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Post by Amazing Kitsune on Oct 26, 2013 14:58:03 GMT -5
So we have the Rock and Wrestling Era, which lasted from roughly(These thing are ultimately debatable) from the Hulk Hogan's first title reign to Hogan's defeat at the hands of Yokozuna. In reality, the Steroid Trials had a large role in ending it and starting the new one. Wrestling was in a massive boom period and was mainstream, most notably appearing on MTV around the time of the first WrestleMania.
Then the New Generation Era, which lasted from the end of the Rock and Wrestling Era. Lasted roughly from Hulk Hogan's last match. In some respects, it still looked like the Rock and Wrestling period, but was not as popular nor as successful. There were still attempts to replace Hulk Hogan in earnest with a similar type of star(Lex Luger), but things evolved to that smaller wrestlers were the focus of the period, particularly Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. The end of it is difficult to define.
It gave way to the Attitude Era, but it was a switch that did not happen over night. You could say that Goldust was, in some ways, one of the first wrestlers to exhibit characteristics of the Attitude Era--with his controversy and his more adult-oriented character. You could also say that Stone Cold winning the King of the Ring is another moment that things began to change. The WWE seems to like to say that it began with the aftermath of the Montreal Screwjob. Regardless, by WrestleMania XIV, it was in full swing. It was an era was primarily defined by adult-oriented storylines and the feud between Mr. McMahon and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. During this Era, the WWF was extremely popular and the Monday Night Wars began to turn in WWF's favor. It can be effectively argued that it ended at WrestleMania X-7 with Austin's heel turn and the end of WCW shortly before that.
Since then, WWE Eras are very difficult to define and I have not seen any terminology for it, besides the fact that the current era is sometimes called the PG Era. That is actually not a bad term, because that is something about the current state of wrestling that is sets it apart.
I've also heard Brand Split Era pushed around from time to time as well, but it works awkwardly since it still hasn't ended in theory even though it has in practice.
Still, there was quite a long period between where the WWE did not seem to have a firm direction whatsoever. It would sometimes try to be trashy like the Attitude Era and other times it seemed like they were trying for a New New Generation type vibe.
But the whole reason I posted this is simple. This is kind of how I define the WWE Eras in my head. What does yours look like?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2013 15:32:57 GMT -5
For me it's like this:
Attitude Era ends: Wrestlemania X7 (The Attitude Era's swan-song saw the end of its biggest feud. WCW would fold shortly after.)
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Invasion Angle and fallout: May 28, 2001 to March 17, 2002 (Wrestlemania X8) (Not really an era as such, more a transitional phase. A huge influx of new superstars debuted around this time, following the collapse of two major rivals.)
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Ruthless Aggression/Brand Split Era: March 18, 2002 to April 3, 2005 (Wrestlemania 21) (Ratings began to dwindle around this time, perhaps due to the end of the Monday Night Wars, and the loss of major Attitude stars such as The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind. The brand split also meant that one show was usually much stronger than the other, and single-branded PPVs often made for underwhelming match cards.)
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New Generation 2/Revival Era (Rebirth of ECW/Cena as top star): April 4, 2005 to Mid-2008 (this one is especially hard to categorise, as it seems like they were trying something of a 'back to basics' approach. Some of the stuff from around this time was quite Attitude-ish, such as the ECW revival and the return of DX.)
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PG/Universe/Rebuilding Era: Mid-2008 to June 2011 (Hard to categorise again. WWE seemed to fall on hard times, particularly as a result of the Chris Benoit case and the ensuing steroid scandal from the previous year. WWE had to completely overhaul their product, and the move to PG drove some older fans away, and many of the rising stars from the above era fizzled out and were released. New stars were brought in and pushed heavily, but many failed to make an impression initially due to overeager pushes or the still-rampant use of established and ageing stars in the main event.)
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Reality/McMahon-Helmsley/Social Media/Entertainment Era (?): June 2011 to current (The youth movement from the previous few years had noticeably started to pay off. Young wrestlers who were barely acknowledged years prior were now becoming huge stars, and the WWE's old guard were fading further and further into the background. Old faces would still return but usually only once a year. Much more online interaction and much more input from fans, and though the product is generally of a higher quality than the previous era, some questionable decisions and poor booking still occur. Also still a focus on stars from post-Attitude Era, though we'll see how long the likes of Cena hold out for. Though the WWE Network never came to fruition, we've seen much more backstage stuff through WWE's YouTube channel and shows like Total Divas. Matches seem more wrestling-focused and PPVs see better planning overall. Will probably be most notable for Raw's 3-hour running time in future, along with the main event rise of former Indy stars such as Punk and Bryan. Increased focus on rising stars with the new NXT, rather than previous methods of main roster call-ups seemingly at random.)
The next era will probably begin when somebody like Cena retires.
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Post by Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill on Oct 26, 2013 15:43:21 GMT -5
Rock'n Wrestling era is pretty simple to define. Around 1984-1993, starting from Hogans first title run and ending after the steroid trials and Hogan leaving. 93-94 is the transition faze. Next Generation is the same way. I place it from 1994 (around 'Mania 10 I guess)and have it last until 1996. It's marked by HBK and Bret Hart getting pushed as the main stars, Raw going two hours, and the beginning of the WCW competition. 1996-97 is the transition period. Austin and D-X became huge, the overall format and presentation of TV was revamped, the Screw job happened, and Vince became a TV personality. I consider the true beginning of the Attitude Era to be WrestleMania XIV when Austin won the title. Television was more raunchy, filled with swearing, blood, half naked women and fast-paced Crash TV style shows that were typical of the late 90s. I consider WrestleMania X-Seven to be the official ending because as mentioned this was when WCW closed and Austin turned heel. Next is a transition period which had the Invasion angle, the name change, and ending with the Brand split. This is where things get tricky. 2002-2005 I label as the Ruthless Agression Era, the actual words were only used in 2002 but I feel it fit. The Brand extension was established fully, there was no true 'face' of the company at this time as Rock left for Hollywood and Austin retired (unless you count Lesnar but he was heel for most of it). This era featured old stars from the 90s/Attitude era days: Kurt Angle, Triple H, Benoit, Guerrero, a returning HBK, Undertaker, Big show and others shared the screen with new arrivals like the debuting Lesnar, Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista. You could argue that it was a transition era but I think Ruthless aggression stands on its own: The Domination of Evolution, the reworking of JBL, the revival of HBK, and of course the rising stars of Cena and Batista. Next comes the "Cena era" (I honestly can't think of another name for it so forgive me). From 2005-2007, you could easily lump it in with the Ruthless Agression era as it was so short. But frankly it stands on its own, Cena became the dominant face of the company with Batista as the #2 guy and Randy Orton slowly but steadily establishing himself. ECW was revived, Eddie Guerrero died, Jericho left and came back, Angle went away, you could feel a real change coming from the company. Sadly this era ended not with the transition to a new face, but with the tragedy of Chris Benoit. The Next transition faze was a chaotic, depressing, and downright awful time for the company. One of their main talents had killed is family and then took his own life. This, along with Linda McMahons political campaign completely changed the company. A Wellness policy was introduced, blood and chairshots to the head were banned, Raw went to a PG rating. When the dust settled the company had forever been changed and that led us into... The "PG Era" starting in 2008 after all the changed had been implemented and ending in 2011 when new breeds of stars began to rise. Cena still dominated the top, the main stars of the Attitude era were now dropping off. HBK retires in 2009, the Undertaker and Triple H became part-timers, near the end of this period Batista quit, and ECW was folded. Again. For the first part of this pahse WWe seemed to go on the extreme 'kid friendly' end of the PG rating but by the end they had balanced it out. Not much to say about it now, but it led directly into... The "Reality era" Starting in 2011 with one infamous pipe bomb and going on today. Big Indy stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have taken centre stage, kayfabe and reality are all being mixed and the winds of change are in the air. Will this era continue one as it is? Or will it falter and die only to become part of the PG era instead? Only time will tell.
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Post by Citizen Snips on Oct 26, 2013 15:49:36 GMT -5
I believe the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode in the new game has Ruthless Aggression and WWE Universe following Attitude.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2013 15:57:50 GMT -5
For me it goes....
Rock 'N Wrestling (1984-1993) New Generation (1994-1997) Attitude Era (1997-2001) Ruthless Aggression (2002-2008) PG Era (2009-Present)
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Tha Don
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Post by Tha Don on Oct 26, 2013 16:36:16 GMT -5
RNW(HULK HOGAN) New Generation (1992 - 1996) Attitude Era (1997 - 2001) Transitional (Something, Something) - (2001 - 2002) Ruthless Aggression (2002 - 2006) New Generation II (JOHN CENA aka - 2007 - 2009) Reality Era (2010 - Present)
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Post by Manute Bol on Oct 26, 2013 17:25:05 GMT -5
The Rock and Wrestling, New Generation, and Attitude Eras are all very well defined in the OP, but it definitely gets debatable after that.
Personally, I count the Invasion as it's own era since it dominated WWE television from the moment Vince appeared on Nitro through Survivor Series with the Winner Take All match.
From there, I usually go with the Post-War Era with the Triple H reign of terror and numerous desperate attempts at recapturing the spirit of the Attitude Era (Katie Vick, HLA, nWo, Zack Gowen, Chuck & Billy, etc).
WrestleMania 21 in 2005 begins a new era that most seem to refer to as the Ruthless Aggression Era (not quite sure why). This event was when the new faces of the company all began stepping up into their roles; John Cena and Batista captured the WWE and World Championships, and Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker's streak.
I'm still not sure where exactly that era ends, or if it even has. I suppose you can say once they went PG a new era began, but in all honesty, I don't feel much of a difference between now and anything else that's been happening for the last 8 years.
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Post by adam3s on Oct 26, 2013 17:53:58 GMT -5
I never got why people like to see the invasion as not part of the attitude era. It was a big storyline but certainly the shows didn't have a whole now look and direction.
The night Eric Bichoff debuted was the end of the attitude era for me, with the start of the brand split being the transitional period. A case could be made for Vince's no more nwo speech.
Wrestlemania 17 and 19 are different eras and 18 feels like it belongs with 17 more.
Hulkamania era (I'd also argue this started just before wrestlemania 3) New generation, start of Yokozunas first title win Attitude, Badd Blood Hell in a Cell Ruthless Aggression, SummerSlam 2002 Three brand era, ONS 2006 Universe Era, Rocks return/pipe bomb ( whichever happened first)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2013 17:56:56 GMT -5
I never got why people like to see the invasion as not part of the attitude era. It was a big storyline but certainly the shows didn't have a whole now look and direction. To me, the Monday Night Wars and the Austin/McMahon feud were the main points of the Attitude Era. Both of those ended within a week of each other in 2001. You're right that the tone, the look and the feel of the shows didn't change much at all, but it's definitely difficult to classify it as the Attitude Era.
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Post by DoubleDare on Oct 26, 2013 18:50:14 GMT -5
I was actually thinking to myself, we all love to argue about when the attitude era began, how certain events sparked it (austin 3:16, pillmans got a gun, first raw is war) I would say Fall 97 is when the attitude era really began as thats when the stuff wwf was trying started sticking and working and that there was alot of it.
But what about when it ended? I do think Wrestlemania X8 should be viewed as the final nail in the attitude era, and X-Seven can be the beggining of the end. We had the invasion angle and then the transitional period of fall 01 - spring 02 after the invasion ended but before the brand split, and certainly they were still doing some stuff like austin vs booker t in the supermarket that was funny, but yea cracks were starting to show. Interestingly the one thing that helped kill the attitude era, killed wcw essentially.....the nwo, yea you had an attitude era type moment when hogan ran the disel truck into the ambulance, but then rock is not only ok a few weeks later, but him & hogan are now friends! Sorta like austin & triple h from ayear prior. So by then alot of stuff they were doing started not to make a whole lot of sense and wasn't working as great. And then the brand split happened like 2 weeks after wrestlemania x8 then in may wwf became wwe and the attutude era was wiped clean. So I guess you could say Wrestlemania X-Seven to Wrestlemania X8 can be considered the remnants of the attitude era,
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Oct 26, 2013 19:07:37 GMT -5
Rock 'n Wrestling/New Generation/Attitude Era are all fairly well-defined. How many eras there've been since then and when they started/ended is harder to place, in large part due to the fact that WWE no longer think up catchy phrases like those ones to market themselves around.
In terms of roster usage, at least, I'd split it into three:
2001-2004 was the Consolidation Era: Lots of big name WCW guys coming in and briefly getting major spots near the top of the card before being fed to other guys, former top stars of the Attitude Era Austin and Rock fading into part-time roles before disappearing altogether, secondary Attitude Era stars like Triple H and Kurt Angle getting promoted as top guys; the only real completely new big star was Brock Lesnar, and then he left before they could do much of anything with him.
2005-2010 was what I'll call the Cena/Batista Era (even though Batista was ultimately treated like less of a star than Triple H/Undertaker, his ascension into the main event scene coincided with the start of the era). Probably the stablest main event scene of the post-Attitude Era, with seven names (Cena/Hunter/Undertaker/Batista/Shawn/Orton/Edge) who were, for the most part, near the top of the card for the entire period and far and away above most other guys. Also the period when WWE began shifting back towards a more family-friendly product to counteract negative publicity, thanks to Eddie Guerrero's death in '05 and then kicking into overdrive thanks to Benoit in '07.
2011- the present is, well, the Insularity Era. The only big name guys left who are working fulltime schedules are Cena and Orton, and no one actually cares much about Orton. The new generation of guys positioned by WWE to succeeded them mostly failed and tumbled back down the card (Sheamus and arguably Del Rio being the only exceptions). Consequently, they've taken to building their top cards around returning part-timer nostalgia acts, while the rest of the year is spent pandering to the core audience of diehards, because getting a handful of dorks on the internet to rave about your indie career is still a bigger accomplishment than most of the rest of the roster has managed.
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MolotovMocktail
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Post by MolotovMocktail on Oct 26, 2013 19:17:40 GMT -5
The Territorial Era: 1963 (founding of the company) to 1984 (Vince Jr. takeover, national expansion). Figureheads: Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund
The Rock n' Wrestling Era: 1984-1993 (last appearance of Hogan). Figureheads: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior
The New Generation Era: 1993-1998. Figureheads: Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Razor Ramon
The Attitude Era: 1998 (inception of Mr. McMahon character) to 2002 (name change to WWE, brand split). Figureheads: Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley
The Brand Split Era: 2002-2008. Figureheads: Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle
The Sports-Entertainment Era: 2008 (reversion to family-friendly programming, weakening and eventual phase-out of brand split, move away from use of "wrestling", Cena-centric booking) to present. Figureheads: John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton
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Post by thegame415 on Oct 26, 2013 19:29:27 GMT -5
I go like this - The MSG Era (I know they did other shows, but that's what I call it) - 1979 until January 1984 Rock N Wrestling - Januray 1984 until WrestleMania 6 Post Rock N Wrestling - Wrestlemania 6 until Wreslemania 9 New Generation - Wrestlemania 9 until WrestleMania 13 Attitude Era - WrestleMania 13 until the draft/post WM 18 Ruthless Agression Era - First Draft until WrestleMania 23 Universe Era - WrestleMania 23 until 2011 ( a combo of Rocks return and Punks pipebombo) The Reality/social media era - Money in the Bank 2011 until ?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2013 19:34:03 GMT -5
I generally include a "Post-Attitude" from 2003 to 2008 to describe the non-PG environment that aspired to be like Attitude but wasn't. This was when the brand split was rigorously enforced and some risqué elements persisted.
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Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Oct 26, 2013 20:45:01 GMT -5
I like to call the current era the Universe Era. I refuse to call it the "PG Era" because WWE was rated TVPG in other eras as well. Plus I can't think of the term "PG Era" without thinking about some "1111 pg sux brig bak Attitud era Cena is gay and likes to lik balz" YouTube commenter.
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percymania
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Post by percymania on Oct 26, 2013 21:21:49 GMT -5
For me it goes.... Rock 'N Wrestling (1984-1993) New Generation (1994-1997) Attitude Era (1997-2001) Ruthless Aggression (2002-2008) PG Era (2009-Present) I like this, though I date the switch from Ruthless Aggression to PG in 2007 when Hardcore Holly no showed that one PPV.
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Post by Hit Girl on Oct 27, 2013 0:06:49 GMT -5
For me it goes like this...
1984-1992: Hulkamania Era 1992-1997: New Generation Era 1997-2001: Attitude Era 2001: Invasion Year 2002-present day: WWE Era
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Heartbreaker
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Post by Heartbreaker on Oct 27, 2013 1:24:44 GMT -5
Territorial Era: 1960s - 1983 Rock and Wrestling Era: 1984 - 1992 New Generaton Era: 1992 - early 1997 Attitude Era: 1997 - 2002, although I like to add the Invasion sorta as "subcategory" Ruthless Aggression Era: 2002 - 2007 Universe Era: 2008 - Current
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2013 2:07:21 GMT -5
Rock N Wrestling - Januray 1984 until WrestleMania 6 Post Rock N Wrestling - Wrestlemania 6 until Wreslemania 9 New Generation - Wrestlemania 9 until WrestleMania 13 It seems like a lot of people tend to lump everything from 1985-1993 into the "Rock n' Wrestling" category, but I completely agree that there needs to be another split in there sometime between 1989 and 1991. There is no way the era of Bob Orton, Don Muraco, Adrian Adonis, and Wendi Richter is the same as the era of the Barbarian, the Mountie, the Undertaker, and Razor Ramon. Even though there wasn't any sort of turning point (unless you count Warrior winning the title), the overall feel of the product was much different before and after that time span.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2013 3:43:35 GMT -5
I'm personally partial to the idea that the Attitude Era ended at WrestleMania 18, since a significant part of the card is WWF vs. WCW guys and it was the last Mania before the name change.
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