10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About WWE's Attitude Era
6. The Roster Was A Lot More Stacked
It was, but only if we're arguing in terms of star power.
None of WWE's current top guys compare to The Rock or Steve Austin in this regard. Even Brock Lesnar and John Cena can't stand up to Attitude's biggest draws, and gulf widens after throwing the likes of prime Undertaker, Triple H, and Mick Foley into the mix. The era's main event and upper-midcard scenes were stuffed with genuine megastars, and WWE's broken star-making machine means they'll never reach this level again.
Along with charisma, this is only area in which Attitude's roster trumps today's, with the period lagging well behind in terms of athleticism, workrate, and general wrestling ability.
Yes, Attitude boasted the likes of Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle, but also The Godfather, Gangrel, The Headbangers, and countless others. The current roster isn't always booked well, but even mid-tier wrestlers like Karl Anderson, Apollo Crews, and Rusev are light-years ahead of most Attitude equivalents. AJ Styles, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura? Transport any one of them back to the late '90s and they'd be the best worker on the roster - by a landslide.
Wrestling's talent pool is deeper and more diverse than ever before. The Attitude Era's was top-heavy, disjointed, and messy.