10 Things We Don't Miss About WWE's Attitude Era
8. Supernatural Hokum
WWE today is a considerably less colourful place. Stars more or less wrestle as heightened or projected versions of themselves. Things can get a little homogeneous - but at least there's little in the way of cringeworthy supernatural set-pieces.
The New Generation era is routinely slated for its fixation with occupational gimmicks, but the focus group gothic aesthetic adorned by the likes of Viscera and Mideon was equally embarrassing. You could tell Mideon was meant to be evil because he wore black eye make up, carried around an in eye in a jar of formaldehyde, and literally wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan 'ACCEPT THE PURITY OF EVIL'.
The shenanigans that the Ministry of Darkness partook in were fun at the time, if ludicrously camp, but they wouldn't pass muster today. From attempting to embalm Steve Austin alive, to burning Stephanie McMahon's childhood teddy bear, The Undertaker in 1999 was more arch pantomime villain than the living (or undead) legend he is today.
The most baffling angle saw The Undertaker 'hang' the Big Boss Man at WrestleMania XV, in the close of what remains the worst ever Hell In A Cell match, which if nothing else is a testament to WWE's retrospective marketing acumen. That they subsequently built the Streak in such an impressive way is ingenious, given the dross 'Taker would offer up in his early WrestleMania appearances.