8 Times WWE Hit The 'Reset' Button
A 'new era', a 'new generation', resetera, resetera, resetera...
Any Tuesday soon, Eric Bischoff is set to actually embark on his scarcely believable duties as the brand new 'Executive Director' of SmackDown. 'Easy E' hasn't migrated from his Cody, WY fishing shack merely to reprise his slimy on-screen General Manager, but is taking charge of the show for realsies. To an extent, anyway.
Although Bischoff's power, like that of Raw counterpart Paul Heyman, will likely be hamstrung at the first opportunity, WWE fans - what's left of them - are nevertheless expecting to see something resembling wholesale change to a product which is a million miles beyond the state marked 'Moribund'.
In fact, it wouldn't be a massive surprise to see the blue brand completely start anew. That's one of the new honcho's key tricks; as WCW circled the drain, the slate of its titles and storylines was wiped clean more times than a school blackboard.
Then again, the company might be holding the big refresh back for when it launches on its new home this October. Is hitting the reset button the start of a new dawn - or simply a sign that things have grown desperate?
Each and every time WWE have pushed it before, it's been the latter. And rarely the former.
8. New Generation
Even without the emergence of the steroid scandal in 1992, WWE's business was already suffering steady decline. The glitz and glamour of the Golden Age was fading, ultimately proving to be a flash in the pan fad. When McMahon was indicted, the gloss was well and truly scraped off.
A mass exodus of the '80s' top talent to WCW soon followed, a scenario which ultimately suited both parties; WWE needed to shift the 'roided bodies from their roster, and Ted Turner could offer superannuated stars a paycheque Stamford simply could not match. With the Hogans and the Savages of the world out the door however, Vince suddenly found himself with a distinct lack of drawing power.
The solution was to simply dismiss the departed talent as relics of the past. WWE began promoting a fresh breed of athletic, technically gifted athletes - who, notably but not noted, also happened to be considerably smaller. The likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon spearheaded the company's so-called 'New Generation'. Unfortunately, business continued to plummet.