One must always take nostalgia into consideration when arguing with anyone about anything that may be deemed "better" than something else. For those who grew up living on the edge of their seats while watching the Attitude Era Raws unfold each and every Monday night, it will always be incredibly difficult to convince them that anything else, before or after, is superior. That goes for fans of the days of Hogan and Savage or Hart and Michaels, even those who jumped in around the time of Evolution and the rise of Cena and Batista. When one objectively looks back at the era, its flaws become evident fairly quick. Crash TV made for a very unfocused product at times. Yes, the vulgarity and sexuality of the product did cross the line of decency and good taste on several occasions. The stories were disjointed and nonsensical at times and the in-ring work of the Superstars was sacrificed in the name of advancing the programs. That is not to say that all of it was bad. It was a magical time in the professional wrestling business in which Raw and SmackDown became destination programming and fans could be out and proud about their enjoyment of the sport. When one compares it to the Jim Crockett Promotions and WWE products of the mid-to-late-80s, the ECW product that captured the attention of the fans in 1995, the World Class Championship product that helped revolutionize the sport in terms of production values and featured the Von Erich vs. Freebirds feud and the current WWE stuff that does a far better job of fusing a stellar in-ring product with stories that are, at the very least, coherent, there are a lot of viable alternatives for the crown of "best wrestling show." For anyone who ever watched a single hour of Raw or lived vicariously through the performers (as this writer did) of the time, nothing in this article will ever change your opinion. For everyone else, hopefully a few misconceptions about the much celebrated (and, at times, maligned) Attitude Era will be cleared up.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
