10 Times WWE Went Further Than The Attitude Era

1. Cheap Heat, Various

Kurt Angle Sharmell
WWE

The WWF weren't so bad with real-life death in the Attitude Era.

The Big Show surfed a casket and the Big Boss Man cackled about "croaking," yes, but Big Show's father wasn't still warm, at least. It was cruel and tasteless but honestly too perversely hilarious and stupidly heightened to cause earnest offence. The angle was iconic schadenfreude tempered by the fact that, in reality, Show's father had passed away years prior.

WWE just got nasty with the cheap heat years later - and weirdly, this trend continued into the PG era after an infamous 'Ruthless Aggression' storyline.

"Eddie's in hell," Randy Orton said to Rey Mysterio very soon after Eddie Guerrero's real-life death, which was exploited grotesquely for several months.

You might remember Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart from your WWF youth. In 2018, he became Jim 'The Table' Neidhart as WWE synergised cheap heat with a mandatory calendar stipulation in the Natalya Vs. Ruby Riott TLC programme.

Paige fought with Charlotte's family by burying her deceased brother in 2015.

Sasha Banks again buried Neidhart for dying to get the heat in another programme with Natalya, who has dealt with more stink than even her own flatulence in her time.

- Heat on corpses

- ?????

- Smiles on faces.

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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!