The Attitude Era. An era in wrestling with even more forlorn fans than those that made up the ECW bingo hall. And it just so happens to be the main selling point for WWE ‘13, which just goes to show how much faith the WWE has in its current product. Yet, for as much as the Attitude Era has been heralded in the annals of pro wrestling, one has to acknowledge the good with the bad. And there was a lot of bad in the Attitude Era.
For every Stone Cold Steve Austin there was a Prince Albert. For every great Rock promo there was a 24/7 Hardcore Championship segment. Not a match, but a segment. This notion isn’t anything new to wrestling fans. In fact, being a wrestling fan means having a thick skin in order to endure the cringe-worthy four or five pieces of crap for every one great wrestling moment. This list aims to be a bit more balanced as I present to you: 5 Awesome Attitude Era Superstars and 5 That Sucked. Starting with the ones that sucked.
5 Superstars That Sucked…
5. Jeff Jarret
Jarrett should thank X-Pac for helping him transition into the Attitude Era due to a much-needed haircut. Before that, the guy’s one attitude moment, in which he returned to the WWE and cut a pretty good “shoot” interview, was overshadowed by him trying to stage an NWA invasion alongside Jim Cornette.
An NWA invasion during the Attitude Era involving almost no NWA wrestlers, mind you. Jarrett’s saving grace was teaming with Owen Hart and having Debra McMichael as a manager. Apparently, his stealing of other wrestler’s wives wouldn’t stop there either. He also makes the list for publicly complaining about Steve Austin overlooking him as a viable opponent. Probably because Austin knew feuding with Jarrett wouldn’t draw a dime. So Jarrett was given the next best thing: a feud with Chyna.
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7 Comments
Interesting list. There were so many hits and misses during the Attitude Era that 5 good and 5 bad wrestlers simply isn’t enough.
And although I disagree with almost every ‘wrestler that sucked’ apart from Dan Severn, I respect your picks. But I always had a soft spot for the Big Boss Man and would have liked to have seen him carry the strap, even for a short while, during the Attitude Era.
I have to disagree with the bossman being in the sucked section, I also believe that he deserved to wear the strap for a little while. I love Shamrock and D’lo Brown (easily two of my favourite all time WWF stars)
Good list .. can’t argue with any of them. A fan of the bossman, would’ve liked to have seen him carry the main belt … but his feuds with Big Show and Al Snow were shockingly bad. Fully deserves his place on the list.
(Although thought his tag team with Bull Buchanan showed promise)
I agree that some of the Bossman’s feuds were shocking, but at the same I also think he epitomised what a heel should be in wrestling. He garnered some serious heat from the crowds during those battles with Al Snow and the Big Show, really getting peoples back up even though the storylines occasionally made suspending disbelief difficult. He could tell a story in the ring and during the Attitude Era that was all-important.
What about The Blue Meanie? I’m sure he was in WWF(E) around the latter stages of the Attitude Era. His most redeaming quality was getting his ass whooped (legitimately) by Bradshaw after the Meanie made fun of Droz’s disability.
You make a convincing argument for D-Lo. I never hated the guy, and his matches never made me switch to TBS.
If you ever expand to 10 guys on either list, dont forget about Essa Rio’s impact to the Attitude Era. (You can choose which side he belongs in).
It sucks that it happened but I can’t shake the feeling that D-Lo would’ve became something big if it wasn’t for his involvement in Droz’s career ending injury.