Dylan jackson
WWE is on a hot streak right now. The company is regularly breaking financial records, producing a plethora of main event stars and booking critically acclaimed matches and storylines. For the first time in a long time, fans seem more interested in celebrating WWE’s current product than waxing poetic about the Attitude Era.
“I heard it’s the Renaissance Era and I really like that perspective,” WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes previously said. Fox News Digital. “For me, as a fighter, I’m really excited that we no longer have to be in the shadow of the Attitude Era, because in the last two years we’ve done better business than them – and they’ve had exceptional results, unbelievable, incredible business, I’m just doing black and white comparisons, dollars and cents, in terms of what WWE has been able to do over the last two years.”
Declining enthusiasm for WWE’s storytelling often left fans reminiscing about better days. The Attitude Era was a shift in WWE’s ethos that saved the company from declining ratings amid fierce competition from WCW. From November 1997 to May 2002, WWE switched to a more adult-oriented product. Strange stories, foul language, and violent pranks took precedence during this period. Loosening creative ties allowed legendary personalities like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock and D-Generation X to emerge.
“The Attitude Era is something we’ll always talk about,” Booker T told CBS Sports while discussing the “WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures” premiere on A&E. “It will always be something that was part of your life and my life in some way.”
Booker wrestled for WCW throughout most of the Attitude Era, becoming five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He joined WWE in the final year of the Attitude Era, after the long-running promotion purchased its competitor. Booker found a lot of success in WWE and is still actively involved with the company, most notably as a color commentator for developmental brand NXT. Booker isn’t sure whether Rhodes’ champions of the “Renaissance Era” reached or exceeded the heights of the Attitude Era, but he loves the spirit of the debate.
“I understand what guys like Cody are talking about. This is their era. Is it better than the Attitude Era? Well, they should want to make it better than the Attitude Era,” Booker said. “Just think ‘Rivals’ or ‘Treasures’, we can’t talk about the Attitude Era forever. We need to get past it sooner or later. We’ll have to start talking about the next generation. The Roman Kingdoms’ and Cody Rhodes ‘ of the world and its legacies and their ‘Attitude Era’ that they created, so I understand, and if I were in their shoes, I would feel exactly the same way.
A lot of Attitude Era content hasn’t aged well: an elderly woman giving birth to a hand, a SWAT officer driving with his rival’s deceased father in a coffin, and an adult film star nearly having his tools of the trade cut off with a Katana comes to mind. Arguing the success of an era depends on the evaluation criteria. The television ratings of the Attitude Era will never be rivaled, but that’s an increasingly outdated point as WWE Raw soon moves to Netflix. WWE regularly touts record gates, but inflation plays a role. Two promising factors for the Renaissance Era are WWE’s recent 18 consecutive TV sellouts and its success in bringing pay-per-views to international markets.
Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, is often credited with rejuvenating interest in WWE. Your many responsibilities as chief content officer include overseeing creative. There were noticeable changes to WWE’s television product – from long-term storytelling and game quality to production elements – once Levesque took the helm of the disgraced former boss Vince McMahon.
“I think everything is an evolution as far as the business is concerned,” Booker said. “With hunter [Levesque] Inside, he sees the business more like young people do. He might understand a little more what young people like these days. Pop culture has a lot to do with it.”
Check out the full interview with Booker T below.
Quality professional wrestling is a very subjective matter. Nostalgia is powerful and most people remember most fondly the era that first captured their imagination. For Booker, that moment came well before the Attitude Era. Booker hosts the ongoing season of “WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures” with fellow Attitude Era stars Mick Foley and Lita, which airs Sundays on A&E. During his expeditions, Booker found a souvenir that instantly transported him.
“It took me back to my childhood at the Sam Houston Coliseum and that was the Junkyard Dog collar,” Booker said. “I watched Junkyard Dog in Houston and Louisana. He was the icon. He was the most famous star in the Texas-Louisana region. Those white boots and white shorts with that dog collar. JYD going out there and performing for the brothers gave me a shiver, a feeling, a tear.”
