10 Things Only '90s Wrestling Fans Will Understand

1. The New Generation Was Good

Stone Cold Steve Austin Mankind
WWE

They bury it deliberately in retrospectives because doing so puts over by contrast the great, all-cylinders success of the Attitude Era, but the New Generation yielded the greatest artistic triumphs in company history.

They go the self-deprecating route - or they will do, until they're so starved of Network content that they'll draft in Michael Rapaport to tell you that it didn't actually suck - because the greatest babyface comebacks are informed by the hardest ass kickings.

Yes, Phantasio sucked, and yes, the things us old bitters loved didn't draw a dime, but it was still great when it was great; measured against the respective global standards, the WWF in-ring of 1994 was leagues better than the WWE of 2020.

Is that caveat even needed, actually?

The 1994 Doink actually looked like f*cking Doink, for starters, but Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart had exponentially more depth and craft than anything WWE churns out now, and the story itself was deftly and meticulously plotted to perfection. The 123 Kid's character arc was ingenious, his work almost timeless. And, even though nobody much bought it, there was a premium quality to the big match because the booking, at its 1994 best, nailed that beautiful, graduating sense of build. Even that Mantaur squash match was pretty bitchin'.

That, or it's one's own, personal Kenny's Krib.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!