Every WWE Era Since WrestleMania I - Ranked From Worst To Best
2. The Attitude Era (1997-2002)
The Attitude Era is often held up as the golden age of WWE programming - particularly by the company themselves. From a business standpoint, it’s incredibly hard to argue with this assessment. WWE have never been as popular as they were in the Attitude Era, and with TV ratings sitting at an average of 6.00 from 1999 to 2000, Raw was absolutely flying.
Attitude is responsible for some of wrestling’s most memorable moments. Effectively kicking off with the Montreal Screwjob and Steve Austin’s rise to prominence, Attitude give us the incredible Austin vs. McMahon feud, Mick Foley’s Hell In A Cell fall, and Mike Tyson. It produced the biggest crossover star in wrestling history (The Rock), WrestleMania X-Seven, the consensus best wrestling PPV ever, and countless great memories.
That said, the Era had plenty of problems, too. The tone was often crude and puerile, wrestling quality was way down, and the company’s women were regularly objectified and pushed on looks above all else. Attitude also escalated onscreen violence to a level that WWE could never hope to top, and as a result, everything that’s taken place since then feels tame by comparison.
But it’s impossible to argue with Attitude’s success. Roster depth was through the roof across the board, and the company’s main event scene has rarely been stacked with as many top-level stars. Even the tag division was flying with teams like Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardyz.
Unfortunately, Attitude met a disappointing end through Stone Cold’s botched heel turn and the Invasion angle - but it was the most exciting thing on the planet for a long, long time.