PG Era

[Adam Rush]

Look, guys, I see threads all the time complaining about "The PG Era". To be completely honest, the PG Era is here to stay for awhile. But look at it this way:

The 80's: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Andre the Giant- These guys made this era.

The Attitude Era- Stone Cold, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels

Now we're in the PG Era, and everyone complains about it. But in my opinion, it's not the era that makes the superstar...

PG Era- John Cena, CM Punk, The Miz, Daniel Bryan

...but it's the superstar that makes the era.

Agree? Disagree?

 

[The Voice]

have to disagree because i really want blood and hardcore matches back.

 

[abhilash81]

i think pg era was replaced by the reality era the moment Punk sat on the ramp with the pipebomb in his hand and tore the roof off...... Pg era is gone for good and we have a bit of an edgy product at the moment. It's really a great time to be a fan.

 

[iAndy]

no im my opinion i think his right, the pg, is limiting everything to me, most of it seems to friendly and childish, and the crowd with the kids just kinda ruins it, i understand there trying to target a larger audience, but its softening it

 

[Slowdude]

Yeah the PG era was pretty much 2009 - 2010. From 2011 to present I'd say we are in a social media era. How have feuds been teased and/or started due to Twitter. The WWE is utilizing Social Media to promote their product. The so called demons of the PG Era are long but forgotten after Linda failed her campaign.

All those complaining about the PG Era need to realize it finished already, sure the current Social Media Era where they mention Twitter ever five seconds is annoying but would you rather the already annoying Cole make annoying statements of who is currently tweeting at the moment or would you rather Hornswoggle getting 10-15 minutes every week.

Side note - Hornswoggle gets very limited TV time and its been that way since early 2010, stop using that as an argument. I'm directing this at many people on Youtube....

Finally people who go on about Era's need to learn that there has been so many of them over the past decade. Since the Atttiude Era's ending at Mania 17 we went through the Invasion, Undisputed Title, Brand Split, Ruthless Aggression, What ever you would call Cena/Batista's Era of Mania 21 till 2008, I guess the "PG Era" in 2009/2010 and now what I'm calling the Social Media Era (mostly called reality era). As you can see that there is several Era's during that time span all bringing the company in different directions.

Of course this is just my opinion but if you truly think about it the company has gone through several directional shifts over the past decade so debating about whether the 80's, the late 90s - early 00's and 2009-2010 while ignoring nearly two decades in between is rather pointless.

 

[2Sweet_4Life]

Look, guys, I see threads all the time complaining about "The PG Era". To be completely honest, the PG Era is here to stay for awhile. But look at it this way:

The 80's: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Andre the Giant- These guys made this era.

The Attitude Era- Stone Cold, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels

Now we're in the PG Era, and everyone complains about it. But in my opinion, it's not the era that makes the superstar...

PG Era- John Cena, CM Punk, The Miz, Daniel Bryan

...but it's the superstar that makes the era.

Agree? Disagree?

Bret hart attitude era? No. He was in the new wwf generation era with razor and diesel and hbk.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

PG as an ERA is all but gone. WWE might be pushing a little edgier program, with cussing happening a for more intense storylines, but as far as the content it's not going to change.

PG as a rating means "shows may contain some suggestive dialogue (D), foul language (L), sexual content (S) or violence (V). However, this content is usually negligible."

There is no certain STAR that made the era, WWE did it. Cena just happen to rise in the ranks while the WWE was being re-formatted.

 

[2Sweet_4Life]

Ok i see where you are comin from and i agree but also disagree. look at it this way if the miz bryan punk & cena were in the attitude era would they be main eventing? NO. bryan and punk would of been in the position that jericho was in, in 2000 mid-carding. cena would of been jobbing his character just didnt fit the attitude era and he cant wrestle anyway and dont even get me started on were the miz would be. then look at it this way rock austin hhh in the pg era? it would be odd because back in the attitude era the heel would get over by beating the shit out of the babyface and making him bleed to get heat so for your question i think it is a bit of both. wrestling isnt good if you don't have the right wrestlers but it also isn't good if they are limited to ways they can get over.

 

[BarryHorowitzfanclub]

The performers have to work within the rules applied.

Their creativeness is their own making (along with "creative" WWE, of course.) The lack of swearing, violence, and blood is such a red herring to the real problem: no one wants to see the same thing again. And yet....they do. Wrestling fans are a fickle bunch; they want everything and nothing at the same time. They want to be surprised, but leak every little thing. They want to see the good guy win, but not every time. The want clean finished matches, but pop for the run-in, so WWE thinks they want it all the time.

I appreciate the fans taking an active role in their theater, it really does let the promotion know what they truly want to see. Right now, WWE is smart. They are going back to ground level, and building back up. There's a big gap from the "Attitude" era in fan base.
They need to hook the young ones; which means they need to convince the parents that it's all kosher and there is morality and a limit.

 

[Shotaro]

Ok i see where you are comin from and i agree but also disagree. look at it this way if the miz bryan punk & cena were in the attitude era would they be main eventing? NO. bryan and punk would of been in the position that jericho was in, in 2000 mid-carding. cena would of been jobbing his character just didnt fit the attitude era and he cant wrestle anyway and dont even get me started on were the miz would be. then look at it this way rock austin hhh in the pg era? it would be odd because back in the attitude era the heel would get over by beating the shit out of the babyface and making him bleed to get heat so for your question i think it is a bit of both. wrestling isnt good if you don't have the right wrestlers but it also isn't good if they are limited to ways they can get over.

Please don't disregard formatting, apostrophes are not something to fear, they make your writing so much better. Also though you may say "of" instead of HAVE, in reality the of sound you make is the contraction "'ve." I don't mean to be a grammar Nazi but I'm seeing more and more of this recently and it makes me sad to see English dying before my eyes.

In respnse to your post I disagree, to an extent. Cena would have made it to the main event, like him or not he's one of those guys who really is prepared to do damn near anything to get there. I actually believe that WWE is his life and he will do whatever it takes to be on top. Bryan and Miz would've been upper mid-carders who dabbled in the main event (I could see Miz in D-X without much tweaking) much like Jericho. Punk would probably have made it to the main event at the tail end of the era, he'd've also almost certainly have been a long term IC champion.

I think the WWE is slowly tuning out the more child-like aspects of it's shows, but it will never go back to blood and weapons all the time. It caused an injury list a mile long and ended careers and indeed lives far too soon. As others have said, we may have a new era in the very near future, but for now I agree with the OP. The PG era is here to stay for now.

 

[dudedudedude]

Look I hate to be 'that guy' but, Mods, this is like the 9 millionth topic we have had on the PG era, can we either just have one topic about it, or lock this? Enough is Enough.

 

[jrichardson25]

I was never a fan of excessive blood... There's all sorts of issues that can be caused by that... A lot of blood diseases, it is unsanitary and makes it unsafe for the performers. Nor was I a fan of excessive weapon use.

The superstars of an era can really define it, in that respect I have to agree. We aren't in a "new" era so to speak. WWE has gotten a bit of an edge back. I don't mind the lack of swearing. I don't mind that there's not a lot of blood except in cases like last night where Cena got busted open the hard way (which was graphic and the shot on his face while he was bloody was classic. Definitely a picture for moment of the year)

However, there is not a clear cut division between the eras. That isn't a bad thing. If one suddenly dies and another suddenly starts, you will alienate an audience demographic. I've seen the shifts since 2002. There were a lot of high times and some lows but the guys that are in the main event now... if you say they'd be jobbing to those of the Attitude Era, just quit. You're remembering it as this glorious time... your hindsight is making it seem bigger than it was. Just go back and watch some it... some of it was awful... but not the point I'm making anyway...

 

[SWANTON]

i agree this whole so called PG era is stupid the 80s were PG and nobody called that era the PG era so SAME thing now the 2008-2011 i think is called the universe era because they wanted to expand there viewership and the AE wasent called the TV-14 ERA though now thats what people call it

 

[Fisheatppl]

Look I hate to be 'that guy' but, Mods, this is like the 9 millionth topic we have had on the PG era, can we either just have one topic about it, or lock this? Enough is Enough.

Not for nothing, but no you don't hate to be that guy. I for one don't like merging threads, and I like the fact that a new thread about an old topic pops up, it gives more people a chance to share their view point, which is what these forums are all about. Most people don't go looking through the "MERGED: PG ERA" thread to see if someone said something since 2 months ago, and then decide to comment on the thread to see if someone will talk about their topic for a minute with the other 15 topics going on at the same time all because we wanted "just one thread" related to one generalized topic. I have an idea. Lets make a "MERGED: WRESTLING! KEEP ALL WRESTLING RELATED CONVERSATION IN HERE!".

Topic at hand: the pg era. In my opinion, its cyclical. I am about 30 years old. Became a fan of wrestling and WWF at about 5. Big into the 80's stars, and as I grew up, so did the WWF. When I was a teenager, the Attitude Era was in full swing. Then ruthless aggression. Finally I became a person in his early to mid twenties. I still enjoyed the product, but a lot of my friends stopped watching, had lives, moved on, it happens with age. Now, Vince wants a new audience to grow with him. He is just rehashing what has already happened, so to speak. Now its PG so little kids can get into it (it wasn't "PG" rated when I was a kid, but it wasn't TV-14 if there had been ratings either) as his new dedicated fan base grows, so will the program. It is already edgier and slanted towards pre-teens with all the social media and starting to swear a little. It will get back round again, and when it does, it will swing around all over again and be a new PG era in 20 years. I for one am enjoying it right now, and its moving in a good direction.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

Somebody on here said it best earlier. . . This is a great time to be a wrestling fan!
Within the last year, The Rock came back, Punk dropped the famous pipebomb, we've been treated to masked Kane, upgrowing of new superstars and characters, the famous once in a lifetime match, and now Brock freaking Lesnar! People will complain, but this guy (me) won't! Slowly but surely, the feuds are getting more personal, the edginess and language is coming in, and it's all making for a better product. They are listening to us! They are giving us what we want! I haven't been this excited to see Raw since like 2004. I for one, am grateful, and will not complain

 

[kor420]

i think pg era was replaced by the reality era the moment Punk sat on the ramp with the pipebomb in his hand and tore the roof off...... Pg era is gone for good and we have a bit of an edgy product at the moment. It's really a great time to be a fan.

PG Era is NOT gone!. The "Reality Era" was a never was. If you hit the info button on your remote while on raw, it now says Rated PG and NOT Rated PG-13.. With just the PG Rating means that the product is watered down even more. If they were wanting to get more "edgy" they would of went to the PG-13/TV-14. Sorry, but we're still in the PG Era and until i see TV-14 than everything will still be watered down i.e. dull/bland

 

[Fisheatppl]

PG Era is NOT gone!. The "Reality Era" was a never was. If you hit remote it now says Rated PG and NOT Rated PG-13.. With just the PG Rating means that the product is watered it down even more. If they were wanting to get more "edgy" they would of went to the PG-13/TV-14. Sorry, but we're still in the PG Era and until i see TV-14 than everything will still be watered down.

There are many different factors to create the rating. They could do everything they do now but say "shit" 3 times an episode, that would raise the rating, but does that make the overall product any different? No, the matches would be the same, the stories the same, everything identical, except one guy got to cuss 3 times. If you are going by JUST what the rating on the TV says, that is a piss poor arguement. They can do edgy things in TVPG, it doesn't mean "Dora the Explorer". I mean Cena called Rock "chicken S#!T". (yes i know i said the cuss thing earlier, but he only said it once, not 3 times). That was not something i'd find on Nick Toons. If they had straight forward, good stories, with pure, badass wrestling, and intimidating people, all of that could EASILY fall into TVPG, and I don't think many people would have a problem with that.

 

[KNPKH2ster]

Somebody on here said it best earlier. . . This is a great time to be a wrestling fan!
Within the last year, The Rock came back, Punk dropped the famous pipebomb, we've been treated to masked Kane, upgrowing of new superstars and characters, the famous once in a lifetime match, and now Brock freaking Lesnar! People will complain, but this guy (me) won't! Slowly but surely, the feuds are getting more personal, the edginess and language is coming in, and it's all making for a better product. They are listening to us! They are giving us what we want! I haven't been this excited to see Raw since like 2004. I for one, am grateful, and will not complain

I also agree, since The Rock returned and CM Punk made the infamous promo that skyrocketed him to the top, it feels great to be a wrestling fan again. PG or no PG, the rating doesn't matter. Around 2009-2010, I thought PG and the writers were the problem, but at the start of 2011 when I listened to David Lagana's podcast "I Want Wrestling", then I realized that it's not entirely the writers' fault (but rather VKM's micromanagement and forcing them to work under intense pressure). When Rock and Austin came back around WM27, I knew that PG rating doesn't matter since they were still themselves. A lot of great things happened in 2011 and as of now (and not so great things). The one thing I do is enjoy what's going great now, because one day it will be all gone tomorrow.

 

[slamithard]

With the WWE network forthcoming, maybe its time to create 2 different brands. RAW being TV14, & Smackdown TVPG. With audiences divided on what they want to see make RAW more edgy with 18-49 age group and Smackdown more kid friendly. Whats to say we can't get both with WWE network coming soon. Have Superstars popular with older age group on RAW & Vise Versa for Smackdown.

 

[kor420]

With the WWE network forthcoming, maybe its time to create 2 different brands. RAW being TV14, & Smackdown TVPG. With audiences divided on what they want to see make RAW more edgy with 18-49 age group and Smackdown more kid friendly. Whats to say we can't get both with WWE network coming soon. Have Superstars popular with older age group on RAW & Vise Versa for Smackdown.

^^^^ This a 1000x over.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

I don't think this is the "PG-era" because that implies that it will go away one day. PG is here to stay. This era is the Reality Era. Wrestlers who, in my generation, were once thought to be larger than life, are regular guys with twitter handles. Kayfabe is bended and broken shamelessly. Shoot promos are more popular than 5-star matches. And real life is twisted into every angle. No more do you have a twisted character like Jake The Snake burying a huge face like Warrior neck deep in dirt.

The audience can only suspend their disbelief for so long now, and that is the essence of the Reality Era. But yeah, to call this the PG era is to only lie to yourself.

 

[Attitude Era Junkie]

All I know is something seemed to change when Punk did what he did and it's been better ever since but there have still been some dull Raw and Smackdown shows. I still don't get why people think Punk would be nothing but a mid carder if he was there during the Attitude Era. His angry promos from 2011 wouldn't have worked in the Attitude Era? Is it because of his size? He's not the size of Rey Mysterio you know.

Maybe some people here should try watching his best PPV matches? He's a lot better than The Miz. He proves over and over again that he is great on the mic and a fantastic wrestler who can seemingly work with anyone and make them look good. I guarantee he would have at least one WWE championship reign in the Attitude Era or at least be put in main event matches against Austin and the other stars of that time. CM Punk is a superstar. Just because he doesn't look like The Rock, Cena, Austin or HHH doesn't mean he isn't good enough to be the champ and be put in main event matches.

It grinds my gears when people put him in the same group with The Miz.


BTW......I don't think we should call this the PG Era anymore. I mean the Attitude Era wasn't called the TV-14 Era. Looks to me like it's official name is the Reality Era.