Malcolm
Grimlock
Wanted something done about the color of his ring.
Eternally Confused
Posts: 13,481
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Post by Malcolm on Apr 30, 2022 23:02:06 GMT -5
I'm not the biggest Attitude Era fan and there are a lot of things that it deserves to be criticized for.
And yet at the same time, I feel like the sex and hardcore violence overshadows the things that people REALLY liked about the Attitude Era. Stuff that we modern fans sometimes take for granted.
It was the birthplace of stars such as Stone Cold, Steven Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Kane, Edge, Christian, Lita, etc. Speaking of Edge and Christian, the mid-card actually mattered, nearly everyone had something to do(for better or worse. See: "choppy choppy"), feuds mattered, everyone had a gimmick of sorts to stand out, the comedy was actually funny(most of the time), and even the mid-card got a huge pop. Also the video games released at the time(Acclaim titles withstanding) rocked.
I guess the thing I liked about the Attitude Era the most was that things actually mattered.
I figured it was time for a more positive Attitude Era thread.
From one of the AE's more frequent critics. Imagine that.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2022 23:37:30 GMT -5
I genuinely hate Vince Russo's booking style, but I'll give him credit for this:
The man never phoned in shit, and he would give EVERYONE a character, a motivation, a goal, a feud... SOMETHING. Even jobbers felt like real characters and not just props dressed as people.
The WWE lost the script on how to do that roughly 15 year or so ago.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2022 23:43:17 GMT -5
The midcard feeling important.
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Rave
El Dandy
Perpetually Bored
Posts: 8,112 
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Post by Rave on May 1, 2022 0:22:16 GMT -5
I genuinely hate Vince Russo's booking style, but I'll give him credit for this: The man never phoned in shit, and he would give EVERYONE a character, a motivation, a goal, a feud... SOMETHING. Even jobbers felt like real characters and not just props dressed as people. The WWE lost the script on how to do that roughly 15 year or so ago. This. There wasn't a hyperfocus on a small amount of people like they've been doing for a long while now. Everyone had something they were doing and everyone felt important in the grand scheme of things. Also didn't have one person as an end-all be-all. If one didn't like someone who was featured, there were always several others at the very least to follow. |
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Post by David-Arquette was in WCW 2000 on May 1, 2022 2:33:17 GMT -5
It was never boring. Crazy and ridiculous for the most part, yes, but not boring.
The crowd dictated who got. I mean, not exclusively, but the fed used to really listen to the crowds during this time, and it worked.
Everyone had a role.
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Post by Jaws the Shark on May 1, 2022 4:58:44 GMT -5
That wrestling mattered.
It wasn't just a TV programme that was on, wrestling was part of the pop culture zeitgeist and you felt as if you were part of something happening. Some of it was great, a lot of it was terrible, but it was still just the most thrilling thing to live through. As good as wrestling may be now, it doesn't feel that way anymore and probably never will again.
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dpg
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,476 
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Post by dpg on May 1, 2022 5:21:54 GMT -5
The card had a variety of characters and feuds, rather than 'only main eventers matter'. Even lower card titles had promenance.
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Post by Can you afford to pay me, Gah on May 1, 2022 5:26:14 GMT -5
The fact everyone had something to do. No matter if you where a guy in the opening match or the Main event. You had a character and some kind of feud to still matter. Yes some of it was over the top and didn't age well or was never good. But everyone had a chance to get over and most did. If you got really over, you moved up the card. Something today wrestling is missing is how red hot the crowd was for everything. That everyone had a chance to be something. It was no, well sit in catering for half a year wondering if creative can put you on a show and do something.
As much as I hate Russo, that is the one quality he did have was using the WHOLE roster.
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4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,793
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Post by 4real on May 1, 2022 5:59:36 GMT -5
How exciting it was and how much I looked forward to Raw & Smackdown every week.
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on May 1, 2022 7:31:00 GMT -5
Almost every single talent was incredibly over.
Not just the talent but the stories too.
The fans were behind nearly every wrestler, 2022 main event pops for the opening matches in those days.
And the fans were so into the product they almost never booed anything.
Honestly the crowd being into things makes such a difference that if the crowd doesn't react react your match, I can't get into it. Disregarding the stuff that outright pisses me off, I would rather watch something I don't enjoy that the crowd pops for than something I hypothetically like but they don't react to.
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fg
Unicron
Gaming
Posts: 2,964
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Post by fg on May 1, 2022 8:03:35 GMT -5
That storylines were planned and written in advance and not at the last minute and they made sense.
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Post by Nickybojelais on May 1, 2022 11:06:20 GMT -5
The wrestlers reacted to what had happened to them on the previous episode. If they suffered a beat down the week before or got screwed over, they came down to the ring pissed off and angry. In today's WWE it doesn't matter what heinous atrocity they suffered the previous night, they'll still perform their happy, smiling, cheerful choreographed entrance on the next show.
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msc
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,451
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Post by msc on May 1, 2022 11:20:25 GMT -5
To quote Kurt Vonnegut, everyone on the show was seen to want something, even if it was only a glass of water.
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Timeless Hayterade
Dennis Stamp
Rhea's the Tribal Chief now. ACKNOWLEDGE MAMI!
Posts: 4,672
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Post by Timeless Hayterade on May 1, 2022 11:25:47 GMT -5
I like how when someone started getting or got over, they'd actually run with it instead of penalizing said person for getting over. They also wouldn't need to be dragged kicking and screaming when it comes to pushing people that organically get over.
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Post by sungod2020 on May 1, 2022 15:32:03 GMT -5
That storylines were planned and written in advance and not at the last minute and they made sense. I won't go THAT far. I mean, the Higher Power storyline had plotholes galore. And long-term booking obviously wasn't Vince Russo's strong suit. For my contribution to the thread, I liked the whole "blink-and-you-miss-everything" feel to it. Back then, it wasn't as accessible as it is today. The internet wasn't as big as it is today, nor was there youtube or twitter, so if you wanted to see a big moment that you missed, you better have taped it on your VCR or you'd be SOL. Back then, less was more. |
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Post by jimmyjames on May 1, 2022 15:47:52 GMT -5
The unpredictability and the excitement. You never knew what was going to happen. There was the thought that any title match could result in a title change. The crowds were ridiculosu, in a good way (generally). On Raw they were on their feet screaming from the 8:00 to the final bell at 9:59.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2022 16:05:01 GMT -5
Not gonna say anything that the above have not already covered.
The unpredictability
The use of the entire roster...quality of the stories/angles aside
The crowds being on fire (not literally but would you be surprised around that time) with every show.
angles flowed from one show to another you felt like the things that were happening actually mattered week to week
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dpg
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,476
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Post by dpg on May 1, 2022 16:17:42 GMT -5
The wrestlers reacted to what had happened to them on the previous episode. If they suffered a beat down the week before or got screwed over, they came down to the ring pissed off and angry. In today's WWE it doesn't matter what heinous atrocity they suffered the previous night, they'll still perform their happy, smiling, cheerful choreographed entrance on the next show. The wrestlers felt like people with histories and emotions, they had ups and downs. It wasn't perfect by any means, but they didn't feel like characters who don't exist between shows and are affected by nothing. |
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on May 1, 2022 16:51:30 GMT -5
The midcard feeling important. I feel like a lot of people say this and I've never understood it. They had SCSA throw the IC title off a bridge because he cared about it that little. They introduced the hardcore title so they could make half the roster into comedy acts chasing after a title that was obviously completely meaningless. They had Shawn carry the European title mostly so he could joke about how worthless it was. Of all the positives one can offer, I don't think this is one of them. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2022 16:53:56 GMT -5
The midcard feeling important. I feel like a lot of people say this and I've never understood it. They had SCSA throw the IC title off a bridge because he cared about it that little. They introduced the hardcore title so they could make half the roster into comedy acts chasing after a title that was obviously completely meaningless. They had Shawn carry the European title mostly so he could joke about how worthless it was. Of all the positives one can offer, I don't think this is one of them. Things weren't perfect, but there was at least actual effort put into guys, whereas now so many of them exist only to fill time. |
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