognized faces. The faces they do have are being over used and stale. if austin or the rock would be in 12 straight months of payperviews for the world title people would be bored of them also even though they are 2 of greatest workers.

IWC feels cena is stale i disagree but understand their point but i feel they thinks hes stale because they compare him to the greats. IWC far too often compare cena to the rock or austin which is unfair. so he cant cut a great promo or great mat style match, but he gets an reaction. Comparing him to the last era of greats is like comparing Kobe bryant to Jerry West. Kobe is great like him or hate him but hes no jerry west. John cena isnt close to austin but hes a winner, face of the company, and a hard worker. Kobe is still a 5 time champion.

Keep the PG rating but come up with better gimmicks and writitng

 

[mrbrightside]

Jericho brings up some good points and for the most part i agree with him. I think that really people's feelings towards the "Attitude Era" really comes from when they began watching WWE/F. If they were on of the many who were attracted to the product during that era, and just happened to keep on watching until this point, then i could understand their frustration.

The Attitude Era was all they knew. It made Pro Wrestling "cool" again, in the eyes of mainstream culture. Back when it was just as cool to wear a Stone Cold Steve Austin T-shirt as it was to wear some sort of trendy Heavy Metal band T-shirt. Now for the most part, you wear a shirt with a wrestler on it, and you'll most likely get this comment....

"You know that sh*ts fake right?"

Honestly, i've had my fill of ridiculous wrestling angles. The days of people raping dead people, and Kane causing Lita to have a miscarriage (If i remember that whole thing right) are over. People who began watching wrestling in the Attitude Era, have grown up.

Most of the people who began watching during that time have not only grown up, but probably stopped watching wrestling altogether. Ratings reflect that. So that leaves younger kids as WWE's main demographic, and lets face it. There are more of them, than there are of us. Kids can beg their moms and dads for WWE products and ticket...

I'm a full grown man. Begging my mother and father for WWE products and tickets not only wouldn't work, it'd also be really creepy.

WWE no longer needs to push its product beyond conventional boundaries, because it has no immediate competition. WCW is no longer around to pummel them in the ratings, or give away WWF results on the air.

WWE only has itself. Some can make the argument for TNA being WWE's main competition but the famed "Monday Night Wars 2.0" not only debunked that claim, but made all those who flew that flag feel just a tad bit silly... And that's putting it nicely.

As it's being discussed already on the forums, i'm personally interested in this NXT angle. This all seems like a nifty little idea that's being handled well. Of course it could all come crumbling down within the next week or two, but still. I'll bask in what i've seen so far. Hopefully this will tide the folks calling for the death of PG wrestling over, or it could just give them something else to complain about.

It was Gene Snitsky that caused the miscarriage just FYI haha.

I actually started watching wrestling before the attitude era (I'm only 22 too) and can remember when the matches were the main focus. The WWE needs to be a character driven show and the attitude era really wasn't about character as much as it was about the shock and awe value (which made my mom boycott wwe).

I have started coming back to wrestling mainly because of the youth movement with Sheamus, Swagger, the NXT angle, Kofi, etc. and the PG helps get their characters over and not for the shock and awe that other superstars got over on.

 

[JJYanks121]

I knew there was a reason I liked Chris Jericho. As someone who has been through a number of eras with the WWE, I must say that The Attitude Era was by far the most disturbing on a lot of levels. While I have fond memories of Rock promos and certain interesting angles, I stopped watching the product in this era due to frustration and unwillingness to have my intelligence insulted. Seeing a man steal another man's father's casket at a funeral is about as low brow as it gets. To me, this type of stuff was unnecessary and made me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. I know it is easy for the masses who were drawn in by Stone Cold, The Rock, and Mick Foley to defend this era, but look deeper. Chris Jericho was a key cog in the era and even he can see that it was severely flawed.

Let's take Chris Jericho's character then and now. Back then, Jericho's promos were comedic whether heel or face, talked about others being "ass clowns" and featured him pronouncing the word "again" wrong. Nowadays, Jerichos promos are more serious in nature and feature a plethora of excellent vocabulary words such as sycophants, among others. You tell me which character has more depth and is more "adult"?

The truth is, the TV-14 rating that the WWE had since the Attitude era did not mean that the product was geared towards adults. In my opinion, it was geared towards a specific audience around the age of 14 who were looking for low brow entertainment. As much as I liked watching The Rock every week, I could not sit through a show that I felt insulted my intelligence just to get to The Rock. Sifting through the bullshit finally became not worth it for me and I gave up.

I am very much on the same page as Jericho, because I actually feel that today's product caters to a broad audience. I would liken the WWE product ot a movie like Shrek. That movie is supposedly geared towards children, but innuendo and quality writing make for the adult audience to have a different appreciation for the movie than children. I believe a lot of that can be carried over to the WWE. There are segments for everyone, and I believe a child watching the show will have a different kind of enjoyment from an adult. I am no longer ashamed to be a WWE fan because I can talk about things the company is doing on screen as well as off and be proud to support the company. I can't say I felt that way in the year 2000. Kudos to Jericho for taking a stand, but moreso for taking a stand that isn't just "toeing the company line" but taking the stand because he truly believes it and giving examples as to why he feels the way he does. We should all take a cue from Jericho and appreciate what we have now, because I believe this is an excellent time for the WWE and things are looking up for the future.

 

[WWE Manster03]

Basically same thing me and the rest of the PG era defenders have been saying for the last 6 or more months..The Attitude era compares very favorably to Jerry Springer in the 90's...Everything in the late 90's was geared towards shock value whether it be wrestling, magazines, movies(American Pie had a kid fuck a pie for god's sake), television, radio(Howard Stern Show being put on a pedestool nationally comes to mind) and at the time our culture was ok with that.
Fast forward 10 or so years, that stuff doesn't fly anymore. Everything seems to be moving towards more political correctness and it is really easy to see. Even South Park, who used to give us shock for the sake of shock now at least tries to be a bit more smart with their humor and satyr. And obviously being rated tv 14 isn't what draws people to wrestling anymore because TNA has crap for ratings.

Also, I want to give kudos to the guy who mentioned that Nitro for around 80% of it's reign was rated PG as well..Nice bit of trivia and really good to know. And does anyone else find it ironic that the people that hang out here and typically bash the PG rating every chance they get are nowhere to be found when the person that they idolize as a wrestling god these days tells the world that they are a bunch of "assclowns" per say

 

[mister_b1LL]

I never really liked the Attitude Era. The point when WWE was my favorite was just after Attitude, around 2001. And I never liked Attitude because of the same reasons that Jericho pointed out. Things like hand birth, Kennel From Hell, hangings and risque angles were ruling the WWE airwaves. Things that professional wrestling didn't need. Sure, Attitude was Stone Cold Steve Austin's domain, but the most he really did was swear and drink beer, and in our society, or even back then, those things are not really considered to be that edgy anymore.

When I look back at WWE during the Attitude Era, I can't exactly remember a great match coming out of that Era, but if you ask me about any other time before or right after that, I'll be talking about great matches till I lose my voice. I watched WWE when I was a kid for the same reason why I do today, and that is to watch great wrestling matches. Talking about Val Venis getting his penis chopped off doesn't exactly make for great conversation, but wrestling matches always do.

 

[Greg4WWE]

I remember the attitude Era well.. but i swear i don't really remember when it started.. or when it ended.... But i feel it really ended when the Mohammad Hassan (sp?) Character was killed off... seems like after that.. WWE moved towards PG.. I guess at the time i didn't so much mind SOME of the attitude era stuff.. but some of it was disgustin.... I remember Boss Man cooking up Pepper, Al Snow's Dog.. The swearing really wasnt the problem, it was more of the story lines.. I mean Val Venis possibly getting his weiner chopped off? Cmon!!

Like one poster above said.. all WWE needs now is better story lines. hopefully the NXT Deal will prove to be another NWO type angle.. although WCW really messed up the NWO with that NWO black and White and NWO wolfpack crap... it was a WCW show but there were no more WCW wrestlers.. even Sting was an NWO wolfpack member... It should of stayed 3 characters.. maybe 4... Macho Man turning NWO is when i stopped caring much for it.. just my 2 cents!

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm absolutely okay with the PG Era, even though I'm a faithfull child of the Attitude Era.

However, here's a question for Mr.Y2-Smartass. He talks about "kick ass matches" and nice storylines. Can Mr.Jericho please point out all the "kick ass matches" and good storylines, because honestly, I can't see them. I only associate good angles and matches with him and Micheals. That's pretty much the only thing that people can remember the last 2-4 years for.

If kick ass match is having the same sequence of moves on a different night for three months, lacking hype, lacking emotions, floating on the fact that since they liked it the first time you did it, they'll enjoy it 30 more times, then hell yeah, WWE's matches are an absolute wrestling haven. If you don't know what I'm talking about, re-watch Bourne vs Jericho on Monday. The match was awesome at the PPV and on Monday I, as a viewer, was subjected to see the exact same thing, but this time Bourne didn't kick out of The Codebreaker. He calls it kick ass, I call it lazy.

I don't see the angles either. What? NXT? Once in a blue moon. NXT is great. What else? Jericho and Michaels? Hell yeah. What else?

The Attitude Era WAS childish. The Attitude Era WAS explicit. But if it wasn't for the Attitude Era, WWE would be in the shitter right now. The Attitude Era wasn't ALL about lesbians kissing and excessive usage of curse words. No. THE most exciting angles in the last 20 years happened in the Attitude Era. THE biggest stars were created in the Attitude Era. It defined wrestling, it made it what it SHOULD'VE been today.

I'm fine with the PG Era. Screw the F-Bombs, screw the sexual content. But make up for the lack of the beforementioned parts of a show with logical booking, great wrestling, storylines that make sense and actually happen to end. Push the right people and capture the viewer's imagination. WWE lost its passion and with that the passion of its fans. All of us who watch it not because we WANT to, but because there's nothing else to do.

Tell you what, kiddies don't know good mic skills. They don't know good wrestling. They don't know a well developped character. It's VERY easy to satisfy THEIR needs. WWE is being lazy that way, and their product lacks. This is (supposedly) the biggest wrestling company in the world. I don't see how they're showing it. I won't be fooled by the pretty setting, titantrons and pyro. I can see through it.

It's funny how Mr.Jericho says he "hates that stuff", and it's "that stuff" that put his ass on the map in the first place

 

[sTyLnK]

I disagree with Jericho. Personally I loved the Attitude Era. With so many top WWE stars and some insane creative writing, you never knew what was going to happen. It made you jump out of your seat seemingly every Raw and PPV. It shook the wrestling world upside down. Was it childish? Oh of course. It was ridiculously over the top. But, it was at a time when wrestling needed a change.

Obviously the PG era means more toned down things, but I am ok with that. It's a good thing for the simple fact that we all know wrestling is hard on the body and with no blood and chair shots etc, it will help the wrestlers hopefully preserve their bodies longer. As long as the WWE gives me some surprises and twists here and there I'm happy.

 

[Travaje]

For people longing for the attitude era: IMO, if you take away Steve Austin and The Rock, all you have left are people longing for the old ECW. Sick bumps, wild spots, tables, ladders, weapons, etc. That's it.

As far as the actual wrestling, I'd argue that it's a little bit better than it was then. I can't speak for PPV's, as I don't order them anymore, but back then, the average RAW match lasted about 3 minutes. They were almost all short. Nowadays you have at least one match on the show that takes up more than 1 segment.

I don't mind people wishing for the attitude era, but just be straight-forward with what you're saying, and say what ABOUT the attitude era specifically you're missing. I imagine it's a lot of stunners, beer drinking, cussing, blood, and violence.

 

[dionlyone18]

Finally!!!! yes the atitude era was edgy and blah blah blah we all grew up watching it..but frankly if i had a child during that time i wouldnt let them watch it....the only reson i was allowed to see it cause my parents never watched wrestling so they didnt know..well my dad watched but he didnt care....now i feel if i have a kid they can watch wrestling without me having to shield thier eyes or turn thier heads...okay yes we all loved SCSA saying hell open up a can of whoop ass and rock laying the smackdown on you roodie poo candy ass but wrestling is alot more than swearing and whatnot.i want to be entertained.and unlike most people ive been entertained with the PG era..its time for wrestling to be taken seriously and in the atitude era it wasnt taken seriously..think about it..we had necrophila..gross...tranny..yuck...lesbians making out...its hot but not suited for WWF/E its just wrestling now is something everyone can love i mena if the PG bashers would sit there and find something good about WWE now instead of expecting "crap every episode" maybe they could find something they loved about the WWE

 

[3/4 Facelock]

Ho.
Lee.
Shit.

Thank you Chris Jericho. Wrestling has grown up and so have their fans. Long gone are the days where I thought blading made a match better. Long gone are the days where tombstoning priests and crucifications were part of wrestling.

The Attitude Era was as good as it was because of the writers in the WWE. The Attitude Era kept wrestling afloat and the WWE strong. It was not by any means the best Era. Just the most exposed era.

I remember the original 4 Horsemen and every iteration thereafter. I remember wrestling results being shown on the fucking news at night along with the sports result. I remember not truly knowing how real wrestling until the MSG incident. That was some mighty fine wrestling and in my opinion, more engaging wrestling than we had during the Attitude Era.

With safety prominent in the WWE we are able to see better matches because the wrestlers are healthier. The match on RAW this past Monday between Jericho & Bourne was one of the best wrestled matches I have seen all year. Now I'm not looking for anyone to agree with me, but if you watched that match and weren't impressed with how fluid and well choreographed the match was, then you need to turn in your wrestling fan card, because you don't know how to watch and enjoy wrestling.

The Attitude Era is gone and rightfully so. That kind of shit only takes you so far. If you think that the WWE needs to go back to that formula, just check out TNA on Thursday to see what happens when you let Hogan & Bischoff do the exact same thing they did 15 years ago.

It fucking fails. That's what happens. Fails like it did the first time except now it fails faster.

Too many of the IWC have what I have refered to as goldfish memories. 3 seconds tops before they're distracted or forget. For every SCSA vs Rock caliber match there were 10 Albert vs Savio Vega caliber matches.

Hey, if you're a fan, take some time to get to know the roster. Lots of new faces and heels. This is a very exciting time with a lot of different people being able to hold any belt. Healthier, stronger, faster, more technical, wrestlers are filtering in. Many of them are generational wrestlers with the business in their blood. We are gearing up to see some of the best wrestling and best storylines we have ever seen on TV.

People who consider the Attitude Era to be the bestest era ever in the history of wrestling on Earth, well... not only do I consider them meathead fans, but I consider them as the Brooklyn Brawlers of wrestling fans.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Right?

 

[Ferbian]

I don't particularly agree or disagree with Chris Jericho.

While I do agree that a lot of the things going on in the Attitude Era was childish things, some of them were still entertaining and made wrestling interesting to some manner once again, it did save WWE from going under to WCW after all.

On the other hand, I also agree with the whole fact that the PG era is a good thing, they're giving a more children friendly show, it's good for business to attract more fans, even if it does kill off some of the older fans who doesn't like the PG era, which I find personally to be ridiculous, but I am not gonna tell people what to think.

I do find the PG era to be one of the things I actually enjoy the most, while I did love the Attitude Era, I still love the PG era, and I find both to be great shows, the PG era sees a multitude of new stars being created right now, as opposed to the Attitude Era which had Triple H, Mick Foley, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin that I can remember being created, at least created properly.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Jericho is right. To succeed on TV you need to be as appealing to as wide a market as possible. And if the owners of your main demographic won't let them watch cause you cuss a whole fucking lot then you don't make money.
Cross over appeal also goes out the window. Wrestlers are popping up more frequently on tv shows, movies, etc. This wouldn't happen as much if he was known as Mr. Ass.

What he's saying is that compelling stories don't come from explicit language. The NXT angle is intriging and doesn't need lesbians and birthing hands and necrophillia. He said that if you're smart you can think of other things to say and do.
Make people care about the matches and titles, not about dropping f-bombs.

 

[Dean Winchester]

Ho.
Lee.
Shit.

Thank you Chris Jericho. Wrestling has grown up and so have their fans. Long gone are the days where I thought blading made a match better. Long gone are the days where tombstoning priests and crucifications were part of wrestling.

The Attitude Era was as good as it was because of the writers in the WWE. The Attitude Era kept wrestling afloat and the WWE strong. It was not by any means the best Era. Just the most exposed era.

I remember the original 4 Horsemen and every iteration thereafter. I remember wrestling results being shown on the fucking news at night along with the sports result. I remember not truly knowing how real wrestling until the MSG incident. That was some mighty fine wrestling and in my opinion, more engaging wrestling than we had during the Attitude Era.

With safety prominent in the WWE we are able to see better matches because the wrestlers are healthier. The match on RAW this past Monday between Jericho & Bourne was one of the best wrestled matches I have seen all year. Now I'm not looking for anyone to agree with me, but if you watched that match and weren't impressed with how fluid and well choreographed the match was, then you need to turn in your wrestling fan card, because you don't know how to watch and enjoy wrestling.

The Attitude Era is gone and rightfully so. That kind of shit only takes you so far. If you think that the WWE needs to go back to that formula, just check out TNA on Thursday to see what happens when you let Hogan & Bischoff do the exact same thing they did 15 years ago.

It fucking fails. That's what happens. Fails like it did the first time except now it fails faster.

Too many of the IWC have what I have refered to as goldfish memories. 3 seconds tops before they're distracted or forget. For every SCSA vs Rock caliber match there were 10 Albert vs Savio Vega caliber matches.

Hey, if you're a fan, take some time to get to know the roster. Lots of new faces and heels. This is a very exciting time with a lot of different people being able to hold any belt. Healthier, stronger, faster, more technical, wrestlers are filtering in. Many of them are generational wrestlers with the business in their blood. We are gearing up to see some of the best wrestling and best storylines we have ever seen on TV.

People who consider the Attitude Era to be the bestest era ever in the history of wrestling on Earth, well... not only do I consider them meathead fans, but I consider them as the Brooklyn Brawlers of wrestling fans.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Right?

Thats back when wrestling was treated as a sport and you had realistic characters and storylines. No supernatural crap happening and other stupid stuff. But then Vince said that wrestling was faked in arears and they brought in the cartoon/fantasy elements and wrestling became just entertainment. Like a freak shows that is to the massess of individuals. If anything thed best era in wrestling was the 1980s. It had great matches and storylines. Attitude Era had some great matches, most of them lackluster, and only a few good storylines. Wrestling now is better thend the wrestling in the Attitude Era.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

What he's saying is that compelling stories don't come from explicit language. The NXT angle is intriging and doesn't need lesbians and birthing hands and necrophillia. He said that if you're smart you can think of other things to say and do.
Make people care about the matches and titles, not about dropping f-bombs.

What compelling story in professional wrestling came from explicit language, if I might ask? Quite frankly, all the storylines in the A.A era that I can think of are not THAT edgy. Russo was there, what do you expect? Mr.McMahon's "Kiss my Ass Club", which if I remember correctly happened again a year or two ago, was still "running wild" when Vince was about to force a midget to lay a smooch on his ass.

And indeed, they don't need all the crazy things to build great storylines. But are they doing it right now? The NXT SL is surely genius, for a few weeks. I don't want to think about it, but I feel like they're going to ruin THIS good thing like so many others.

And what wrestling audience? The kids? You do realize that McMahon didn't think of this as a healthy business decision, he was forced to do it because the majority of his fans found the product boring and stopped watching, not because they "grew up". WE watched Wrestling in the 90's and most of us were kids, but the majority of its fan-base was adults. They found the product stupid and quit watching. Vince lost the fans and was left with a very easy to manipulate crowd - the kids. They're gonna like ANYTHING, no matter WHAT you do. As long as their "heroes" are winning. Explains the Super-Cena situation, doesn't it?

Fact is, we all enjoyed the A.A era more than the PG era. Somehow, someway it was more interesting to watch, more enjoyable, compared to what we have today. Hence, it was better.

If I remember correctly, it was JERICHO himself who tweeted or said that WWE is in "crisis" mode right now. Didn't like The Attitude Era, and by the looks of things ( him and his game show ) he doesn't seem to be all too thrilled about the PG Era either. Hope Mr.PG doesn't clean another girl's clock soon.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

Chris Jericho had an interview with Fanhouse.com and here was his thoughts on the whole PG Era vs Attitude Era.


"Yeah, Not me. I was never really the big swearing guy. I had a couple of things - ass clown, shut the hell up and stuff like that. If you're creative and you're smart and intelligent, there's a million more where that came from. No choking – fine. No chopping – fine. It takes two or three matches to get used to it but that's it. And no choking, that's no blatant choking with a wire or tie. I mean, it's still wrestling. That's one of the reasons why I'm still on top. I've been able to adapt to the changes anywhere I've gone. And PG, I think, is a great idea. To me, the Attitude Era was stupid. Hot Lesbian Action and Meat with a (expletive) (expletive) in his pants because he has a (expletive) and Mark Henry getting a (expletive) from a guy and necrophilia. That's not entertaining by anybody's standards. That's just stupid and I never liked that stuff. For me, for them to go family oriented, I'm all for it. It's family oriented but in this day and age where you can still go out there and have kick ass matches. It's still edgy, there's still great characters. I've got no problem with it. I like it much better than the Attitude Era because I thought the Attitude Era was just childish, dropping (expletive) on each another and stuff. C'mon, that's not funny if you're five years old."

Seeing as if everyone is always saying that the PG Era is messing up wrestling. What do you think about Jericho's thoughts on this topic?

Well thats just Jericho's opinion, and while Jericho isnt known to bite his tounge, i think that some of what he's saying is more the company talking than Jericho himself. The part where he says he's not much of a swearer is bullshit, Jericho is one of those guys who you can count on in almost every match to audibly swear at least once. He is one of the best shit talkers and if you can read lips, then you'll see why I say that. And no chopping? Is that a rule? If so, then thats just ridiculous. I must say that I agree with some of the things that he says are "ridiculous" parts of the attitude era, most notably the Mark Henry shit, the necrophelia, etc. But all in all the attitude era was fucking amazing because it was all these strongly willed, big headed charecters going out and having epic clashes w/epic storylines w/out the constraint of a PG rating. It wasnt just the shock value, it was the overall writing and feel of the product, interesting article though.

 

[thepalaceprince]

I agree with jericho wrestling doesnt need puppies and cussing and mark henry fathering a hand to be entertaining. Putting on good matches and creating interesting storylines that create buzz and keep people interested and keep them guessing thats whats entertaining. The problem is alot of people didnt watch before the attitude era so thats all they know. Personally I dont mind pg sure I prefer the tv-14 stuff but that doesnt mean pg cant still be interesting. The only time I miss tv-14 is when you have matches like hell ina cell that lose its allure when people arent busted open. But that could stil be fixed by making ppv's tv-14 or makin certain 1s like hiac or elimination chamber tv-14 or something as simple as allowing blood as long as its accidental (no blading) Im fine with pg what I want is good wrestling matches interesting storylines and fun sometimes over the top characters

 

[The Insano Shiekh]

I agree with Jericho, there is more intelligent ways you can show that you have wit than just cursing here and there.

I myself never liked the Attitude Era in whole, I just liked certain aspects of it (ex: 5 Second Pose, Rock & Sock Connection, JR vs. Paul Heyman commentary moments). I did like the matches, though, but the P.G. Era seems in a way more appealing, because you still have most of your favorite wrestlers from that time, and now it's just not that stupid as before. On another thread, I said Chris Jericho could be the face of the WWE, and this is why. He provides good character and yet in real life he is still very intelligent. Even though the Attitude Era did make him, that doesn't mean he had to like it, to a previous poster. Not all people have a job they like, but if it provides a successful income, it'll work. Bye bye, Attitude Era. Hello, PG Era.

 

[donutman]

Thank you Chris. Y2J > Attitude marks. I mean, so what if theres no blood. How does that take away from anything? People think you need TVMA to make something happen. Not true at all. All you need is some creativity.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

For people longing for the attitude era: IMO, if you take away Steve Austin and The Rock, all you have left are people longing for the old ECW. Sick bumps, wild spots, tables, ladders, weapons, etc. That's it.
As far as the actual wrestling, I'd argue that it's a little bit better than it was then. I can't speak for PPV's, as I don't order them anymore, but back then, the average RAW match lasted about 3 minutes. They were almost all short. Nowadays you have at least one match on the show that takes up more than 1 segment.
I don't mind people wishing for the attitude era, but just be straight-forward with what you're saying, and say what ABOUT the attitude era specifically you're missing. I imagine it's a lot of stunners, beer drinking, cussing, blood, and violence.

These comments alone show how much you know about the attitude era, the average RAW match lasted 3 minutes? There were fucking title matches on RAW in the attitude era, there was Stone Cold vs. Benoit, for the title, on RAW and Smackdown! in the same fucking week!! The matches these days are short as shit, not vice versa, a little hint, next time you wanna compare the two eras, actually watch some of them first. And I'd imagine if people wanna say what they miss about the attitude era it'd probably be, more matches on regular TV, Stone Cold, The Rock, edgier, more exciting storylines, better crowds, and like you said, cursing.

 

[InuJoshua]

However, here's a question for Mr.Y2-Smartass. He talks about "kick ass matches" and nice storylines. Can Mr.Jericho please point out all the "kick ass matches" and good storylines, because honestly, I can't see them. I only associate good angles and matches with him and Micheals. That's pretty much the only thing that people can remember the last 2-4 years for.

Some of the great PG matches NOT involving Michaels or Jericho:
Punk vs. Hardy
Punk. vs. Mysterio
Cena vs. HHH
Cena vs. Edge
Foley vs. Edge, (bordering the PG era so I don't know if this counts...)
Morrison vs. Bourne on WWECW
Christian vs. Regal, (when they finally got a legit match...)
Swagger vs. Cena
Morrison vs. Rhodes

Some of these matches weren't even high profile PPV shows. The PG era has more bad matches or matches without enough build, but so did the Attitude era, and I'd agree that the PG era has consistantly better matches overall.

I don't see the angles either. What? NXT? Once in a blue moon. NXT is great. What else? Jericho and Michaels? Hell yeah. What else?

The Attitude Era WAS childish. The Attitude Era WAS explicit. But if it wasn't for the Attitude Era, WWE would be in the shitter right now. The Attitude Era wasn't ALL about lesbians kissing and excessive usage of curse words. No. THE most exciting angles in the last 20 years happened in the Attitude Era. THE biggest stars were created in the Attitude Era. It defined wrestling, it made it what it SHOULD'VE been today.

The PG era has quite a few strong angles outside of NXT and Michaels/Jericho as well, (like the Long/McIntyre feud since it's rare that the wrestler screws the GM as opposed to the other way around. I'm a big fan of it at least...) Most of them are from the matches I listed above so I won't list them again...

You're right that the Attitude Era defined a type of wrestling, which I think was edgy, hardcore content for a mainstream promotion. But part of the reason why I don't think wrestling today SHOULD be like that today is proven in the attitude era itself.

Guys like Stone Cold were worn out, (although he had been wrestling for awhile.) People like Rock walked out of wrestling before he got hurt. Kurt Angle was allegedly on the verge of death due to injuries. Many prominent attitude era figures are victims of the style of wrestling that became the mainstay back then and it was NECESSARY for it to change.

So I'd argue that the PG era has been handicapped because it's had to rebuild a whole image while trying to stay entertaining. Over the last year or two, they've built and continue to build the future of the business and are finally hitting their stride. Jericho was being a little unfair by picking and choosing the worst of Attitude and using it as examples, but is that really different from what the PG haters do? I feel Attitude was better angle and story wise but PG is catching up. Remember: It's a lot easier to book Austin fighting McMahon than McIntyre fighting Long, but they're really starting to get it right IMO.

It's funny how Mr.Jericho says he "hates that stuff", and it's "that stuff" that put his ass on the map in the first place

He was well known before WWE. I remember the infamous countdown to his debut. I never really watched WCW or ECW and not only knew who he was, but marked the F out when he debuted. Most of his accomplishments are in WWE but to me he is mostly a self made wrestler...

 

[Y-2-Jay]

Hmm. I tend to not listen to contracted WWE wrestler interviews why? Because their is no way Jericho would put WWE in a bad light because he will get in trouble and no one would want to piss off WWE. It makes me think how much he actually feels becuase if i remember rightly on the Monday Night Wars DVD he did say it was a great time to be a wrestling fan but now calling it trash? Hypocritical much? Then again he could have been told to put A.E (Attitude Era) in a good light back then because they were TV-14 back when the DVD was made so calling A.E would make WWE look bad back then.

Jericho seemed to bring up the very worst of the A.E, Were was a mention of the great booking of Rock, Austin, DX, Kane,Taker,Mankind and Kurt Angle characters and the great moments like the beer truck and Rock promos (Which Jericho himself said he could watch for a long time and not get bored) So sorry but i cant take this interview seriously untill he is uncontracted were we might get a full honest opinion hey maybe even he might say the same and i could be wrong it wont be the first time or last time i was wrong but for now i dont agree with this interview with Batista being a main cause for me to think is he telling the truth because Batista in his first non contracted interview he basically said PG was bad so i am very 50/50 on this.

Oh by the way i am a attitude era fan and i am not a PG era hater i stook by it when everyone hated it and still do to this day so dont think i am being ignorant and not agreeing because i dont like PG (I like PG) i only dont agree becuase of the 2 things i stated above (Is it WWE superstar Chris Jericho feelings or Chris Irvine feelings and he didnt mention the best to make the A.E look bad on paper) take my feelings for what their worth.