And then you have guys like Tyson Kidd, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Tyson Kidd, Curt Hawkins, Tyson Kidd, hell even Ryder, and then Tyson Kidd who work their ass off as hard, but more than likely harder than the guys you named from the Attitude Era who you only remember because of their distinct character, not because they worked any harder. WWE just cared more about the mid-card and booked people smarter then.
To be fair I didn't knock slater, he's worked hard and gotten TV time, its a comedy role but he got one and Rees a place for comedy like Crash, Brawler, Mideon, and Kai En tai
i like Hawkins, just think he's never really been given a chance to fully develop after the edge head stick, and that he should be repackaged in NXT much like Stevens has as Sandow or Husky as Wyatt
mcIntyre, he married the crazy bitch that cost him the push as he had the world handed to him from day one until that domestic dispute which should have got him fired for consistency (Rhino)
Kidd is a hard worker, but I can't really blame them. They tried the Harts but DH is about as exciting as paint drying and Natalya falls under the same category without even the looks to offset it. I loved how he developed on Redemption week by week and think they had something there. I didn't like the thrown together team with Gabriel, but now he's hurt and I would like to see him return but with the spot Bourne had.
And Ryder, well I'm not signing off on that. Miz came up with the material, Cena came up with idea for the show to get him started, and he's admitted as much. Cena promoted him. Put anyone in those shoes and they can et over if they have any damn sense to follow thru with it. The fact is he hasn't improved as a worker or talker. Now he deserved better than Eve and Kane, but still he isn't a glowing endorsement of a person who got their 5 minutes of fame and actually ran with it and improved along the way, like say Ryback who got over and has actually improved steadily in that ring and on the mic because he's actually hungry. He's not Bryan who improved when he got the chance, or Punk for as much shit as I give him. Ryder used Cena and Mizs idea to get noticed but once he got noticed he never tried to be a better Ryder, he was complacent with being there