Which changed pro wrestling more Hulkamania era, Attitude era or pg era?

[thewrestleranurag900]

The title says it all.Personally i think its the hulkamania era .Hulkamania era was the era that changed wrestling forever.Attitude era was again an era which changed wrestling.I dont think pg era has changed much.SO what r ur thoughts?

 

[Caitiff]

I'm going to say the Attitude Era. Why? Because, even 10 years later, everything in wrestling is judged by the standard of "would that have worked in the Attitude Era?" Nothing in 1999 was judged by "Could Hogan have made that work 10 years ago?" Even Hogan's storylines in WCW weren't judged by that standard.

Again, I say "Attitude Era," because wrestling fans still want that era to come back. Nobody's clammoring for the next Hogan, or more PG rating.

 

[cmistrot1990]

I would definitely say the Attitude Era!! Strictly because of the excellent storylines and such. I think everybody would have rather seen Undertaker sacrificing superstars, Stone Cold stunning McMahon, D-Generation X invading WCW Monday Nitro over seeing Hulk do 20 minutes of posing and 5 minutes of wrestling!!

 

[Dronefire]

Of the 3 choices given, Attitude probably changed it the most. I will go over some of my opinions of each.


Hulkamania era: This was the era I grew up in and was what got me hooked. Growing up I really only got to watch the WWF product at a friends house and AWA at my house(I didn't have cable growing up.) Vince used Wrestlemania to bring wrestling to the mainstream. Hogan was huge and was doing movies and wrestlers were being featured in music videos. Wrestlers wanted to work for Vince because he could give them a mainstream audience.

Attitude era: Monday night wars gave fans and workers a choice. If you didn't like one, you could jump ship to the other. To me, WCW and WWF/WWE had to step up their games to keep their fan base/rosters happy. I would usually try to watch one live and tape the other one so I got to watch both, but most times I would flip back and forth.
I liked the attitude era because it introduced me to new styles of wrestling I wasn't aware existed before this,the lucha libre style/crusierwheight style(In all fairness, I didn't get cable tv until this era and the internet wasn't as readily avilable as it is today.).

PG Era: This to me is a throwback to the 80's style of wrestling, I'm not horribly opposed to some of the changes it brought (I think eliminating chair shots to the head should've been done a long time ago) but the guest host thing turned me off to the product for a while, I try to watch TNA but it reminds me of the end of WCW as of late. In their defense, its going to take time to find their niche, which I hope they do. Competition makes this sport great.

 

[Cookie14]

I would say the Attitude Era. The only reason I say this is because of the Monday Night Wars.

Not only was WWE better than it had ever been, or has been since, but WCW was also great to watch (and I was really NOT a WCW fan!!!)

You had more huge stars, more interesting storylines and it was during this era that we saw the introduction of lots of different match types (Hell in a Cell, Inferno, Burried alive, Iron man, Ladder, War Games etc)

Everything was new, everything was interesting, everything was different. And if you didn't like what you saw, there was always a different product to watch.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

The 80's pg is much better than the 00's pg...

Anyway back to the topic..I would have to say Hulkamania era...this was lke the start of prowrestling...just the popularity of wrestling just increased that quick..and one of the most over guys ever to step in the ring Hogan made that happen...it was just what everyone wanted to see.....those days cannot return..

IMO, the attitude era was great, but it wasn't a change for pro wrestling, it was WWE's way of beating WCW in the monday night wars..

 

[steveh0481]

Like Dronefire, I started watching wrestling during the Hulkamania era. Wrestling storylines were top notch back then. I do love reminiscing of the days the faces were hugely over and the heels were booed out of the building. The hatred I had for Rick Martel for spraying the "arrogance" cologne in Jakes eye. The shock of Shawn Michaels kicking Marty Jannetty through the barbershop window. The happiness felt when Macho Man and Elizabeth reunited. Haha, good ol days.

I could argue for all three eras having significant changes in pro Wrestling. However, I think the Attitude Era garnered in the most amount of fans. Wrestling became mainstream during the Attitude Era. Hollywood thought that wrestling was cool then. During the Hulkamania era and the now PG era, Hollywood treats wrestling as a red-headed stepchild. No real respect for that these guys do. Its more of a joke than a sport now. (Try finding something on ESPN.com that DOESNT bash wrestling now).. With the emergence of MMA, pro-wrestling fans flocked away to the new "extreme" of UFC. I'm not saying its a proven fact, but from my personal experience several of my friends who watched WWE during the attitude era left to watch UFC b/c it's whats "cool" now. Attitude though brought a bunch of fans on board with the sport... some fans still loyal to the sport they grew to love in the Attitude era.

One thing that is beautiful about that fans that joined in the love of professional wrestling during the Attitude era is that several did stick around. Without them, I would venture to guess that the 3.4s and 3.6s the WWE brings in each Monday would be much lower if it were just us "old timers" that still watched from the Hulkamania era, lol.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Easily the Hulkamania Era. The entire face of the industry changed. As I'm sure most of you kno, restling as a territory based system, with each organization running shows mostly in one general area, and no real national stars. The Hulkamania Era completely changed that. The Attitude Era didn't really change anything. Wrestling has reverted back to what it was before the Attitude Era at this point, the current product is very much like the "New Generation". Don't get me wrong, the Attitude Era's storylines and characters were very enjoyable, and WERE different than what we were used to, but most of it is gone now. Hulkamania Era, on the other hand, completely changed the face of the wrestling industry.

 

[mpn62]

In my opinion, it goes like this: Hulkamania Era put pro wrestling on the map, the Attitude Era put pro wrestling more mainstream and popular than it had ever been and the PG era is the median. What I mean by that is it's popular, but it can go back to the Attitude Era-style atmosphere if it's necessary and the popular decision to do to keep and gain new viewers. Just my two cents.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I 1st wanted to instantly say The Attitude Era due to the fact that it was perhaps the BEST 4-5 years wrestling ever saw...BUT, then I thought about it further and realized that ECW was "attitude" before the WWF coined the phrase and even to a smaller extent, so was WCW. So with that said, I'd have to (sadly) say it was Hulkamaina. Without Hogan beating The Iron Shiek on Janurary 24, 1984, then the world of pro wrestling would have been drastically different. Hogan's impact on wrestling went beyond the ring, as everyone can attest to. The fact that Hogan, Vince & Piper came together to create WrestleMania means so much more than the Attitude for the simple fact that there'd have been no Mania's at all. In fact, it's sad that Hogan gets so much credit because Maina was created, in part, to Piper attacking Cyndi Lauper AND Hogan coming to her aid. No one paid to see Hogan & Mr. T, they paid to see Piper get beat up by Hogan. So with that said, Hulkamania was without a doubt, the BIGGEST impact on wrestling ever with the Attiude era coming in a close second.

 

[zackattack]

i think each era has had its own impact on the wrestling business

Hulkamania era - This brought wrestling into the mainstream and Hogan made it very popular and a must see program

Attitude era - this era brought wrestling back up into must see TV as it was failing in the early to mid 90s as well as showed a different side of wrestling we had never seen before with all the violence and sex it was great

PG era - This has brought WWE back to basics and back to a more 80s - 90s product. However nowadays we see better wrestling imo whereas the 80s had great wrestling as well but was more character driven and now we get more reality of the wrestlers.

I started watching wrestling in 92 and have seen wrestling from the 70s to present and todays WWE product is a lot like it was when I started so I do enjoy it a lot and I did miss a lot of the attitude era as I was 7 when it started and by the time I was 9 the RAW replay was teken off the air in Canada so all I really saw was SmackDown and the replay shows but I will say the attitude era without a doubt was the best because when a lot of ppl talk about wrestling they rarely mention ric flair or hulkamania anymore they mention austin, rock, nwo, taker, foley, sting and kane and dx the earlier fans do mention bret and hbk but mostly the others who while nwo and sting were in wcw made it big during the attitude era and thats what fans remember the most so thats y it was the best

 

[pessimism101]

The Hulkamania Era (or 80's Boom/Golden Era) by far surpasses any other WWF/WWE era when it comes to changing pro wrestling. The Attitude Era wouldn't even exist if not for the 80's wrestling boom. McMahon took the WWF and made it an international success through TV deals, pay-per-views and Hogan's marketability.

The Attitude Era was definitely fun while it lasted, but, looking at the bigger picture, it actually did more harm than good for pro wrestling as a whole. People do not like the current product because they were spoiled in the Attitude Era and those same people bash TNA for trying to be like the Attitude Era. It's to a point now where it's difficult to just enjoy the shows because everything gets compared to the late 1990's.

The PG Era's only real change to pro wrestling is the safety of its roster (Over the Limit notwithstanding) with banning chair shots to the head and blading (albeit, indirectly).

 

[klunderbunker]

Hulkamania Era and it's not even close.

Hogan changed wrestling. Before Hogan everything had been about long and drawn out matches with psychology everywhere and cardio conditioning and whatnot like that. Hogan more or less came in, said fuck that, and beat the hell out of the Sheik in like 6 minutes to win the world title. All of a sudden wrestling wasn't about epic struggles or anything like that but rather high speed stuff and feats of strength. It became a spectacle rather than about athleticism. The Attitude Era was that on steroids. Without the 80s, modern wrestling is VERY different.

 

[dwith]

Wasn't there an RUTHLESS AGGRESSION ERA in WWE. I remember Vince McMahon talking about the Ruthless aggression era which Vince specifically was regarding that wrestler's should be more agrressive like Chris Benoit was. It was just before the attitude era took off. I also remember everyone was stepping up their wrestling game.

My choice of the 3 you chose would have to be attitude era 100%.

 

[nate dogg]

i think the attitude era cause it change the way wrestling is from good technical matchs to brawls although intertaining you still wanted to see good skiiled wrestling. to storylines people could relate to and the only reason the pg era is so popular because people miss the attitude era but i don't care what era it is or whos on top i just want good matches and entertaining promos

 

[wushady]

I would have to say attitude era. It's easy to argue in the favor of the Hulkamania era. It's true wrestling was really put on the map during the Hulkamania era.Wrestlers never made the money they were making in that era before, ticket sales grew majorly and pay per views and merchandising were born in that era as well.

However during the attitude era wrestling was taken to a far higher level then in the Hulkamania era. Wrestlers were given guaranteed contracts mainly because of the competition with WCW. All Pay Per Views, ticket sales, ratings, and merchandising records were broken. Steve Austin became the biggest draw in wrestling history in that era.

 

[mikeyboy]

has to be hulkamania before that wrestling was still all regional territories no promotion had succeded on a national level yet. hulkamania change everything it tunrned wrestling into a multi million $ industry. and remember the thread is not whats your favorite era but what era changed pro wrestling more, hell if not for hulkamania the attitude era wouldnt even exist,wrestling as we no it now would be a totally different animal.

 

[JimmeeSpence]

Hey..so this is my first post ever...I am going with Attitude Era and let me tell you why...
The Attitude Era officially began with the Bret Hart vs Stone Cold angle where Bret Returned At Survivor Series 1996 as a face and challenged (and defeated) Austin (heel at the time) who's own attitude and "heel" persona became a huge hit with the fans from late 1996 to summer 1997 where Bret slowly became an American hater reuniting with Owen and Bulldog and Austin famously was piledrived at summerslam by Owen and while he was healing from the injury he began, in my opinion, the greatest feud in WWE history McMahon/Austin.
at the same time The Rock was becoming a monster heel eventually getting embraced by the fans for his humor mostly and over the course of the next 3-4 years both men would go on to become the 2 most popular superstars,next to only Hulk Hogan.
It was a great time for the WWE at the time..late 90's into early 2002

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

it's not what era you liked better, but what era changed wresting. most of the changes made during the attitude era have already been undone in this current PG era.

the hulkamania era, or the rock 'n wrestling era, or whatever you wanna call the 80's wrestling boom, made wrestling what it is today. taking it from a local, territory based thing to a national, mainstream promotion.

 

[maar130]

I liked the Attitude Era a lot, it changed the perception of wrestling, but with that being said the era that actually changed the percetion of wrestling and made it mainstream was the Hulkamania era.

The attitude era reinforced something that was mainstream already and help made it bigger that it was at the time, but Hulkamania changed everything there was about wrestling and put it on scene for the world to see and this come from someone who doesn't like Hulk at all, respect all his accomplishments but don't like him, never has.

Hogan changed everything and still today when you ask anyone who is not a wrestling fan, most people the only name they know is Hul Hogan.

Now the PG era is just a transitional time that in no time will evolve into something else, just give it time and it will have to evolve.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm gonna go with the Hulkamania Era, it's quite obviously the era that made wrestling big, it made it mainstream, and it made the success of Wrestlemania.

The world of wrestling wouldn't be very big, or with the same names in the business, if it hadn't been for the Hulkamania era, no matter how awesome the Attitude Era, or how "awful" the PG era is, none of those changed the landscape of wrestling as much at Hulkamania did.

WWE wouldn't be as big as it is if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan and the Hulkamania Era, WCW wouldn't have been have had the success it did, and TNA may very well never have been created.

 

[theHeadliner]

You forgot about the New Generation Era. That era was a major transition and really important because it changed the style. Wrestling went from unreaslistic, larger than life characters and cartoon-based material to realistic, normal-sized workers like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, etc. They had to sell actual wrestling ability. It might not have been the most successful time financially, but paved the way for the future of the biz.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

I disagree with that. Sure, Hogan, Warrior, etc. were sort of like real life cartoons, but they also had realistic guys like Greg Valentine around that time.

During the New Generation era, it got way too cartoony. Everybody has a second job, be it a dentist or a race car driver or whatever. Doink. Two Doinks. Midget Doinks. Not to mentioned Undertaker vs. Undertaker.

 

[Davi323]

Hulkamania. The Hulkamania era saw the demise of the territorial NWA, and the rise of the truly national wrestling companies (WWF/WCW). Basically, the Hulkamania era is as much the Vince McMahon takes over the world era as it was about Hulk Hogan. The Attitude era changed the tone of wrestling, growing it up, but the Hulkamania era fundamentally altered the entire wrestling world by the WWF going national and then global. It radically changed the way wrestling was done from a business standpoint. The Attitude era simply made a PG product PG-13. Not good enough to give it the edge over the 80s.

 

[Da Prophet]

The Hulkamania wins here, as even today Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling.Hogan changed wrestling forever and really made it big.Hogan is a house hold named and his era could be called one of the best.Hogan changed how people wrestled and instead of long matchs we saw 10 minutes of wrestling at times.So Hulkamania era wins here from the way wrestling matchs themselves changed.