10 Ways WWE Could Revive The Attitude Era (Even With A PG Rating)
7. Subvert The System, Grow The Audience
The Attitude Era grew the WWF audience, with people once unfamiliar with pro wrestling nonetheless intoxicated by the idea of Steve Austin, the hilarious no-nonsense redneck, kicking the p*ss out of Mr. McMahon, the snivelling and sadistic symbol of corporate America. There is similarly unifying sentiment WWE, in a uniquely immediate and live action context, is best-positioned to exploit. There is a nation of p*ssed-off young females, disenfranchised and united by the #MeToo movement, desperate for their own avatar to escape through.
Ronda Rousey could be that avatar.
People are naturally finding it difficult to reconcile the idea of a legitimate killer wrestling competitive matches with Alicia Fox - so why not present Rowdy as an inter-gender war machine intent on laying waste to men in positions of power? The Women's Revolution has not appreciably developed the WWE fanbase. Perhaps it is Rousey's star power, and this zeitgeist-grabbing motivation, that will convince the female demographic that WWE - still stigmatised in the mainstream as the world of grunting, sweaty men - is the escapist answer to their frustrations with the wider world. Fans went apoplectic when Ronda blasted Triple H through a table at Elimination Chamber.
The genesis point is already there.