10 Ideas WWE Blatantly STOLE From WCW

10. Edgy Characters And “Attitude”

Sorry, WWF loyalists, but your product was still largely balls in 1996. Workers like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and more were putting on in-ring clinics, but the company was still clutching on to cartoonish presentation that now felt totally outdated. That's why Steve Austin was such a bolt of lightning.

However, watch Austin's early run as 'Stone Cold' and you'll still see a lot of tame stuff. He didn't properly come into his own as a character until 1997, which was well after the nWo's 'bad guys so good at being bad guys they get cheered for it' routine kicked in.

That edge gave Vince McMahon blueprints to fashion 'WWF Attitude' with.

Make no mistake about it, WCW blurred the lines first, and they made a truckload of cash doing it. The nWo was hot. McMahon took that template, improved on it, pushed the envelope further with DX and made even more money in the process, but...would he have gone 'Attitude' on his own?