10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Attitude Era Raw
Binge watching hundreds of WWE Raw episodes from the 'Attitude Era' reveals a few shockers!
WWE's flagship show Raw has changed in some monumental ways since first bursting onto screens back in 1993. However, the company's main TV offering has also kept some things consistent (for better and worse) over the decades. Most older viewers agree on one thing though:
It'll never be better than it was when 'Attitude' reigned supreme.
That marketing speak first started to become the in thing back when Vince McMahon was still figuring his bold new direction out in 1997. Suddenly, pushing the envelope, p*ssing off TV execs and thrilling fans along the way became WWF law. That continued on through until the era pretty much ended in 2001.
Re-watching every single episode of Raw between the 'Raw Is War' shift of mid-1997 and '01's WCW/ECW invasion story is proper eye-opening stuff. One can learn a lot from following the promotion along on their journey, but not all of it is positive.
Looking back, it's clear to see that McMahon missed a few open goals when 'Attitude' gave him a license to print money by the truckload. Here's everything gleaned from enjoying that riff hundreds of times...
10. The Raw Is War Shift Was Badly Needed
Raw went two full hours for the first time on 3 February 1997, and the WWF followed that up by changing the show's look, stage, intro music and name on 10 March. Gone was the basic, stripped down look of before - that was replaced by a huge tron, enough fireworks to blow the 1995 budget and a bold declaration of intent.
"Raw Is War", Vince McMahon barked.
The WWF badly needed this. Their flagship had started to look a bit old hat next to WCW's lively Nitro broadcasts, and it was clear that McMahon had to do something lest he slip too far behind Eric Bischoff's brash product. It worked a charm.
Suddenly, almost overnight, Raw went from cartoony Monday night regular to pulsating, must-see television. It'd be a while yet before that was genuinely the case, but the importance of presentation and feeding a cool perception of "anything can happen" should not be overlooked.