Despite what the WWF may want us to believe, it's become more and more obvious to me that the Attitude Era is dead. The words "Suck It" haven't been heard on WWF TV for over a year, the Godfather is no longer pimping hoes nationwide(or rolling phatties for that matter), and the Rock rarely even considers sticking things up his opponent's candy asses. What I want to know is, do you miss it? Personally, I believe that in the end, the PTC won its battle with the WWF since it has been significantly toned down over the ast few years and I know quite a few people who were turned off of wrestling because of it. Sure, they were maybe just fair weather fans, but they still made the company money either way. So, what do you think of this new era of the WWF and do you think that maybe a little Attitude should be brought back?
"Look at these morose motherf*ckers right here. Smells like someone took a sh*t in their cereal. BOOOONG!" --Holden McNeil
I say I like it the way things are now. If McMahon wants to appeal to a wider audience and former WCW fans then he is doing the right thing. Bringing some of that garbage (just my opinion) back would not help at this point. I think Sept. 11th has also played a part in killing Attitude era WWF--toning things down, not being as flamboyant, etc. So yes I would have to agree that Attitude is dead, but as with all things that die they leave behind parts of themselves, (i.e. bleeped out cussing every 5 minutes) so there are still things there for the 90s WWF fans to like. But they also have to grow up and change with the times, I think.
By the way, Godfather's Hoes leaving TV means they could possibly be replaced by Steiner's "freaks" (although Kane seems to have adopted that term now.)
DMC
"MEAN.....WOOOOO! GENE!" -the beginning of every Flair promo in the WCW
I definitely miss the weed references! Road Dogg talking about going out back to "burn one", Godfather pimpin' hoes and rollin fatties, even the fact that Jeff hardy HAD to be stoned to attempt half the crazy shit he did in the ring! I miss that, and RVD would have been perfect for that period. Having the camera bust into the dressing room, RVD looks startled, then splashes water onto his face to clear up the red hazy eyes. Good stuff!
Bring back the weed, man. Bring back the LOVE!
"I hate motherfuckers claimin' that they foldin bank But steady talkin shit in the holding tank First you wanna step to me Now your ass screamin for the deputy They send you to Charlie-Baker-Denver row Now they runnin up in ya slow You're gone, used to be the Don Juan Now your name is just 'Twan Switch it, snap it, rollin your eyes and neck You better run a check..."
For as many cool things about the Attitude era, there were also things like the Undertaker trying to embalm Steve Austin, the Beaver Cleavage gimmick, and Mae Young giving birth to a hand.
I think with every era, you have to take the good with the bad.
Originally posted by LeechOfTheNightDespite what the WWF may want us to believe, it's become more and more obvious to me that the Attitude Era is dead. The words "Suck It" haven't been heard on WWF TV for over a year, the Godfather is no longer pimping hoes nationwide(or rolling phatties for that matter), and the Rock rarely even considers sticking things up his opponent's candy asses. What I want to know is, do you miss it? Personally, I believe that in the end, the PTC won its battle with the WWF since it has been significantly toned down over the ast few years and I know quite a few people who were turned off of wrestling because of it. Sure, they were maybe just fair weather fans, but they still made the company money either way. So, what do you think of this new era of the WWF and do you think that maybe a little Attitude should be brought back?
I absolutely agree with you, but the WWF has managed to tone down its product without turning off too much of their fan base in the process.
The idea of Attitude was to get the attention of the general public. That mission was completed successfully.
To keep Attitude up, you would need to find new ways of shocking people each week. There's only so much 'shocking' stuff out there before you cross the line.
I don't know if the PTC won the battle so much as the WWF had to change it's direction a little bit to try and keep audiences interested. It has to happen once in a while, and the WWF is trying to avoid the same type of down period before Attitude began.
"Go for the eyes, Boo! GO FOR THE EYES! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" - Minsc, Baldur's Gate.
There was no Attitude era. There is just the Vince as #1 Heel/Owner Era. And its -still- going full throttle, unfortunately. Hell, the entire point is Vince gets to cop this adolescent Attitude and goes over the talent.
Despite what the WWF may want us to believe, it's become more and more obvious to me that the Attitude Era is dead. The words "Suck It" haven't been heard on WWF TV for over a year, the Godfather is no longer pimping hoes nationwide(or rolling phatties for that matter), and the Rock rarely even considers sticking things up his opponent's candy asses.
That's not a bad thing, that's........a good thing.
I miss WCW, though.
Matthew: You would've loved it, David. A week in a foreign country, strange people, strange customs... Dave: Oh, I know what you mean. I've been to Canada.
I'm not a religous freak by any stretch of the imagination, but I offically stopped watching Attitude WWF and turned to WCW when Undertaker crucified Steve Austin. It wasn't that it offended me religiously, it offended my intelligence. It seemed like the WWF was using spooooky religious imagery to get ratings...kind of like reading Spawn comics, which are cool and McFarlane rocks the house, but I just get sick of gay crucifixion scenes and EEVIL stuff. I do not miss Attitude. In fact, I don't think I would watch if we were still there. The Desire era is much better, IMHO, and I think the fans who allegedly left when the Attitude era ended are of a lesser intelligence, so we are better off anyway.
YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!?! - The immortal, chilling words of...The Shockmaster!
I agree with Parts Unknown. Even people who are moderately religious/spiritual were really turned off by that "Satantic" imagery with the whole Austin-McMahon feud. I know that was one major thing that confirmed for me I didn't need to watch WWF back then if they were going to be that crazy. Hopefully McMahon is smart and doesn't do anything like that again or the station will be immediately clicked by a lot of people.
DMC
"MEAN.....WOOOOO! GENE!" -the beginning of every Flair promo in the WCW
Another thing to keep in mind about the "Attitude" era, fans do make the company money, but so do advertisers. And the PTC did have the advertisers' ears. That is ultimately why, at least IMHO, that the WWF have toned down the product. They were beginning to have trouble selling advertising for their shows (and were also being forced to put up with negative publicity everytime a major company pulled their ads from the shows).
Actually the "attitude" is what buried WCW. the early NWO and "New Generation" WWF is what put WCW on top.
I must disagree with this statement for several reasons. First, WCW did a fine job of burying itself. Throughout 1998, WCW and WWF were fairly comparable in terms of ratings, buyrates, and attendance. In 1999, as the WWF made new characters into stars, WCW kept pushing the same tired retreads and killed Goldberg's drawing power. That was the whole point, originally, of the New Blood, remember?
Second, the WWF "New Generation" did not put WCW on top. The WWF pushed the New Generation, a group that included Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels, in 1994 and 1995. While WWF business was bad during that period, the WWF either outdrew or maintained parity with WCW on PPV and in attendance. Only when two staples of the New Generations, Nash and Hall, jumped to WCW did WCW take a decisive lead.
The WWF succeeded because it created new stars, not because of the raunchy flavor of the TV Shows.
I'm confused didn't we just have bikini matches, gay tag team champions, and most disturbing Vince with a cow boy hate galloping around bare bottom.
I personally refuse to believe that Sable's breasts or Godfather's hoes, or Road dogs weed references pushed the WWF over the edge in popularity.
What I do want to believe is that they (WWF) tapped into a storyline (evil boss vs. working man) that everyone could relate and grab on to (vince v. austin)... Young talent doing matches and putting there bodies on the line like never before (hardyz/edge/christian etc.)... Mic Foley being funny as hell .... The elevation of a charamatic star like The Rock. That is the stuff that made WWF gold of course that's only my opinion.
I have a perverse love for the "Choppy Choppy Your Pee Pee" bit. It was horrible, racist, and cheesy...but so over the top that I just had to laugh. And the big blow off? A token appearance by John Wayne Bobbitt...oh, the early days of Val Venis were sad, sad, sad...
The Attitude era pretty much sucked. Austin vs. McMahon was awesome, but the undercard was a hopeless, mired wreck with no direction, bad gimmicks and nonsensical angles. Austin carried 1998 on his back, much as he did 2001 (although he had a lot of help from Kurt Angle last year, at least).
There will always be things I'm fond of from that 97-99 period (I consider the death of Attitude to be the McMahon-Helmsley era, when the ultimate heel was reborn and the top angle became the powerful champion (HHH) trying to destroy the tough as nails challenger (Foley) in a feud so hate-filled it was old-school in its brutality.
The crucifixion bit didn't bother me, though. But, then, I'm an agnostic *shrug*. I've seen plenty of Satanistic imagery in music, comics and pop culture for years, and the idea of a Satanist heel didn't particularly bother me. IN fact, it intrigued me. If the execution hadn't been so god awful (and if he'd had anybody in the stable worth a damn, outside of the Brood), it still could've been a good angle.
"All I ever asked for in life is an unfair advantage." Microchip, Punisher Annual #2
I don't understand as to why the WWE have bypassed these individuals and then they go along and hire someone like Jackie Gayda. Can't let the WWE just let bygones be bygones for once? I think all these guys can help out the WWE in their own way.