10 Ways Wrestling Was Just BETTER In The '90s

6. The Genuine Shock Value

To follow on from the wider spoiler topic, the '90s was brimming with shock value.

Here in 2023, it was common knowledge that Jade Cargill was WWE-bound several weeks before it was formally announced. Likewise, we all knew that Edge's WWE deal was expiring and he'd not agreed a renewal. Add to that, recent reports of Eddie Kingston penning a new AEW contract, or those stories of Brian Pillman Jr. being spotted at the WWE Performance Center well before his NXT vignettes started up.

Remove those reports and stories, and you've got some major shocks right there. Jade randomly turning up at WWE Fastlane? That'd be nuts. Edge catching us all off-guard by appearing at the end of AEW WrestleDream? That'd be even more insane. And Brian Pillman Jr. surprising us all by being featured in an NXT vignette? Not as major as the other events, but it would still have been a welcome surprise from out of left-field.

In the '90s, such movements were from out of left-field. That Lex Luger return to WCW? Unthinkable. Those initial appearances of 'Razor Ramon' and 'Diesel' on WCW Nitro? Jaw-dropping. D-Generation X unveiling 'Ravishing' Rick Rude as their insurance policy? Implausible. The Giant turning up as Paul Wight at St. Valentine's Day Massacre? Monumental. The Triple H-led DX later bringing Sean Waltman back into the fold as X-Pac? Another huge shocker.

If any of those things happened today, we'd have all been aware of them several weeks, if not months, before they took place.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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