10 Most Underrated WWE Feuds Of The Attitude Era
Believe it or not, none of them involve Stone Cold.
It has become harder and harder to point to any element of the Attitude Era as being 'underrated', since wrestling fans cling to this time period like it's the last parachute on a nosediving airplane. But even though most of the Attitude Era is looked at with far too rose-tinted glasses, there are some amazing storylines that get overlooked.
As far as most wrestling fans are concerned, the only feuds worth remembering involved some combination of Stone Cold, Vince McMahon, The Rock, The Undertaker and DX. If one of them wasn't involved, there simply wasn't much television time afforded to it and, thus, not much in the way of lingering nostalgia.
The Attitude Era was great at building up heat between guys that, at least on paper, didn't seem like natural enemies. Say what you will about Vince Russo, but the guy was never short on ideas to help create onscreen friction.
So let's take a moment to set aside the iconic Austin vs. Mr. McMahon and Triple vs. The Rock rivalries, and pull back the curtain on some of the Attitude Era's other significant(ly under-appreciated) feuds.
10. Shane McMahon Vs. X-Pac
It's not a stretch to say that X-Pac isn't the greatest WWE performer of all-time. In fact, I'd honestly have to question the mental capacity of anyone who made that statement with a straight face. But he did contribute to the Attitude Era more than people like to give him credit for.
A prime example of this is his rivalry with Shane McMahon. Now, Shane-O-Mac obviously has a tremendous amount of fortitude and raw talent - as evidenced by his rather large catalogue of death-defying stunts - and he was great on the mic, but when he first appeared in the ring, he was as green as could be.
He needed someone to make him look good, and X-Pac was that guy.
The amazing thing about their series of matches is just how quickly Shane evolved. In their first couple of outings he was obviously being carried by X-Pac - not to mention constant interference from members of The Corporation and the Mean Street Posse - but by this rivalry's end, he looked like a competent performer who could hold his own.
There was a lot of alliance shifting happening during this time - with DX reforming only to have Triple H turn on X-Pac while The Corporation's roster fluctuated more than Jonah Hill's waistline - but even without those accoutrements, this was a fun one to watch.