Catalysts of the Attitude Era

[Mighty Mouth]

As much as Stone Cold Steve Austin is the poster child for the Attitude Era, it is debatable that he actually started it. The anti-hero was catching on, and the product was getting edgier. What other superstars, pre-attitude era, were catalysts to it?

"The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon?

Golddust?

Sid?

Diesel?

Anyone else?

[Legion]

Goldust was definitely an Attitude era character in before the era actually started.

Mankind would also count I think, it was a bit cartoonish, but more psychological than you would have expected before the Attitude era.

Possibly Sunny, she was doing the sexy diva stuff before the divas stuff really kicked in.

[Paul E. Funk]

Heel Doink. If he looked a little more bedraggled and was a little nastier in tone then, conceptually, the character was very Attitude Era: a pissed off clown.

[AriadosMan]

A good amount of the people in ECW at the time

[The Deadly Snake]

Sept 21, 2009 11:10:10 GMT -5 AriadosMan said:

A good amount of the people in ECW at the time

I wasn't watching ECW at the time (didn't know it existed at the time) but that's basically true.

However, as for the obvious ones, I would probably say Scott Hall. Sid and Diesel were both anti-heroish, but neither were products of an old era. They were very transitional. Scott Hall, on the other hand, was fairly athletic for his size.

I want to point something else out, too. I think Bret Hart and Shawn MIchaels sort of represented another direction that wrestling could have headed to (and eventually did). Sort of Modern Wrestling before it was popular as a style. Guys like Lance Storm, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Edge, Christian, C.M. Punk, and a whole host of other wrestlers, I believe, shoed an interested alternative.

[redsox82]

Sept 21, 2009 11:39:04 GMT -5 The Deadly Snake said:

Sept 21, 2009 11:10:10 GMT -5 AriadosMan said:

A good amount of the people in ECW at the time

I wasn't watching ECW at the time (didn't know it existed at the time) but that's basically true.

However, as for the obvious ones, I would probably say Scott Hall. Sid and Diesel were both anti-heroish, but neither were products of an old era. They were very transitional. Scott Hall, on the other hand, was fairly athletic for his size.

I want to point something else out, too. I think Bret Hart and Shawn MIchaels sort of represented another direction that wrestling could have headed to (and eventually did). Sort of Modern Wrestling before it was popular as a style. Guys like Lance Storm, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Edge, Christian, C.M. Punk, and a whole host of other wrestlers, I believe, shoed an interested alternative.

Bret Hart in general, with the programs he was doing in 97 (Austin, Undertaker, Michaels) definitely helped usher in the Attitude Era.

I'd also throw Brian Pillman into the mix, too.

[glorydays]

Diesel's tweener character after losing the title to Bret in 1995 is probably the earliest example (in the WWF).

[Crazy Diamond]

FMW. A lot of the hardcore wrestling stuff you saw later on in promotions like ECW and WWF came from there. They also did the edgy storylines too.

[Sephiroth]

I'd say Sable, Sunny, and Terri Runnels as Marlena. All three were still just arm-pieces at the time, and they were not yet running around doing bikini contests or weird gimmick matches with them. But their outfits were getting a little tighter and skimpier, and the sexuality aspect was just starting to get revved up a bit with them.

A major one would HAVE to be Hogan turning heel in WCW. The whole formation of the NWO and the results had a major impact on the wrestling product as a whole. Factions became the "in" thing, and the anti-hero officially became the crowd favorite instead of the traditional face.

I'd also say Shane Douglas becoming ECW champ was kind of a sign of things to come. When he threw the NWA title belt down on television, it kind of set a precedent of "real" events taking place on a wrestling program. Stuff like DX invading nitro and Hall and Nash showing up on WCW continued it. It was a trend of wrestling shows doing things that were planned, but still not scripted either.

[celticjobber]

Bret Hart's promo after a cage match with Sid on Raw went a long way towards taking WWE into the "Attitude era".

[Mozenrath]

Goldust, definitely. Sid was someone I'd say deserves credit for being one of the first "modern" main eventers, but I think Goldust and a little later Mankind were the first gimmicks that started to break us out of "circus" wrestling.

[chunkylover53]

Jake Roberts was way ahead of his time. He was "Attitude Era" 10 years before it started. For the supposed "kiddie era" in wrestling(though I dispute that), he was something different.

[manstis1804]

Sunny, Sid, Bret, HBK, Goldust and Mankind all helped to bring it on.

[Jobes]

Suprised no one has mentioned the Nation of Domination.

[stevieraymark]

Diesels tweener run was what finally opened Vinces eyes to the idea that characters needed more edge. If only he had listened to Nash sooner. Diesels "attitude", his matches (his revolutionary one with HBK especially) and mini shoot feud with Vince all paved the way for the "Austintude" era.

[The Deadly Snake]

Sept 22, 2009 6:07:29 GMT -5 chunkylover53 said:

Jake Roberts was way ahead of his time. He was "Attitude Era" 10 years before it started. For the supposed "kiddie era" in wrestling(though I dispute that), he was something different.

On the "KIddie Era" it was more of a Family Entertainment Era (which some equates with "Kiddieness", which is something I dispute). Hogan was certainly very "Kiddie" at the time, but the rest that was "Kiddie" was pure lower-card turd.

But on Jake Roberts. Yes, I can agree. This guy was "Attitude" before "Attitude" was popular. He was not "Kid" or "Family" Friendly by any means. And so what? He was a great bad ass. It's a shame he became a shell of what he once was, because he could have fit into the Attitude Era. You know, have a real fued with Austin.

Sept 22, 2009 8:39:17 GMT -5 Jobes said:

Suprised no one has mentioned the Nation of Domination.

No one mentions them, because I think most people don't find them that memorable.

[chunkylover53]

Sept 22, 2009 11:53:54 GMT -5 The Deadly Snake said:

Sept 22, 2009 6:07:29 GMT -5 chunkylover53 said:

Jake Roberts was way ahead of his time. He was "Attitude Era" 10 years before it started. For the supposed "kiddie era" in wrestling(though I dispute that), he was something different.

On the "KIddie Era" it was more of a Family Entertainment Era (which some equates with "Kiddieness", which is something I dispute). Hogan was certainly very "Kiddie" at the time, but the rest that was "Kiddie" was pure lower-card turd.

But on Jake Roberts. Yes, I can agree. This guy was "Attitude" before "Attitude" was popular. He was not "Kid" or "Family" Friendly by any means. And so what? He was a great bad ass. It's a shame he became a shell of what he once was, because he could have fit into the Attitude Era. You know, have a real fued with Austin.

Sept 22, 2009 8:39:17 GMT -5 Jobes said:

Suprised no one has mentioned the Nation of Domination.

No one mentions them, because I think most people don't find them that memorable.

Family Entertainment would probably be the best way to describe it. You had something for everyone back then. It was accessible to kids, but it wasn't for them. Unlike today, they had the concept down right. A Jake Roberts in his prime vs. Austin in his prime would've been awesome based on psychology alone.

Rock's version of the Nation(and perhaps straight before that, when the tension built up) was more memorable than Faarooq's version. Though the gang wars was poorly executed, it was an example of WWF trying to get edgy at the time.

Now, The Hart Foundation stable feuding with Austin was a favorite of mine in the pre-Attitude Era. You can say that was a turning point.