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Post by Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill on Dec 22, 2011 0:29:41 GMT -5
Thought i could get some discussion out of this.
So, after the Invasion WWF went through some changes. It changed its name, had the brand extension, and saw a youth movement emerge while many of the remaining Attitude Era stars either retired or took on smaller roles (guys like Triple H being an exception). This era saw the rise of John Cena and randy Orton along with a change in how WWE presented itself after the deaths of Eddie and Benoit.
Your thoughts on this period? It's important to me because I started watching weekly in 2003 (I occasionally watched before that but my parents banned me from seeing it for a bit, although I still played the video games). but I would like to hear your guys take on it.
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Post by gonzo16 on Dec 22, 2011 0:35:49 GMT -5
RUTHLESS AGGRESSSSION!!
The beginning of this time period was a down time in WWE I think, but it had some great elements too. Like Brock Lesnar, The elevation of Edge and Jeff Hardy, and the Smackdown Six. There were amazing tag team and single matches on Smackdown every single week.
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Ragnal
Game Genie
Yanno what they say: All toasters toast El Dandy
Posts: 8,677,836
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Post by Ragnal on Dec 22, 2011 0:36:09 GMT -5
Ah, a time where being on one show as a brand MEANT something.
I liked this period, simply because looking back on it, it was the last breath of air we'd get from most WCW stars, we had some fresh faces going against established names and a time where people actually cared about the Divas.
There's a few downsides, though.
First, it's the era where Triple H wasat the top of the mountain and had the World title handed to him AND had his eight month reign. Like I've seen some people say, I'm under the belief it was the starting point for Triple H to make his name as big as Austin's or Rock's.
Second...John Cena as a face. When you look back on it, Cena has ALWAYS been the Superman clone he has been since November 2003.
But other than that stuff, I'd say it wasn't a harmful period, though 2004 Smackdown wasn't all that great compared to 2003.
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Post by Cam on Dec 22, 2011 0:37:39 GMT -5
Pre-Brand Split 2002 - Good
Post-Brand Split 2002 - Terrible
2003 - Great
2004 - Boring
2005 - Good
2006 - Lame
2007 - Awful
2008 - Great
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Post by gonzo16 on Dec 22, 2011 0:42:03 GMT -5
I'd like to also add that this is when they tried the Brand Specific PPV's and they failed miserably, especially the Smackdown ones.
At first it seemed like a good idea because it would get more talent on the shows, but it was terribly executed because there were just matches on the lower and midcard that were just thrown onto the PPVs for no reason at all. No story, buildup or anything.
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Post by jadison on Dec 22, 2011 0:46:03 GMT -5
This is my lost era. I pretty much lost interest in those years. I know a lot of random stuff from watching online, but its hard to get a grasp on it. A lot of good wrestlers came and went, the ECW angle seems to have been a big blow to a lot of fans' faith that the company could do ANYTHING right, and Eddie/Benoit passing certainly casts a huge shadow over it all. I don't feel like I missed much not having watched this era.
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"Hollywood" Cactus Matt
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Posts: 15,300
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Post by "Hollywood" Cactus Matt on Dec 22, 2011 0:47:59 GMT -5
I'd like to also add that this is when they tried the Brand Specific PPV's and they failed miserably, especially the Smackdown ones. At first it seemed like a good idea because it would get more talent on the shows, but it was terribly executed because there were just matches on the lower and midcard that were just thrown onto the PPVs for no reason at all. No story, buildup or anything. If they could have worked on the midcard (and they could have, because they did so successfully in the past) the brand-specific PPVs could have worked, IMO. Now, though, in the era of the " Raw SuperShow," it's basically come down to "what the hell is a 'brand split'?" |
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Post by Hit Girl on Dec 22, 2011 0:51:32 GMT -5
I'd extend that era to the present day. I think we are still in it.
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Post by Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill on Dec 22, 2011 0:54:42 GMT -5
I'd extend that era to the present day. I think we are still in it. Nah, with the establishment of a PG product, relaxing of the brand split, and another youth movement I would say we've been in a new era since 2008. |
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Post by Chronos on Dec 22, 2011 0:58:21 GMT -5
I'd like to also add that this is when they tried the Brand Specific PPV's and they failed miserably, especially the Smackdown ones. At first it seemed like a good idea because it would get more talent on the shows, but it was terribly executed because there were just matches on the lower and midcard that were just thrown onto the PPVs for no reason at all. No story, buildup or anything. This along with said lower and midcards not being deep enough to support a decent PPV lineup during this time (Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Mordecai? On PPV?!) often left a lot to be desired. |
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Post by Manute Bol on Dec 22, 2011 1:00:37 GMT -5
I loved the New Generation, loved the Attitude Era, tolerated the Invasion but I was at my lowest point of interest during the Post-War and PG/WWE Universe eras.
I know it sounds weird to say it, but I feel bad for kids who got into wrestling during this time period. That sounds more obnoxious than I intended.
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Post by woowoowoox on Dec 22, 2011 1:06:20 GMT -5
2004 - 2006 is my golden age. I got into wrestling in 2004 and I was a full blown hardcore wrestling fan during those three years.
2007 was a slow decline and by the time the horribleness that was 2009 rolled around, wrestling became nothing more to me than background noise. I reclaimed my love for it in 2010 though and I've been here ever since. (here in the literal since too, 'cause I joined this forum right when I got back into it)
To answer your question simply though, it will forever be my favorite and the one dearest to my heart. Nostalgia FTW.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Dec 22, 2011 1:31:18 GMT -5
I'd extend that era to the present day. I think we are still in it. Nah, with the establishment of a PG product, relaxing of the brand split, and another youth movement I would say we've been in a new era since 2008. I'd even argue that we're on the cusp of a new era, with this new youth movement. To me, when I think of the 2008-2011 PG era, I think of the main event scene being dominated by Cena, Batista, Orton, and the like. I think of the putridly awful guest host era. And we seem to be slowly shifting away from all that. Mind you, I don't think Cena or Orton will ever completely leave the main event scene, but I also don't think they'll be the sole focus anymore, either. Call it the Reality Era, call it whatever you will, but I think it's just about here. |
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Post by wcw on Dec 22, 2011 1:54:22 GMT -5
The first half of this era was spent trying to recapture the Attitude Era and Monday Night Wars. You had the NWO return, then the brand split which saw a lot of former WCW and WWF stars return like Steiner, Flair, Goldberg, Hogan as a singles guy, and it saw a lot of the Attitude era/Monday Night Wars guys hang around Stone Cold, HHH, Angle, RVD, Booker T, ect.
From 2002-2004 WWE pretty much brought back everything and tried anything to get those good ole times back. But what they failed to see was that that particular time was gone. No matter how many guys they kept or brought in there just wasn't the same momentum the industry had.
Sure Smackdown had a great run because they were built off of Brock Lesnar a fresh new face and guys form the Attitude Era that could still go like Kurt Angle, Big Show, Undertaker, and the undercard was stacked with the Smackdown six and good cruiserweight talent. But Raw was the HHH show and the company pulled out a lot of the same old tricks they did in the Attitude era but the shock value was over done.
Then by mid 2004 they began to realize this and pushed a lot of new talent or pulled the trigger on talent they had been building. By 2005 you had Orton, Batista, and Cena receiving major pushes and Edge about to receive one soon after. Soon you had an era that was filled with new stars fitting into the older Attitude mold. It just wasn't a fit.
Enter PG when they had the newer stars mixed with past favorites fitting into a mold better suited for them. 2002-2004 was a time where it was anything to try to recapture the past, 2005-2008 was a transitional time. What we have now should have came years earlier but in a frantic pace they were hungry to overturn declining and stagnant ratings without any long term vision.
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Rican
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
July 17, 2011 - HHHe called it
Posts: 16,477
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Post by Rican on Dec 22, 2011 2:50:05 GMT -5
My breakdown of the "eras" is:
97-01: Attitude
02-05: Post-War; Brand Split
05-11: John Cena era
11-?
I think we're in a new era now. It's still premature to call it the CM Punk era or anything like that but I definitely feel like we're in something new.
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Post by norsisclouds on Dec 22, 2011 3:33:58 GMT -5
I was basically following Edge through this whole thing, so except for his absence during his neck injury I have no complaints...
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Post by bestthateverdidit on Dec 22, 2011 7:21:00 GMT -5
I remember noticing a downwards trend in the excitement of the product. Raw between 2003 and the Homecoming was some of the most boring programming WWE has produced. As for the latter era, from late 2005 onwards, I associate this with John Cena. The move to PG is a natural expansion of the 'John Cena' era.
The present era which started I'd say in 2011 is probably going to be known as the Social Media Era or the Trending Era.
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