20 Days That Changed WWE Forever

WWE's popularity in the Attitude Era came about out of a willingness to push the envelope - to show more volatile (and more real) characters in more real situations. Often, that involved heightened amounts of sexual and violent content, but what worked didn't work because of sex or violence - it was just relatable. WWE's decision-makers didn't seem to realize that, and the result was a lot of foul, offensive things that pleased nobody and made no money.

After the Attitude Era ended, that groundbreaking relatability disappeared and the raunchy nonsense stayed. In the years following the purchase of WCW, fans were "treated" to Triple H simulating necrophilia, Kane raping Lita, and hundreds more segments that were offensive on numerous levels which slowly eroded WWE's audience.

Finally, in 2008, the company decided to go in a new direction. Courting a major toy sponsorship with the discerning Mattel company, WWE put new censorship restrictions on its programming, making all of their shows compliant with the TV-PG rating. The change officially took place on 23 June 2008, and the Mattel deal was signed.

Many fans have lamented the move to TV-PG, feeling that a return to the sensibilities of the Attitude Era would make wrestling more exciting. Truth be told, though, blood and curse words won't make up for bad booking and awful nonsense, and there was plenty before and after the move to PG.