The Doctor's Office
- Thread starter X
- Start date
Bryan's hair is waaaaay too light, though.
Stormtrooper
Championship Contender
sure. Post away.
yeah. It's the US title, bu they didn't color it in. Hopefully it's just a prototype, and the retail release will have the colored in title.
As a kid I had so many of those wrestling action figures. My favorite was a Fatal Four-Way set I got that had Jericho, Rock, Austin, and Angle. All looked great, and came with a WWF belt. Had a nice HHH/Cactus set too. I probably had the entire WWF roster, as well as a ton of WCW guys. I had a Nitro set, and a Raw is War set. My parents still have them in the attic, I might go get them.
OK, my speech:
"Get this piece of crap out of my ring!" bellows Stone Cold Steve Austin, shortly after destroying Jake Roberts in the finals of the 1996 King Of The Ring Tournament. "Get him out of the entire WWF, because you're through, son! You sit there, and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it doesn't get you anywhere. You talk about Psalms, you talk about your John 3:16. Well, Austin 3:16 says 'I just whipped your ass!'". It was on these words that a revolution was born.
The Attitude Era lasted from 1996 to 2001, and was one of the highest points in wrestling history. Wrestling was popular again for the first time in years. Merchandise was flying off the shelves. Wrestlers like 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock were becoming well-known figures in pop culture. But this didn't happen overnight. There were events leading up to and during this era that made it the phenomenon it was. Today I hope to explain to you all the general history of The Attitude Era, and impress upon you just how big it really was.
The timeline goes a little something like this: First, the Attitude Era was born and Stone Cold Steve Austin rose to the top. Second, what would come to be called The Monday Night Wars forced the WWF to ramp up the adult content of their television shows. Third, WWF won the Monday Night Wars and purchased their rival, WCW. And finally, the WWF became the WWE and transitioned away from the 'raw' image they had so carefully cultivated and shifted into TV-PG programming, which they continue to this day.
The birth of the Attitude Era is disputed amongst wrestling historians, as there were several moments that contributed to or could even be called 'the birth' of the era. However, it is widely regarded to be closely tied to the time the career of future megastar Stone Cold Steve Austin was launched into the stratosphere: The King of The Ring Tournament, 1996. As pro wrestling journalist and historian Thomas Hall puts it, “If this isn't the birth of the Attitude Era, it's when it was conceived”. With one simple phrase, Austin 3:16, a rocket was strapped to Austin's back and rocketed him to the stars. Longtime professional wrestling promoter and booker [writer] Jim Cornette recounts the edition of Monday Night RAW the day after the King Of The Ring PPV: “The next night, we showed up to do TV [tape that night's episode] and everywhere we saw these 'Austin 3:16' signs. Right then I said Steve Austin was going to be a big deal.”. And a big deal he indeed came to be. Stone Cold was totally different from any of the heroes of wrestling's past. Gone were the Hulk Hogans and the Lex Lugers, the All-American Faces that told you to say your prayers and eat your vitamins. He was rude, crude, brash, loud, and the audience ate him up with a spoon.
The thing about Steve Austin is that he represented a changing in attitude and values during the 90's. People didn't want to see the squeaky clean heroes of yesteryear. They wanted characters that were more real, with shades of gray. Anti-heroes were swarming the fictional world, and Stone Cold was the latest. As Thomas Hall so neatly puts it, “To sum up Austin and perhaps the Attitude Era in general, I'm going to use a line from a very famous movie called Network: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!'”. Steve Austin and wrestling was something the downtrodden and angry masses could connect to. When he fought his evil boss, Mr. McMahon, thousands upon thousands of people who hated their bosses lived through him. It was wish fulfillment, and it worked.
So, we've looked at Austin and the birth of the era – What about the events that triggered it and caused it to grow? That, class, is something called the Monday Night Wars.
WCW was the WWF's main competitor for the longest time. They had a national TV deal, just like the WWF. They often lured the WWF's talent away and vice-versa. The two companies were constantly trying to outdo each other, and with WCW destroying WWF in the ratings with the help of a storyline they were running known as the New World Order, it was time for WWF to fire back and fight back hard.
Gone were the WWF's cartoony characters. Gone were the unrealistic stories. Gone was the kid-friendly style of old. With Stone Cold at the helm, the WWF focused on real and adult situations. The sexual content on the show was ramped up, with women's wrestling changing from athletic competitions to stripping contests. The storylines focused on issues like rape, gun control, and stalking. Every week, more and more people would tune in just to see what outrageous stunts the WWF would pull, and what they would get away with. Slowly but surely, fewer people watched their competition which was on at the same time, and switched to the WWF. WCW didn't help matters either by crumbling under their own regime and providing “same old, same old” television. As R.D. Reynolds, pro wrestling analyst and author of the book The Death of WCW put it, “WCW came up with one great idea...which they then presented over-and-over again, long past the point where fans cared about it”. With WWF giving the world something new, they steamrolled their competition – and promptly bought it out.
March 23, 2001. On this day in history, the WWF did what no one thought was possible, and bought out WCW. To many, this signaled the beginning of the end of The Attitude Era. Without competition, the WWF didn't have to try so hard. Slowly, the WWF's programming changed. Their Attitude Era draws retired one by one. Pressure from parents' groups and a desire to regain the audience of children lost during the time of mature programming caused the WWF to tone itself down as the years went on. Finally, a lawsuit over naming rights by the World wildlife Fun forced WWF to change their name to WWE – World Wrestling Entertainment. The Monday Night Wars were over, and the Attitude Era was following in its wake.
Today, WWE provides TV-PG programming suitable for a family to watch. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. “We understand that WWE had to change in order to change with the times,” says reporter Robert Workman of the online news source GamePlayBook. “It's great for family audiences and dedicated fans.”. The advertisers that were lost during the Attitude Era have slowly been trickling back when they see WWE's new family-friendly direction. The fact simply remains that the Attitude Era was a turning point in wrestling history, a time that changed everything, just as everything changed the medium it occurred in. The WWF caught lightning in a bottle and rode the hot streak until the end.
In conclusion, The Attitude Era was born, fought, and died, while leaving a path of destruction and change in its wake. It may be long gone, but its influence is still being felt to this day. From the violence, to the language, to the outrageous content never seen on TV before, the Attitude Era of the WWF shaped television and spoke to a generation. And in the words of one Steve Austin, “That's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so!”.
The Attitude Era lasted from 1996 to 2001, and was one of the highest points in wrestling history. Wrestling was popular again for the first time in years. Merchandise was flying off the shelves. Wrestlers like 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock were becoming well-known figures in pop culture. But this didn't happen overnight. There were events leading up to and during this era that made it the phenomenon it was. Today I hope to explain to you all the general history of The Attitude Era, and impress upon you just how big it really was.
The timeline goes a little something like this: First, the Attitude Era was born and Stone Cold Steve Austin rose to the top. Second, what would come to be called The Monday Night Wars forced the WWF to ramp up the adult content of their television shows. Third, WWF won the Monday Night Wars and purchased their rival, WCW. And finally, the WWF became the WWE and transitioned away from the 'raw' image they had so carefully cultivated and shifted into TV-PG programming, which they continue to this day.
The birth of the Attitude Era is disputed amongst wrestling historians, as there were several moments that contributed to or could even be called 'the birth' of the era. However, it is widely regarded to be closely tied to the time the career of future megastar Stone Cold Steve Austin was launched into the stratosphere: The King of The Ring Tournament, 1996. As pro wrestling journalist and historian Thomas Hall puts it, “If this isn't the birth of the Attitude Era, it's when it was conceived”. With one simple phrase, Austin 3:16, a rocket was strapped to Austin's back and rocketed him to the stars. Longtime professional wrestling promoter and booker [writer] Jim Cornette recounts the edition of Monday Night RAW the day after the King Of The Ring PPV: “The next night, we showed up to do TV [tape that night's episode] and everywhere we saw these 'Austin 3:16' signs. Right then I said Steve Austin was going to be a big deal.”. And a big deal he indeed came to be. Stone Cold was totally different from any of the heroes of wrestling's past. Gone were the Hulk Hogans and the Lex Lugers, the All-American Faces that told you to say your prayers and eat your vitamins. He was rude, crude, brash, loud, and the audience ate him up with a spoon.
The thing about Steve Austin is that he represented a changing in attitude and values during the 90's. People didn't want to see the squeaky clean heroes of yesteryear. They wanted characters that were more real, with shades of gray. Anti-heroes were swarming the fictional world, and Stone Cold was the latest. As Thomas Hall so neatly puts it, “To sum up Austin and perhaps the Attitude Era in general, I'm going to use a line from a very famous movie called Network: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!'”. Steve Austin and wrestling was something the downtrodden and angry masses could connect to. When he fought his evil boss, Mr. McMahon, thousands upon thousands of people who hated their bosses lived through him. It was wish fulfillment, and it worked.
So, we've looked at Austin and the birth of the era – What about the events that triggered it and caused it to grow? That, class, is something called the Monday Night Wars.
WCW was the WWF's main competitor for the longest time. They had a national TV deal, just like the WWF. They often lured the WWF's talent away and vice-versa. The two companies were constantly trying to outdo each other, and with WCW destroying WWF in the ratings with the help of a storyline they were running known as the New World Order, it was time for WWF to fire back and fight back hard.
Gone were the WWF's cartoony characters. Gone were the unrealistic stories. Gone was the kid-friendly style of old. With Stone Cold at the helm, the WWF focused on real and adult situations. The sexual content on the show was ramped up, with women's wrestling changing from athletic competitions to stripping contests. The storylines focused on issues like rape, gun control, and stalking. Every week, more and more people would tune in just to see what outrageous stunts the WWF would pull, and what they would get away with. Slowly but surely, fewer people watched their competition which was on at the same time, and switched to the WWF. WCW didn't help matters either by crumbling under their own regime and providing “same old, same old” television. As R.D. Reynolds, pro wrestling analyst and author of the book The Death of WCW put it, “WCW came up with one great idea...which they then presented over-and-over again, long past the point where fans cared about it”. With WWF giving the world something new, they steamrolled their competition – and promptly bought it out.
March 23, 2001. On this day in history, the WWF did what no one thought was possible, and bought out WCW. To many, this signaled the beginning of the end of The Attitude Era. Without competition, the WWF didn't have to try so hard. Slowly, the WWF's programming changed. Their Attitude Era draws retired one by one. Pressure from parents' groups and a desire to regain the audience of children lost during the time of mature programming caused the WWF to tone itself down as the years went on. Finally, a lawsuit over naming rights by the World wildlife Fun forced WWF to change their name to WWE – World Wrestling Entertainment. The Monday Night Wars were over, and the Attitude Era was following in its wake.
Today, WWE provides TV-PG programming suitable for a family to watch. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. “We understand that WWE had to change in order to change with the times,” says reporter Robert Workman of the online news source GamePlayBook. “It's great for family audiences and dedicated fans.”. The advertisers that were lost during the Attitude Era have slowly been trickling back when they see WWE's new family-friendly direction. The fact simply remains that the Attitude Era was a turning point in wrestling history, a time that changed everything, just as everything changed the medium it occurred in. The WWF caught lightning in a bottle and rode the hot streak until the end.
In conclusion, The Attitude Era was born, fought, and died, while leaving a path of destruction and change in its wake. It may be long gone, but its influence is still being felt to this day. From the violence, to the language, to the outrageous content never seen on TV before, the Attitude Era of the WWF shaped television and spoke to a generation. And in the words of one Steve Austin, “That's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so!”.
Stormtrooper
Championship Contender
2 questions.
1. How long is the speech supposed to be? It seems rather long, while reading it to myself.
2. What is the professors take on the use of mild profanity (ass, etc) in class?
Onto my suggestions.
1. In Paragraph 2, you mention how you will explain how big the Attitude Era was. While it was big, I think prefacing that it was big for Wrestling would work better.
2. In the Cornette quote (paragraph 4), the phrase "All-American Faces" is used. I would explain the term Face, since most don't know the wrestling definition.
3. In Paragraph 8, you say that "The storylines focused on issues like rape, gun control, and stalking" without prefacing it with "some" or "most". They still did have some storylines that didn't involve such things.
4. When you list all the things that caused WWF/E to go away from the attitude era (paragraph 9), you don't mention losing advertisers. They are mentioned in the following paragraph in the quote, but not here, where you list all the faults with the Attitude Era.
5. What Crock said about gradually shifting to PG.
All in all, good work.
1. How long is the speech supposed to be? It seems rather long, while reading it to myself.
2. What is the professors take on the use of mild profanity (ass, etc) in class?
Onto my suggestions.
1. In Paragraph 2, you mention how you will explain how big the Attitude Era was. While it was big, I think prefacing that it was big for Wrestling would work better.
2. In the Cornette quote (paragraph 4), the phrase "All-American Faces" is used. I would explain the term Face, since most don't know the wrestling definition.
3. In Paragraph 8, you say that "The storylines focused on issues like rape, gun control, and stalking" without prefacing it with "some" or "most". They still did have some storylines that didn't involve such things.
4. When you list all the things that caused WWF/E to go away from the attitude era (paragraph 9), you don't mention losing advertisers. They are mentioned in the following paragraph in the quote, but not here, where you list all the faults with the Attitude Era.
5. What Crock said about gradually shifting to PG.
All in all, good work.
I've tidied it up. I'm looking forward to delivering it...next week. Hope I don't mess it all up, haha.
What a busy weekend...homework the whole way. I've earned this relaxation time, watching the Grammies. Glad Lady Gaga won, the Fame Monster was such a fucking good album.
Wanted to play some videogames, but that can wait until the week/weekend.
So I'm hoping Kurt goes back to the E. This "worked shoot" stuff is awful, just awful.
What a busy weekend...homework the whole way. I've earned this relaxation time, watching the Grammies. Glad Lady Gaga won, the Fame Monster was such a fucking good album.
Wanted to play some videogames, but that can wait until the week/weekend.
So I'm hoping Kurt goes back to the E. This "worked shoot" stuff is awful, just awful.
Stormtrooper
Championship Contender
Best of luck with it.
He really does. Vinnie Mac should give him whatever he wants, he'd be worth it, even if he only does TV and PPV.
The Dewbliners
WZ's Whedonite. Now 20% Cooler
Gaga was robbed tonight. Seriously? Arcade fucking Fire? Who the hell are these guys? Worse than the Decemberists!
Sean Valjean
Lets Bitch About This Thing We Love
Pepe Silvia
Occasional Pre-Show
Charlie says:
im playing dragon quest 2
but
i dunno what to name my guy
with 4 letters
just Kate. says:
Sean
XD
Charlie says:
NO
just Kate. says:
.......
Wade?
Charlie says:
something funny
like derp
game
or something
just Kate. says:
GODDAMNIT WAS MAKING ME LOSE THE GAME NECESSARY
Charlie says:
XDDDDD
im playing dragon quest 2
but
i dunno what to name my guy
with 4 letters
just Kate. says:
Sean
XD
Charlie says:
NO
just Kate. says:
.......
Wade?
Charlie says:
something funny
like derp
game
or something
just Kate. says:
GODDAMNIT WAS MAKING ME LOSE THE GAME NECESSARY
Charlie says:
XDDDDD
Don't mind me, I'm just skipping Political Science class. I did get an A on my math test and can finally start on the road to taking the exam and finishing the class, so that's awesome.
FunKay the Inevitable
People Like Me, We Don't Play
Doc, have you had a look at the debate going on between me and Awesome in the DBZ thread? It's quite epic.
I never watched Dragon Ball Z, at least not religiously. I liked explosions and action and it had plenty of that, but my small boy's mind couldn't keep up with the stories at all.
red ass skull muhfukkah
Dooooooooooooom
Action Saxton didn't grow his chest hair, he was born with it.
I need to write my RP...
FunKay the Inevitable
People Like Me, We Don't Play
In the mean time folks, check out my RP and tell me what you think...please?
Fuck my RP, I can't stop dreaming about THE ROCK~!!!!!
Jizz, everywhere. Tears still streaming down my face.
Jizz, everywhere. Tears still streaming down my face.
I was watching with a friend. Would have been a bit uncomfortable.
