We dont need Extreme Or Attitude

[~INPHEKTID-LEGEND-KILLER~]

Over the past few years and or months after WWECW Stopped being "extreme" I've heard plenty of people complaining saying that there HAS to be extreme in every match. Well there dosent. I understand completely what everyone is saying, there should of been extreme matches in WWECW, but not in every match. Hey there was a point in my life where i was sick of watching the old ECW only because every episode was the same exact thing. Blood, Chairs, Tables, Thumbtacks, Barbed wire. Hey dont get me wrong it sounds great, there was just WAYYY too much of it it gets old. Alot of people complain because of the "PG Era" well i dont consider it an "Era" its just whats going on right now, because the Attitude would get boring, and i think they made the change because WWF/WWE saw this, after 5 or more years of "Attitude" it got kind of old. We are so focused on hating PG we cant enjoy what we have now! Do you get what im saying? Leave your feedback.

 

[Ferbian]

I absolutely agree, WWE doesn't need to be extreme or edgy to put on a proper product, as of late I've really enjoyed WWE, and while you could probably argue against me with the whole "that's cause you weren't watching WWE or ECW back then" which is true, I didn't, I've watched WWE for a little over a year now, and I still admit I've enjoyed every bit, and I have a fairly decent knowledge of the time in the Attitude Era, sure it was entertaining like hell, and had some things that kept you watching, less predictability.

But I don't need blood to watch a WWE match, I don't need cursing to watch a WWE promo, and I don't need weapons to find a no Disqualification no countout match entertaining (for example Shawn vs Undertaker Wrestlemania 26)

So yeah I definitely get what you're saying, and I agree all the way, limiting the whole blood things etc. leaves out the chance of wrestlers needing a longer break than they already take every now and then, and I like that, because it just means that said wrestler can prove to entertain us for that much longer cause their bodies didn't take the same tole that for example Mick Foley, Terry Funk etc. had to go through.

And to those who disagree with me, I'll welcome your opinions, but in the end, I'll have to say "stop complaining, and enjoy the product, or switch the channel"

 

[axl626]

I don't care about being extreme or edgy but I do wish they would try to put out a good product. One of my favorite times and one that is overlooked was the Ruthless Aggression era. This was the short time that guys like Benoit, Angle, Jericho, Lesnar, Guerrerro, and others were on top. It was categorized by amazing wrestling topped with good stories. Raw wasn't too hot during this period but this was the time when Smackdown reigned supreme.

That is what I look forward to again but I doubt we'll ever get it as WWE has gone away from great wrestling to over the top spectacle. Instead of great Wrestlemania matches we get great Wrestlemania entrances. This is what bothers me about the kidified WWE. Kids won't want to watch a technical masterpiece if they can see their hero battle back in a minute after a 10 minute beatdown. Unfortunately it seems this era died alongside Eddie Guerrerro and we won't get to see what could have come with this.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

well today's product sucks, but it's not because of the "pg" rating.

wrestling throughout history has always been marketed towards children.

in the 80's and early 90's, during the hulkamania era, they didn't have tv ratings. but wrestling was definitely marketed towards children back then, with the action figures and video games and ice cream bars and whatnot. they even had a saturday morning cartoon!

wcw during it's peak, with the nwo at their apex, sting with his dark crow gimmick, goldberg's undefeated streak, and everything else great that was going on back then, actually was rated tv pg. it had more "attitude" and mature storylines than the doinks they had in wwe at the time, and they did it while keeping a pg rating.

wwe adopted "attitude" in '98, and eventually took over wcw. wcw hired wwe's vince russo, who tried to make wcw more edgy. he failed, as the tv-14 version of wcw was hated by viewers and wrestling critics.

other than '98-'02 wwe, the original ecw, and wcw during it's final, worst years, american pro wrestling has always been marked towards children.

the problem with today's wrestling isn't that it's rated tv-pg. it's that the writing and the booking suck. it's that the matches look choreographed and the promos sound scripted. it's that wrestlers no longer have territories where they can perfect their craft, and therefore come off as amateurs instead of pros. it's that wwe has no true competition to keep them them on their toes.

all the wwe marks who slam tna and say things like "i wish tna goes out of business soon" need to understand that tna becoming a threat maybe the only thing that could save wwe. if not, i can't even image how bad pro wrestling will be 10 years from now..

 

[The Man They Call WMD]

I disagree completely. Its so cheesy, Cena always wins at the end. It's so for the kids. They forgot/dont care about the true fans us. But I'll still tune in 3 times a week....

 

[wbuqed]

Im with you guys in that I don't need an overkill of Blood and weapons, however I can't stand the whole idea of trainers coming out mid match cause there was a scratch that got a little too bloody. That is a buzzkill to any good match momentum. I mean the 2 examples I can think of off the top of my head, Christian/Shelton at TLC and Cena/Orton at Bragging Rights were times where the doc comes out and completely shuts down any fan interest. That's the only objection I have with the new changes of WWE

 

[El Rev sXe]

well I dont agree with you~INPHEKTID-LEGEND-KILLER~ exept for the point that it was WAAAAY too much. but you know man yeah in fact you dont need weapons or blood to get an amazing no DQ match just like Taker and HBK did. HOWEVER this is like ONE example out of 20 matches. I mean seriously man but the HIAC ppv was bullshit, the match between Edge and Jericho inside a steel cage WASNT any different from a regular match. EXTREME RULES? I mean its cool if you arent into that kind of thing...but I want to see the thing get EXTREME if that is how supposed to be the ppv...

on the other hand dude Im sick of supercena, I cant take it anymore. yeah I know that it is a business and all thar crap but man cmon Cena sells TO kids and cause kids buys toys replica belts t shirts and all kind of bullshits that doesnt mean that the wrestling show is crap! I mean Cena overcomes the odds!!!!ONCE AGAIN but that is another point. what Im trying to say is that wether its extreme or attitude what matter was NOT ONLY the stories but ALSO THE WRESTLING MATCH per se. now the entrance is great but the match is lame! as axl626 said "Kids won't want to watch a technical masterpiece if they can see their hero battle back in a minute after a 10 minute beatdown." thats the problem with NO extreme and NO attitude among many others

 

[bloodzombie]

its not that the wwe is ofering a better product than the one they gave us in the attitude era, its just a question of how things get old, there are some people that complain about how those days were better, how we need chairs and blood and extreme stuff, but i think those days are gone, and if you think that those are the things that pro wrestling need you can always turn your sight to tna that has the writers from the attitude era, the chairs and the blood, an also a rating that cant pass the 1.0, truth is tna stands as proof of the fact that the attitude era-like storylines & the "edgy" violence simply got old. also i think that the wwe's product can be much much better & more considerate to us true fans, but i dont think that backwards is the way to go.

 

[I HATE THE PG ERA!!!!!]

I 1000% Disagree with you
This product that WWE is putting on now sucks. I really don't understand how anyone is REALLY enjoying it. These stupid guest hosts act like they never even heard of WWE before they were offered a paycheck.

John Cena wins every freaking match and its getting really boring seeing him as champ. Swagger was given the title way to early just like Sheamus, and these are only a few problems of MANY wrong with WWE

Thank god TNA is around because its the closest thing to the greatest era in wrestling history the Attitude Era. If WWE brings back the attitude era there would be no question of which show i watch on Mondays. Also, imagine Ortons character during an attitude era. Opportunities are amazing.
BRING BACK THE ATTITUDE ERA!!!!!

 

[jmyers19]

I agree with Ferbian and feel the same way. I mean I didn't grow up watching the Attitude Era but I've saw the memorable clips and not just the ones shown on WWE TV in a matter of seconds, hunted them down on youtube or dailymotion or watched them on whatever WWE DVDs I either own or used to own. But ever since they turned PG, only difference is no swearing and no blood. Wow big difference. I still enjoy watching the product, I have done since 2003. As far as WWECW goes, on the one hand it was a bad idea calling it ECW, well at least past the time where we began to lose the ECW Originals. But I've enjoyed the product I watch every week, its had its rough patches, as a WWE loyalist even I can say that, there's been Raws I've loved there's been Raw's I've hated, same goes with Smackdown and that's my favourite of two brands. As far as Extreme goes, I don't really find that stuff appealing in every match. I mean we've had some great HIAC or TLC or LMS matches regardless of the PG product. Remember the great Extreme Rules, Stretcher and I Quit matches Matt and Jeff had last year? No blood, nothing, but they were awesome. Edge v Jeff in that epic ladder match last year, in my opinion second best match of '09. They need to make some tweaks here and there, Raw clearly has the better roster of the two now but with SD they'll build up younger guys in the M.E because I dont see the guy Swagger is now facing at the next PPV to be feuding with him for long, Kingston and Christian will hopefully be built up in the coming months as well, which is what SD has always been about with the younger talent.

 

[bloodzombie]

diferent characters require a diferent aproach, to bring back the attitude era, you'll need the same players you got back then, thats why the tna's attempt looks so lame, sure you got hogan, back then wwe got rock vs austin, & now tna has rvd vs desmond wolfe? come'on! really?

 

[vampirek]

I 1000% Disagree with you
This product that WWE is putting on now sucks. I really don't understand how anyone is REALLY enjoying it. These stupid guest hosts act like they never even heard of WWE before they were offered a paycheck.

John Cena wins every freaking match and its getting really boring seeing him as champ. Swagger was given the title way to early just like Sheamus, and these are only a few problems of MANY wrong with WWE

Thank god TNA is around because its the closest thing to the greatest era in wrestling history the Attitude Era. If WWE brings back the attitude era there would be no question of which show i watch on Mondays. Also, imagine Ortons character during an attitude era. Opportunities are amazing.
BRING BACK THE ATTITUDE ERA!!!!!

So wait, the product now 'sucks' because they keep having the same champions and at the same time have new champions?... They can't win! The WWE needs new main eventers and has been doing that. Sheamus has grown and continues to grow against the odds. Swagger has a great chance being the champion on Smackdown away from the usual champions. Your argument really does not make sense.

 

[TokiRKO]

It's funny how people bitch about Sheamus and Swagger getting the belts too early, but before they became champs people bitched about the same people holding the titles. I've seen Swagger fight recently and he's impressed me. Rope assisted abdominal stretch is a very innovated move. He picks a body part (midsection) and absolutely destroys it before hitting his GUTwrench powerbomb. And he doesn't destroy it with just cheap kicks and strikes, he's an amateur wrestler, a GREAT one, he WEARS the midsection down to the point where he doesn't even need the bomb, just a gutwrench suplex would probably be enough.

As for Cena, here's EVERY match he's in: gets the shit beat out of him for 10 minutes, gets whipped into the ropes, ducks a clothesline, shoulderblock, shoulderblock, ducks a punch, spin out powerbomb, hand in the air, you can't see me, FALLING fist drop, then either the FU or STFU. The only surprise in his matches are which move will he end it with...which is still really shitty because both of his finishers are horribly done.

WWEPG wouldn't be SO bad IF they didn't stop matches over real blood or bleep EVERY THING. When you have some one like Stone Cold hosting RAW, you CAN'T bleep ass and hell, you CAN'T tell him he can't flip people off....What we all saw that night was a Stone Cold on a leash

I agree, I am a big TNA fan, and I haven't watched much of RAW since Jan 4th because of how stale the product has become with out competition, but I have noticed RAW has picked it up a bit recently.

 

[Thesage1989]

You are right man and i have been a fan since i could read and i now i was guilty of complaining but i sat back and i thought about it and its not that wwe need to go back because that would be a step in the wrong direction. More focus on the kids is and awesome business strategy because they will be the future fans of the business, i don't think they need blood if a man bleeds then so be it stopping the match kills the vibe in my opinion but i love the current product i can get enough, my only problem is that some wrestlers lost there character example cena he is my boy but his character is watered and of course the Divas died with the era they have no personality now and some fans no longer enjoy seeing them. that's all i think needs to change but to say we need blood and chairs is saying to me that you don't have a real love for good technical and exciting wrestling and in my opinion this keeps the wrestlers from retiring faster.

 

[I HATE THE PG ERA!!!!!]

So wait, the product now 'sucks' because they keep having the same champions and at the same time have new champions?... They can't win! The WWE needs new main eventers and has been doing that. Sheamus has grown and continues to grow against the odds. Swagger has a great chance being the champion on Smackdown away from the usual champions. Your argument really does not make sense.

It does make sense. They gave the title to Sheamus so freaking quickly that no one could take him seriously. Also, your going to tell me that Swagger is a good champ. To me, he got it to early, BUT I would have liked to see him get it later this year because he is a good athlete.

Why not give the title to some of the veterans that haven't had it before like Matt Hardy. Hardy is over with the fans and has worked his ass off for this company and has gotten nothing for it basically. Yes he's had tag titles, but never the BIG one that he deserves.

What about Kane? I can't even take him seriously anymore with the way his character is. Give him back his mask, make him a little more like he was when he debuted in WWF and give him the strap for more than a day.(When was the last real feud Kane has had?Rey mysterio?)

These are just 2 of many that deserve the title more than Swagger(Once again I would have given him the strap, but just not this soon)

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

I'm pretty impartial but I think WWE needs a pg-14 or PG17 because those fans demand good matches and they'll bring out the best in any wrestler and in fact WWE's gimmicks will be run by THEM. Case in Point: Orton. The guy was supposed to be a heel against Legacy because he struck first and the whole "I got a movie" with Ted being the good guy concept. But eventually the cheers overturned the boos to the point that the boos stopped completely and now Orton is a tweener. If there'd by PG-14 Cena wouldn't get such a mix reaction because he'd still have his rapper "Don't fuck with me" gimmick. With the kiddies they're easily and shockingly manipulated into whatever WWE wants them to believe. For example, we're supposed to believe that John Morrison is weaker than Swagger because Swagger is the champion and the fact that Swagger is better than most of smackdown because he's the champion. Granted that he's a great wrestler and all but there are people who fans will get behind to take him out. For example, Orton or Morrison. The point is, I don't want wrestling to be so kiddish that it becomes ridiculously non-believable.

 

[goldbergiswrestling]

I disagree completely. Its so cheesy, Cena always wins at the end. It's so for the kids. They forgot/dont care about the true fans us. But I'll still tune in 3 times a week....

thats why they dont care youll tune in any way. but I agree WWE hasnt been horrible lately (well smackdown and NXT been watchin TNA) but I also agree its not as good as it could be or as good as it once was.

 

[ccotreau1]

well today's product sucks, but it's not because of the "pg" rating.

wrestling throughout history has always been marketed towards children.

in the 80's and early 90's, during the hulkamania era, they didn't have tv ratings. but wrestling was definitely marketed towards children back then, with the action figures and video games and ice cream bars and whatnot. they even had a saturday morning cartoon!

wcw during it's peak, with the nwo at their apex, sting with his dark crow gimmick, goldberg's undefeated streak, and everything else great that was going on back then, actually was rated tv pg. it had more "attitude" and mature storylines than the doinks they had in wwe at the time, and they did it while keeping a pg rating.

wwe adopted "attitude" in '98, and eventually took over wcw. wcw hired wwe's vince russo, who tried to make wcw more edgy. he failed, as the tv-14 version of wcw was hated by viewers and wrestling critics.

other than '98-'02 wwe, the original ecw, and wcw during it's final, worst years, american pro wrestling has always been marked towards children.

the problem with today's wrestling isn't that it's rated tv-pg. it's that the writing and the booking suck. it's that the matches look choreographed and the promos sound scripted. it's that wrestlers no longer have territories where they can perfect their craft, and therefore come off as amateurs instead of pros. it's that wwe has no true competition to keep them them on their toes.

all the wwe marks who slam tna and say things like "i wish tna goes out of business soon" need to understand that tna becoming a threat maybe the only thing that could save wwe. if not, i can't even image how bad pro wrestling will be 10 years from now..

I actually agree with you, thats what made the "attitude era" wrestlers work and all the other eras outside of the last handful of years, is the fact that the wrestlers promos seemed more natural...I was reading "The Stone Cold Truth" not too long ago, and thats one thing that was said in the end of that book that since he stopped wrestling, the promos aren't from the heart like SCSA's were, or some of the other wrestlers back then

 

[huegtoad]

i don't know how the ratings systems work, but i think a mixed bag approach would work. look, in my world, 75% of the shows should be pg with 25% being pg-14 or higher, just pick the spots. that last ppv should have been pg-14 or worse with the build up being that as well. then you clean it up for the next couple of ppv's and then mix it back up for like the hitc ppv. again, maybe you have to declare what your rating will be for like a whole year, but if you have the power to apply for a higher rating for like a month, i say that's the approach to take. and you tell your audience, there is going to be blood, there is going to be violence, parents might want to be discrectionary about our content. i think you can ramp it up, just be smart about it and transparent about it. for the record, last years HHH home invasion, shouldn't have been PG.

another thing WWE shoudl seriously look into in the next few weeks is doing something similar to what they did when CM punk used his MITB the first time and won the WHC. Remember that Raw? When Cena came out with Cryme Time and the whole product looked different. Just totally shake things up and create a sense of unpredictability. That's what nitro did when it was pg and it worked. create chaos and i think people will be happy.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

You're absolutely right- we don't need WWE to be extreme and have another Attitude Era. What we do need is realistic storylines that have depth and CONTINUITY. WWE has had a lot of continuity issues lately. Those little things stick out ex. Chris Jericho hitting on that girl with MacGruber or wtvr and you can clearly see He Had His Wedding Ring On. Or the fact Hornswoggle was suppose to stop wearing DX merchandise on the account that HHH and HBK "filed a complaint" about it in storyline, though he still wore and and correct me if I'm wrong, still does.

Modern wrestling has everything it needs to give us a spectacular show without putting someone through tables or even bloodshed. But what they are lacking so far is the creative motivation to skyrocket stars into a really good feud. There was barely any reason for Randy Orton to face Swagger at Extreme Rules, except Orton supposedly beat him twice on cable television. Back in the Attitude Era, feuds were the fuel for impactful storylines, even if they weren't really that great. (ex. Rikishi being the one that hit Austin with his car) But that was still classic.

WWE needs to work on making more classic moments, and by doing that they need to work with their creative team and push them with continuity.

 

[peep4life]

i agree there dont need to be blood and violence in every match and cussing in every promo and no i didnt watch during the attitude era because ive been watchin since 2003-2004 but i've spent alot of time on the internet watchin videos of it and yes it was a great time but now the WWE has moved on to the next generation of fans. Is WWE great all the time no but quit bitchin about it like some people watch WWE just to come on sites like these to bitch about how bad it was dont like dont watch simple as that. is the PG rating the problem NO just like people above me said its bad writing and booking WWE could be as good if not better than it was back then if the writers cared more and people bitchin about CENA well hes the PGWWE's HOGAN hers HOGAN beat down hulk up,YOU, body slam, big boot, then the deadliest move ever the LEG DROP ouch and heres CENA'S beat down, gets whipped into the ropes, ducks a clothesline, shoulderblock, shoulderblock, ducks a punch, spin out powerbomb, hand in the air, you can't see me, FALLING fist drop, then either the FU or STFU. See so theres really no differences than the moves but i preety sure none of yall bitched about HOGAN back then did ya?. people who say to watch TNA because its like the Attitude era i disagree if u mean like the attitude era because it has the same damn wrestler and RIC FLAIR blading him self and bleeding like stuff pig almost every week then yes but other than that NO but bottom line is there dont need to be blood, chair shots to the head and cussing the less violence the longer the wrestler can entertain you

 

[pessimism101]

While I do agree that the WWE doesn't need Extreme or Attitude, stopping matches due to blood loss is ridiculous. The WWE was PG back in the 80's to early/mid 90's and many matches had blood in it (albeit, only high profile matches). What WWE needs are credible writers who know how make an entertaining show. Allowing the performers to contribute their ideas to the storylines might help too.

Now to the newbies (by which I mean anyone who started watching during the Attitude era and later) who whine and complain about the end of the Attitude Era and the new PG WWE, I suggest you take a look at the 1980's wrestling boom. If you think you have to swear to make a good WWE promo, watch some of the greatest guys on the mic from that era: Jake Roberts (THE greatest promo guy ever), Ted DiBiase, Slick, etc. That era also spawned very entertaining matches that doesn't involve extreme violence like Randy Savage/Ricky Steamboat from WrestleMania III; Rockers/Orient Express from Royal Rumble 1991; Roddy Piper/Bret Hart and Randy Savage/Ric Flair from WrestleMania VIII, for example.

And if you think the Attitude era was any different than John Cena defying the odds all the time now, from March 29th, 1998-December 9th, 2001, Rock, Austin, Triple H and Mankind combined for 19 out of the 25 title reigns in that time period. Austin and Rock specifically having 6 reigns each. (Austin dominated the first half by overcoming the odds time and time again, much like Cena; The Rock dominated the mid-last half by doing much of the same). In contrast, in roughly the same amount of time (April 3rd,2005-January 2009), Cena only had 3 reigns out of 13 total (and the last one ended in 2007). My point is, it's hypocritical to complain about Cena always eventually becomes WWE champion again by always defying the odds when WWE did it far more often in the Attitude era with Austin and Rock.

 

[DL23]

Over the past few years and or months after WWECW Stopped being "extreme" I've heard plenty of people complaining saying that there HAS to be extreme in every match. Well there dosent. I understand completely what everyone is saying, there should of been extreme matches in WWECW, but not in every match. Hey there was a point in my life where i was sick of watching the old ECW only because every episode was the same exact thing. Blood, Chairs, Tables, Thumbtacks, Barbed wire. Hey dont get me wrong it sounds great, there was just WAYYY too much of it it gets old. Alot of people complain because of the "PG Era" well i dont consider it an "Era" its just whats going on right now, because the Attitude would get boring, and i think they made the change because WWF/WWE saw this, after 5 or more years of "Attitude" it got kind of old. We are so focused on hating PG we cant enjoy what we have now! Do you get what im saying? Leave your feedback.

I see where your going with your argument, I tend to agree to a point.

The attitude era was fantastic as far as storylines go, even some title reignes go, however once WCW was bought, the Attitude era went from live and kicking to life support simply because WWE had NO ONE to push them to strive for number one.

Officially the attitude era finished at Survivor Series 2001 maybe Vengeance 2001 with the whole unification tournament? either way WCW dying is what ended the attitude era plus network tv clamping down on the hardcore storylines and angles.

 

[aftershock14520]

Well, interesting topic, however, here is where you are wrong. WWE took advantage of ECW and made their own watered down product out of it. They figured, since it was called ECW, it would draw, even if they have lame matches. I quit watching the new ECW, because I got tired of it as soon as they made it resemble a 3rd rate WWE program that has absolutely no value, which is why it's gone.

There was a time when WWF had a hardcore title. WWF was well balanced, and they had a little bit of everything going on, but the hardcore title brought a lot of excitement to the mix, because you never knew what the hell was going to happen, or who was going to kick whose ass just about anywhere at anytime, and there was people that tuned into WWF just to watch that, which is why Raw, in 2000, got 6.0+ ratings.

Why should we even bother to watch WWE if they constantly water down their product and one by one, take away from it... can't even bleed now... can't even do chair shots... it's *****fied. No longer well balanced.

I watch iMPACT! because Monday Night Raw ain't so Raw anymore... more like, Monday Night Joke-A-Thon

 

[fredstephenson]

its not so much that the extreme and attitude has gone that bothers me wwe could put on a great show without that stuff but i think they are catering to children to such a point were they are making it difficult for themselves to create new storylines gimmicks and decent promos and i think it was these things that made the attitude era great the swearing sexual references and ecsessive violence definatly made it more intresting and still could today as everyone loves a bit of blood and gore and rude jokes every now and again but it isnt essential in making wwe fun again


but what wwe have done is made the current era the exact opposite of the attitude era were there cant be any swear words at all no blood no rude stuff of any kind and by doing this i would imagine the wwe creative are having a very hard time coming up with anything at all think about it the simpsons is very entertaining it is also pg rated but contains mild adult humour and the odd swear word but without going over the top i think maybe wwe should go for somthing like that instead of restricting itself so much as children would still be aloud to watch and adults would probally find it more entertaining in the storylines and promos department at least