7 Reasons Why WWE's Attitude Era Was Actually Over-Rated

Although it's fun to look back at the Attitude Era now with much nostalgia and warmth, we should remind ourselves that it wasn't all fun and games. For every epic Austin vs McMahon segment or HHH vs Cactus Jack feud there was a Mideon vs Gangrel match, a Kennell From Hell contest or Tiger Ali Singh. This article would act as a reminder that not everything was rosy from 1997-2001, despite what some kid on a message board might tell you. Now we're not saying that the Attitude Era was all bad. It was a boom period for wrestling in general, and it created many lasting moments that will live in pop culture forever. But, like most things, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. For example...

7. Not All Of The Characters Were Memorable

The Attitude Era is often remembered by the variety of characters that inhabited it. A blue collar hell raiser, a deranged hardcore icon with multiple personality issues, an egotist that only spoke in the third person, and a literal zombie man biker that worshiped the devil littered the WWE landscape throughout the era. The variety of characters was one of the most appealing aspects of the Attitude Era, and made the WWE stand out in the world of sports entertainment. However, for every €œStone Cold€ Steve Austin€™s there were like three 3 Harry €œBeaver€ Cleavages. Classic WWE gets a lot of grief for having terrible gimmicks (and rightly so) but it€™s not like the Attitude Era was any better. The Oddities, Gangrel, Mideon, Too Much (both pre and post hip-hop makeover) the Headbangers, €œMarvelous€ Marc Mero, Test; this is just a sample of the parade of garbage that WWE promoted during the Attitude Era. Even Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust wasn't immune, as he had to endure an €œArtist Formerly Known As€ shtick where he had to crawl around with a rubber ball in his mouth. WWE likes to wax poetic about how terrible WCW€™s gimmicks were in the 90€™s, but at least they never ever employed a guy whose side job was portrayed as being a literal pimp.
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Andrew is a self-proclaimed humorist/facepuncher, and is one of the last of his kind. He was dragged from the debris in war-torn Poland and plays a piano most beautifully. In closing, he likes pickles. Follow him on Twitter @TheAEJohnson