10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown's First Ever Episode

1. The Standard Of Wrestling Is 10x Better Now

Don't worry, Attitude lovers, we're not going to claim that WWE's product is better than 1999 overall. That'd be silly. WWE may never again create the kind of excitement they did back in the late-90s/early-2000s. Whilst the general buzz and commotion isn't there, the fundamental pro wrestling certainly is.

In terms of pure grappling, the first SmackDown pretty much sucked.

Of the seven matches presented, only one went longer than five minutes. That was a tag match pitting X-Pac and Kane vs. The New Age Outlaws, a bout that was just over two minutes longer than main event of Steve Austin and The Rock vs. Triple H and The Undertaker. Elsewhere, matches ranged from 47 seconds (Big Show vs. Test) to 95 seconds (Mankind vs. Big Boss Man).

In total, fans were treated to 24 minutes and two seconds of wrestling in a two-hour show. Compare the quality of that work to WWE's output now and it's pretty woeful. It's not necessarily even the length of time combined that's the problem either. Nah, it's more glaring that the matches were so short considering the star power involved.

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What do you think when you look back on the Attitude era? Let us know down in the comments section below!