The First Champion of the Attitude Era

[Just Kevin]

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This will be a series of 27 articles celebrating the Champions of the Attitude Era. I will publish a new article every Wednesday. Please click that watch button to be notified of when a new article is published.

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[Solidus1]

Great work Kevin.

 

[Just Kevin]

Thanks! ... Looking forward to writing more.

 

[Red Rain]

I personally despise Shawn Michaels and that Survivor Series '97 match in particular.
The match was dogsh** as was a great deal of Attitude Era matches which saw fit to take the match outside the ring.
I could blame Austin (more specifically the neck injury) which shaped the structure of how the Attitude Era would be defined, but that's another debatable topic.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I personally despise Shawn Michaels and that Survivor Series '97 match in particular.
The match was dogsh** as was a great deal of Attitude Era matches which saw fit to take the match outside the ring.
I could blame Austin (more specifically the neck injury) which shaped the structure of how the Attitude Era would be defined, but that's another debatable topic.

most attitude era matches were just brawls with a ton of finisher kickouts. but the stories and characters were so good it didn't matter. I'll take characters and story lines over meaningless 5 star matches between bland characters

 

[The GOAT]

I wouldn't call Shawn Michaels the first champion of the Attitude Era, per se. Yes, Vince didn't give the "Cure For The Common Show" speech that many see as the official declaration of the Attitude Era until December of '97 (and the term itself wasn't coined until 1998), but still, the whole nature and tone of the show that would later characterize what the Attitude Era was all about was already prevalent by early 1997. It's debatable and people have differing opinions on it, but I'd say we had already ushered into a new era by Wrestlemania 13 at the latest.

 

[Just Kevin]

I wouldn't call Shawn Michaels the first champion of the Attitude Era, per se. Yes, Vince didn't give the "Cure For The Common Show" speech that many see as the official declaration of the Attitude Era until December of '97 (and the term itself wasn't coined until 1998), but still, the whole nature and tone of the show that would later characterize what the Attitude Era was all about was already prevalent by early 1997. It's debatable and people have differing opinions on it, but I'd say we had already ushered into a new era by Wrestlemania 13 at the latest.

I see the 2-3 years or so before Montreal to be the prelude to the Attitude Era.. it was a time when fans could feel something changing and hadn't put a name to it yet.. the Screwjob was the trigger that set off the new era.. it launched the Mr. McMahon character, undeniably one of the most important characters in the AE.. McMahon's "Cure for the Common Show" speech and, soon after, the WWF Attitude scratch logo introduction signified the change in eras.

That's my opinion... but this topic will be up for debate forever so I, most definitely, respect other's opinions on the subject.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Not to sound cliche, but if you want to point to the start of the AE we all know where it began.

Austin 3:16 noobs.

 

[Red Rain]

Once the Hart/Austin feud began that's when Vince had to start taking notice.
Hart/Austin had such contrasting values that it was simple for fans to follow one man or the other.
As the feud grew more bitter, Bret begun to show shades of frustration and attitude toward both fans and the promotion alike.
In essense, Hart began to realize he wasn't so unlike Austin in that he hated not being respected.
Bret and Austin converged. If it was good for the goose then it was good for the gander and everybody began rebelling a bit.

If you'd really go back further to WM 12, Bret didn't lose to HBK too graciously. The seeds of his turn were evident as early as March '96.