Is is an unpopular opinion to think the Attitude Era was slightly overrated and has the biggest...?

[Stopspot]

I didn't know One's opinion was more of a fact then someone else's opinion.....................:idk:

Well. Like majority of wrestling internet. I only accept my own opinion as fact.

Bow down to the king

 

[The Phenom]

Well. Like majority of wrestling internet. I only accept my own opinion as fact.

Bow down to the king

Ha! Well there we can find common ground because I feel the same way!...... but in regards to bowing down to the king....:awyeah: GODS don't Bow to anyone my friend.:fact:

 

[RedDwarfTechy]

Attitude Era was a mix of awesome characters, great storyline with equally bad characters and bad storylines that were cringeworthy.

I was a Ruthless Aggression Era WWE initiate so while AE did have some of the best moments in wrestling, for me most of them came from Ruthless Agression Era like Chris Benoit going all the way from #1 in the royal rumble, Eddie beating Brock, Evolution running wild and then breaking up. I loved those storylines and the matches from that era the most.

 

[Thou Confidential]

Attitude Era>NOW
In terms of Star Power, Mic skills and, Great Moments

Now>Attitude Era
In terms of In ring ability

 

[Zardnaar]

Attitude Era>NOW
In terms of Star Power, Mic skills and, Great Moments

Now>Attitude Era
In terms of In ring ability

This.

I was there at the start of the era and am currently watching it now.

In some ways it is worse than 93-96 in terms of in ring. At least with the best stuff from the "worst" of WWE.

I would argue it was star power and the storyline/booking that made the attitude era great and its edginess (sex and violence). Even the sex was not that great. I could watch sable get her tits out or go play with real ones so guess what I chose. I prefer the womens wrestling now over anything from back then. The attitude era has 2 main advantages over every other era.

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin.
2. The Rock.

They also had great storylines and support from the other upper talent but those 2 were "the guy". There have only been 5 or 6 "the guy" (Hogan, HBK, Bret, Austin, Rick, Cena) in the last 30 or 40 years and 3 of them were around in that era. 2/3 biggest starts of all time were from that era- the other one is Hogan. Add in Mankind, Kane, HHH, Taker and you have multiple guys who can carry the title.

Take Austin out of the picture I would also argue WCW was also better through most of 1998 at least in terms of consistent good TV. WCW went to shit in late 1998/1999 and that is when I stopped watching full stop for 17 years.

In terms of a stacked roster 2002/2003 would be better. AE stars+WCW+NWO+HBK.

AE was booking, storylines and star power and RA beats them in star power 2002/2003.

 

[The Phenom]

This.


This.
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin.
2. The Rock.
3.The Undertaker
4.Shawn Michaels


They also had great storylines and support from the other upper talent but those 2 were "the guy". There have only been 5 or 6 "the guy" (Hogan, HBK, Bret, Austin, Undertaker, Rick, Cena)---- I would argue that The Undertaker has been the GUY for about 3 Decades and needs to be included on that list!

 

[Zardnaar]

The Undertaker has never really been "the guy". "The Guy" is the face of the company. Undertaker has often been used for "the guy" to feud with.

Not that taker is a mid carder at all. Taker doesn't really do the media interviews or represent the company.

Like Lesnar, big star but he is not "The Guy". Note you do not have to be the guy to be world champion (Taker, Kane, Mankind etc). The guy is the star you build your promotion around hence Hogan/Bret/HBK/Austin/Rock/Cena.

Basically who is your top babyface.

Its also the problem they have right now. Cena is AFK/absent, they have a weak champion who is a heel (KO), and the other champion is great in ring but is in Smackdown and is also a heel but he has the belt that has the lineage of Hogan/HBK/Austin etc.

2 champions= bad idea IMHO. Its like the Smackdown tag champions who cares New Day has Demolitions belts.

Reigns should have been "the guy" he has the look but due to bad booking or his mic skills the fans rejected him and a heel turn then a face turn later might be able to save him.

 

[The Phenom]

Taker is bigger then "The guy" He is "A staple" that wrestled the likes of that entire list Hogan/Bret/HBK/Austin/Rock/ and I hate to say John Cena but my point is he was never labeled as "The Guy" because he was not a man he was a force that has been doing it for 30 years (Doesn't do the interviews because they always wanted to keep his DEADMAN PERSONA ALIVE) But my friend he represents the company any WWF Shirt or Advertisement from the Attitude Era 9 times out of 10 Undertaker was present on that merchandise. But I get where your coming from I just don't fully agree because I'm biased on this topic.

 

[The Phenom]

Now this I can agree with.................

Just like many of you, I have been a fan of professional wrestling since I was a kid and have been following Wrestling News Sites such as this one for as long as they have been available. Before I jump into the subject I have chosen to write about for my first ever public wrestling column, I will give you a glimpse of my history in the world of Pro Wrestling.

My first glimpse into wrestling was with the WWE. Now, I had heard of the sport before, but that was really through video games such as No Mercy for the Nintendo 64. My mother refused to let us watch anything wrestling on TV as long as she was in the house. However, in 2002, she moved out, and before the tears were wiped away, the remote was in my hand. Immediately after the channel was selected, Motorhead echoed Madison Square Garden and Triple H made his return from his first Quad injury. I have been hooked ever since. I must divulge to you all, 99% of the Wrestling I have watched has been from WWE since 2002, but in the near future, I will be watching other available Promotions as well as pre-2002 WWE and giving my opinions on them, in a way to give a fresh set of eyes to those who have not seen them.

This is just one man’s opinion today. Some of you may agree. Some of you may disagree. It is that difference in opinion that unites us all collectively as fans of Professional Wrestling. Let us all leave the bickering and arguing for the politicians and let’s open up a discussion.

2016 is a unique year for the WWE. In this “Reality Era,” we have seen many things happen that us long term fans have found hard to believe. We have seen AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe, all “Indy Guys,” hold major WWE Gold. We have seen John Cena take a backseat to those guys after 12 years of dominating the roster. We have seen Women’s Wrestling re-defined in Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Becky Lynch. We have seen another Roster Split that has given new life to both Raw and Smackdown. I was at the Pepsi Center on Monday watching Goldberg return to the WWE. All of these events have put us on our feet with our hands on our heads, trying to understand the sheer concept that WWE is trying new things. Now, before you shake your head and tell me that Goldberg returning is not new, it most definitely is in comparison to the last 5-10 years of the same storylines and same matches we watched. I would much rather watch two part-timers face each other than to have Brock Lesnar face and ultimately conquer a full-time active Wrestler, only to not be at Raw the next day. All of these events have shown that WWE is attempting to revitalize their brands, draw in more and former fans, and bring prestige back the company.

Things are changing drastically. We may actually see new Wrestlemania Main Event Competitors that had not previously Main Evented before at Wrestlemania 33 for the first time since Wrestlemania 19. This has only happened 5 times before. Every other Wrestlemania Main Event had at least one competitor that had Main Evented before that match. Keep in mind I am counting these as matches that were booked going into Wrestlemania.
• The first Wrestlemania, obviously, was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.
• Wrestlemania IV was Randy Savage vs Ted DiBiase
• Wrestlemania IX was Bret Hart vs Yokozuna (Hulk Hogan vs Yokozuna doesn’t count since it was an impromptu match.)
• Wrestlemania XI was Lawrence Taylor vs Bam-Bam Bigelow
• Wrestlemania XIX was Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle

*Honorable Mention – Wrestlemania 2000 had 3 out of the 4 wrestlers. The Rock Main Evented the year before.

The reason I mentioned all of that was to really show you all that this year and era are really different than what we have seen. However, there really seems to be something missing, isn’t there?

I believe the biggest element we have been missing for quite some time is something that is actually really simple. Relatability in the Superstars. WWE’s ratings were at an all-time high during the Monday Night Wars and Attitude Era, and have dramatically decreased ever since because back in the Attitude Era, we had personas like Stone Cold Steve Austin who was saying what he wanted and doing what he wanted. He would slam a couple Steveweizers and beat up his boss. We had Mankind, who was a representation of our crazy side. The crazy side that we didn’t want anyone to see. We had The Hardy Boyz, who made us want to jump off of stuff and make a moment that people would never forget, which is a big reason most of us became fans in the first place. We had The Undertaker, who for a brief time was an American Bad Ass who rode a motorcycle and kicked everyone’s ass. The list goes on. In 2016, the only characters we have now are those who have attitudes. We don’t have anyone we can live vicariously through. Now, I am not saying the Superstars are not talented, but that how can we possibly relate to them? Guys like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Triple H, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, and Dolph Ziggler, and Women such as Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley don’t accomplish that. A WWE Superstar needs to be someone who is who we want to be; Someone who can beat up their boss; Someone who can beat up the Man/Woman that slept with our significant other. Someone who makes us understand ourselves in ways we didn’t realize; Someone who can make us hope that someday, we can overcome all the odds and stand tall on the turnbuckle with the gold held high with 80,000 people chanting our names; Someone who represents us on a personal level.

Some might say that the most important thing WWE needs to do is bring back blood. Others might say they need to go back to PG-13. That may be true. Some of us will agree. Some of us will disagree. That’s ok. Like I said before, it is that difference of opinion that unites us all as Professional Wrestling Fans. Thank you for letting me give you my opinion today, I hope to continue to do so in the future.

Feel free to contact me at theillustriousjps@gmail.com

 

[Zardnaar]

Taker is bigger then "The guy" He is "A staple" that wrestled the likes of that entire list Hogan/Bret/HBK/Austin/Rock/ and I hate to say John Cena but my point is he was never labeled as "The Guy" because he was not a man he was a force that has been doing it for 30 years (Doesn't do the interviews because they always wanted to keep his DEADMAN PERSONA ALIVE) But my friend he represents the company any WWF Shirt or Advertisement from the Attitude Era 9 times out of 10 Undertaker was present on that merchandise. But I get where your coming from I just don't fully agree because I'm biased on this topic.

If you said taker was one of the biggest stars of the last 30 years I would fully agree.

He has been used to make "the guy" look great he is always a credible threat but his title reigns for exmaple have often been short.

For example he has feuded with all of "the guys" from Hogan, Cena, Bret, Austin, Rock etc but his deadman persona also keeps him out of the limelight and he has not lived the "rockstar" lifestyle the others have had. His gimmick has prevented him from being "the guy".

When he got to WWF he feauded with "The Guy" and who was it? Hogan and they tried with the Ultimate Warrior.

Later on Luger failed as "the guy" so they used Bret and later on HBK.

Later taker feuded with Austin but once again who was the star? It was Austin not taker.

When things turned to shit in the mid 90's you had 3 wrestlers who could put on a good match- taker, bret, HBK. Taker is Mr reliable you bring him out to put on a good match and to promote "the guy".

He is a megastar in his own right in the world of wrestling but he has not really transcended wrestling like Hogan, Rock, perhaps Austin has.

Crowds also do not tend to go crazy like they do when HBK or Austin or Rock turns up like at WM 32 either. Taker is big biuut he is not in the same league IMHO. See the others working the crowd for example. Hogan in his day, HBK playing Bret's music in Montreal, Hogans heel turn on WCW, Rock or Austin just turning up and having their music play.

Taker doesn't have the technical skills of Bret/Michaels or the Charisma of HBK/Rock/Austin. He is one of the greats of course and I might rate him higher than some of those guys but he is not "the guy" as such.

 

[Zardnaar]

Now this I can agree with.................

Just like many of you, I have been a fan of professional wrestling since I was a kid and have been following Wrestling News Sites such as this one for as long as they have been available. Before I jump into the subject I have chosen to write about for my first ever public wrestling column, I will give you a glimpse of my history in the world of Pro Wrestling.

My first glimpse into wrestling was with the WWE. Now, I had heard of the sport before, but that was really through video games such as No Mercy for the Nintendo 64. My mother refused to let us watch anything wrestling on TV as long as she was in the house. However, in 2002, she moved out, and before the tears were wiped away, the remote was in my hand. Immediately after the channel was selected, Motorhead echoed Madison Square Garden and Triple H made his return from his first Quad injury. I have been hooked ever since. I must divulge to you all, 99% of the Wrestling I have watched has been from WWE since 2002, but in the near future, I will be watching other available Promotions as well as pre-2002 WWE and giving my opinions on them, in a way to give a fresh set of eyes to those who have not seen them.

This is just one man’s opinion today. Some of you may agree. Some of you may disagree. It is that difference in opinion that unites us all collectively as fans of Professional Wrestling. Let us all leave the bickering and arguing for the politicians and let’s open up a discussion.

2016 is a unique year for the WWE. In this “Reality Era,” we have seen many things happen that us long term fans have found hard to believe. We have seen AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe, all “Indy Guys,” hold major WWE Gold. We have seen John Cena take a backseat to those guys after 12 years of dominating the roster. We have seen Women’s Wrestling re-defined in Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Becky Lynch. We have seen another Roster Split that has given new life to both Raw and Smackdown. I was at the Pepsi Center on Monday watching Goldberg return to the WWE. All of these events have put us on our feet with our hands on our heads, trying to understand the sheer concept that WWE is trying new things. Now, before you shake your head and tell me that Goldberg returning is not new, it most definitely is in comparison to the last 5-10 years of the same storylines and same matches we watched. I would much rather watch two part-timers face each other than to have Brock Lesnar face and ultimately conquer a full-time active Wrestler, only to not be at Raw the next day. All of these events have shown that WWE is attempting to revitalize their brands, draw in more and former fans, and bring prestige back the company.

Things are changing drastically. We may actually see new Wrestlemania Main Event Competitors that had not previously Main Evented before at Wrestlemania 33 for the first time since Wrestlemania 19. This has only happened 5 times before. Every other Wrestlemania Main Event had at least one competitor that had Main Evented before that match. Keep in mind I am counting these as matches that were booked going into Wrestlemania.
• The first Wrestlemania, obviously, was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.
• Wrestlemania IV was Randy Savage vs Ted DiBiase
• Wrestlemania IX was Bret Hart vs Yokozuna (Hulk Hogan vs Yokozuna doesn’t count since it was an impromptu match.)
• Wrestlemania XI was Lawrence Taylor vs Bam-Bam Bigelow
• Wrestlemania XIX was Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle

*Honorable Mention – Wrestlemania 2000 had 3 out of the 4 wrestlers. The Rock Main Evented the year before.

The reason I mentioned all of that was to really show you all that this year and era are really different than what we have seen. However, there really seems to be something missing, isn’t there?

I believe the biggest element we have been missing for quite some time is something that is actually really simple. Relatability in the Superstars. WWE’s ratings were at an all-time high during the Monday Night Wars and Attitude Era, and have dramatically decreased ever since because back in the Attitude Era, we had personas like Stone Cold Steve Austin who was saying what he wanted and doing what he wanted. He would slam a couple Steveweizers and beat up his boss. We had Mankind, who was a representation of our crazy side. The crazy side that we didn’t want anyone to see. We had The Hardy Boyz, who made us want to jump off of stuff and make a moment that people would never forget, which is a big reason most of us became fans in the first place. We had The Undertaker, who for a brief time was an American Bad Ass who rode a motorcycle and kicked everyone’s ass. The list goes on. In 2016, the only characters we have now are those who have attitudes. We don’t have anyone we can live vicariously through. Now, I am not saying the Superstars are not talented, but that how can we possibly relate to them? Guys like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Triple H, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, and Dolph Ziggler, and Women such as Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley don’t accomplish that. A WWE Superstar needs to be someone who is who we want to be; Someone who can beat up their boss; Someone who can beat up the Man/Woman that slept with our significant other. Someone who makes us understand ourselves in ways we didn’t realize; Someone who can make us hope that someday, we can overcome all the odds and stand tall on the turnbuckle with the gold held high with 80,000 people chanting our names; Someone who represents us on a personal level.

Some might say that the most important thing WWE needs to do is bring back blood. Others might say they need to go back to PG-13. That may be true. Some of us will agree. Some of us will disagree. That’s ok. Like I said before, it is that difference of opinion that unites us all as Professional Wrestling Fans. Thank you for letting me give you my opinion today, I hope to continue to do so in the future.

Feel free to contact me at theillustriousjps@gmail.com

You have been watching for 14 years. I was watching for 14 years before you started I have come and go though but I was there when Undertaker debuted. I stopped watching around 92-95 or so but whenever I came back taker was always there.

You have kind of defaulted to taker because you have only experienced Cena as "the guy". You were not there for when Austin built himself up over 96/97, you missed Hulkamania and you missed WCW. You even missed Kanes debut and the build up to that. You can go back and watch that stuff but you also miss the relevance of the time.

Hogan vs Warrior these days is an average match but at the time it was babyface vs babyface and "the guy" vs " the new guy" and Hogan literally passed the torch to Warrior. It was a huge match and as a 12 year old it was great.
And its not a "back in my day" things were so great. I find a lot of that older stuff hard to watch now although WWF in 1995 was kind of hard to watch at the time.

Even the Attitude era has not aged well. The best of it is great and that is Austin, Rock, Foley, Mankind, Taker for the most part- HHH later on and a few other like Jericho/Big Show. Hogan, Austin, Rock could sell out arenas while The Unfertaker is just "there" so to speak. "The guy" and the people he feuded with were the draw. Another example would be Hogan even in the 90's he had enough star power to make WCW what it was and to start the Monday Night wars. And of course they had him riding around on his harley, doing the interviews with the media and cutting promos.

You can be great without being "The Guy" (Machoman, Taker, Jake the Snake, Foley, Jericho etc). Also WWF/E never pushed taker as "the guy". Another example would be Ric Flair in his NWA days

 

[The Phenom]

I can see where your coming from @Zardnaar but that last post was from some guy who wrote an article on now compared to the attitude era. I watched the entire attitude era (I was about 6 to 7 years old when I started watching So thats about 20 years I have been actively watching wrestling only missing about a year all together but I remember it vividly plus my Grandmother brought me all the VHS tapes (lol I know) of all the major ppvs back then and some where just focused on 1 wrestler and their rise through the company. (Example Austin 3:16 movie I still have this tape!) But I loved wresting growing up I still do.....It's funny you said I didn't see Kane debut but I actually did I was there LIVE at the Kiel Center back in 1997 I saw him in person along with the 1st Ever Hell in a Cell match between my two favorite wrestlers The Undertaker and HBK (My father took me for my B-day)........But back to the Undertaker I started to put that in my last post He is they guy that makes "The Guy" in his words "He will make you famous" and he did just that to all of the so called "Guys" because you ain't Shit til u can beat the Undertaker. So that to me makes him "The Guy of the last 3 decades".......AND AFTER ALL THAT TIME HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT STILL REMAINS..Hogan/Bret/hbk/austin/rock all gone (even cena is now part time Mr hustle, loyalty and, respect... Mr I ain't going anywhere is about to sell out like he said he wouldn't silly C-nation tricks are for kids!

Oh yea Never ever ever say Cena was my guy he is not my guy never was and never will be unless he turns heel then I may jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Zardnaar]

I can see where your coming from @Zardnaar but that last post was from some guy who wrote an article on now compared to the attitude era. I watched the entire attitude era (I was about 6 to 7 years old when I started watching So thats about 20 years I have been actively watching wrestling only missing about a year all together but I remember it vividly plus my Grandmother brought me all the VHS tapes (lol I know) of all the major ppvs back then and some where just focused on 1 wrestler and their rise through the company. (Example Austin 3:16 movie I still have this tape!) But I loved wresting growing up I still do.....It's funny you said I didn't see Kane debut but I actually did I was there LIVE at the Kiel Center back in 1997 I saw him in person along with the 1st Ever Hell in a Cell match between my two favorite wrestlers The Undertaker and HBK (My father took me for my B-day)........But back to the Undertaker I started to put that in my last post He is they guy that makes "The Guy" in his words "He will make you famous" and he did just that to all of the so called "Guys" because you ain't Shit til u can beat the Undertaker. So that to me makes him "The Guy of the last 3 decades".......AND AFTER ALL THAT TIME HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT STILL REMAINS..Hogan/Bret/hbk/austin/rock all gone (even cena is now part time Mr hustle, loyalty and, respect... Mr I ain't going anywhere is about to sell out like he said he wouldn't silly C-nation tricks are for kids!

Oh yea Never ever ever say Cena was my guy he is not my guy never was and never will be unless he turns heel then I may jump on the bandwagon.

I'm not a masisve Cena or Higan fan either but they were "the guy".

List of WWE World Champions - Wikipedia

Taker has been there for 26 years but he is ranked 21 for title reigns and he has held the title "only" 4 times. His runs however have been short, and he went almost 6 or 7 years between title runs. They were to busy sticking the title on other wrestlers.

That is what I mean by "the guy". Hogan, Bret, Shawn, Austin., Rock, Cena there is your last 30+ years of "the guy".

 

[The Phenom]

I'm not a masisve Cena or Higan fan either but they were "the guy".

List of WWE World Champions - Wikipedia

Taker has been there for 26 years but he is ranked 21 for title reigns and he has held the title "only" 4 times. His runs however have been short, and he went almost 6 or 7 years between title runs. They were to busy sticking the title on other wrestlers.

That is what I mean by "the guy". Hogan, Bret, Shawn, Austin., Rock, Cena there is your last 30+ years of "the guy".

I'm aware of the title reigns..... another reason he is "the guy" he didn't and doesn't need them his character is above that.....Cena has been champ too many damn times they forced fed the world John Cena and made him the guy something they want to do with Roman now. The Undertaker is organic and can never be duplicated along with Hbk, Rock, and, Austin......Hogan on the other hand is John Cena to me and both are forced "Guys" There will be another Cena but never will there be another Undertaker and I think if you asked hyeah: who his "top guys"were Undertaker would be in the top 5.....but I'm sure your probably sleep now So Rest In Peace @Zardnaar

 

[Zardnaar]

Undertaker is not that organic he got a big push as soon as he arrived in the WWE. Shawn and Bret got over the hard way before they got their push, Austin also got himself over. Rock got a huge push out the gate (it failed) and The Rock is one of a few home grown stars that WWF developed most were repackaged from other promotions up to 2020 or so and the rise of Cena.

The phenom becomes the legend happened latter on, if you watched in the early to mid 90's taker was the monster heel thing, became a babyface but was never reallt "the guy".

He only had 1 title reign in 7 years IIRC and the streak while great from the fans PoV doesn't mean much when its predetermined. And Mark is reclusive he doesn't do the media thing "the guy" does. I'm not debating that the Undertaker sucks (he has had a lot of great matches) and he is one of the best workers WWE has ever had as he has put over a lot of wrestlers and by most accounts is great in the ring and has not been a big asshole backstage. He is one of the best wrestlers ever but there are better technical works and people better on the mic or working the crowd.

Yeah sure Cena is over used and he has been babyface for a decade, so was Hogan and towards the end it was boring. But Hogan was "the guy" for 9 years or so and became "the guy" again in WCW (along with Hall and Nash). You can have more than 1 guy but its rare and one of them often outshines the other slightly. Even when he was boring and over used you could still build a promotion around Hogan.

Had Mark gone elsewhere he could not be the Undertaker.