20 Biggest Myths WWE Tells About Its History
18. Steve Austin Started The Attitude Era
The Myth: Steve Austin was the star who ushered in the Attitude Era.
The Truth: The Attitude Era style is most strongly associated with the edgy violence of Steve Austin and the juvenile raunchiness of D-Generation X, and they're usually heralded as the twin prongs of that period’s unprecedented popular appeal.
However, it's not fair to credit either of those two entities with breaking that ground.
In 1995, Goldust arrived in WWE. A psychosexual stalker dressed like a living Oscar statuette, the former Natural was a revelation in a promotion still trying to make a go of the New Generation.
Goldust had perhaps the most quintessential Attitude Era match you can imagine -- a street fight that involved attempted vehicular manslaughter, transvestism, and a way-past-topical OJ Simpson parody -- in March of 1996.
Keep in mind that, on the same night Goldust was trying to dry hump Roddy Piper, Steve Austin was trading chinlocks with Savio Vega at the behest of Ted DiBiase, Triple H was getting squashed by the Warrior and Shawn Michaels was living out his squeaky clean boyhood dream.
Speaking of which . . .