The Attitude Era is when the real entertainment began, as the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW created this ugly environment and forced WWE to do some unusual stuff to get ahead in ratings. They created the Attitude Era with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock headlining it, as this was a memorable time for wrestling fans because of how well the WWE served its fans. There were absolutely no restrictions and some genuinely surprising stuff happened, as there was a perfect mix of wrestling and entertainment.

WWE's Attitude Era was home to some of the greatest characters in the company's history, and even the mid-carders or lower-card wrestlers were just as intriguing as some of the main eventers. The tag team division was on fire because of the likes of The Hardys, Edge & Christian and the Dudley Boyz, and complete entertainment was guaranteed on each show. These wrestlers had a lot of fun backstage when the curtains were down and some really amazing candid photos of the Attitude Era were taken. Let's have a look at the top 20 Awesome Photos From Wrestling's Attitude Era.

20 20. You Think You Know Him

"The Rated R Superstar" Edge attained that iconic name quite late into his WWE career, as he was still an up and coming star during the Attitude Era in the WWE. After joining the vampire stable "The Brood", he split from them with his friend Christian as they started to form an amazing tag team. The two were really well synchronized in the ring and ruled over the hotly contested tag team division at the time, despite not having the "looks" to make it in the company. Edge definitely didn't look like a main event star at the time, as this very candid picture of him chilling out in the sidewalk shows how cool he really was back in the day and loved to hang around in the most peculiar of places whenever he had the time to.

19 19. Just A Couple Of Doggs

Once the WWE started to attain mainstream attention during the Attitude Era, they had acquired a lot of fans in the entertainment business, which included musicians, actors and even athletes from other sports. It also included the famous rapper Snoop Dogg himself, who has been a WWE fan for a long time now and also loved to hang around with the crew during the Attitude Era. This behind the scenes picture of Snoop Dogg with "Road Dogg" Jesse James shows how much WWE loved to have him on their shows and James looks like a wrestler who definitely hit it off with Snoop. This awesome picture shows just how awesome that Attitude Era was with other personalities hooked into the product and how chill things were in the back.

18 18. The Iron Sheik Making People Humble

The Iron Sheik was quite the character back in the 80s, as his Anti-America heel gimmick was really over during that time but his stock fell when the 90s came. He still had the respect of the WWE staff for whatever he did in the past, as he was allowed to come into the company during the Attitude Era and help with backstage stuff. This very candid photo shows The Iron Sheik backstage with two weird objects in his hand, as Mankind & Bob Backlund watch him do his thing. The Iron Sheik might've been a detestable heel back in the day, but he seemed to get on really well in real life with the wrestlers.

17 17. Pre-Broken Matt Hardy

Matt and Jeff Hardy might have caused quite the commotion when they returned to the WWE a few weeks back, but their early stint with the company is still probably the best which occurred during the Attitude Era. The Hardy Boyz were one of the most exciting tag teams of the time and did some things others wouldn't even imagine pulling off, as they also seemingly had hobbies outside the ring as well. This awesome picture shows Matt with a sewing machine apparently creating his own outfit for wrestling, as he seems to have had a passion for making his own outfits at the time. This picture shows him doing a very personal hobby as this side of Matt is probably something which the fans haven't seen and would be pleasantly surprised to discover.

16 16. The Original ECW Invasion

While the Monday Night Wars was fought between the giants of wrestling in WCW and WWE during the Attitude Era, there was another wrestling promotion in Philly which was gaining popularity. That was the violent Extreme Championship Wrestling or ECW which had its own share of fanatics because of the way it ran. There were literally no restrictions on ECW as wrestlers would have to put themselves through much pain to please the fans. These guys also went to watch other promotions work, as this candid photo shows the ECW crew in Paul Heyman, Tommy Dreamer and Sandman watching a WWE show during the Attitude Era. They seem to be enjoying their time and laughing at how WWE's product is bland compared to theirs, as this unseen picture is definitely an awesome one and shows ECW guys like you've never seen them before.

15 15. Paying Tribute To The Troops

The WWE has not only been an entertaining platform which served its fans amazingly during the Attitude Era, but they've made sure to get mainstream attention with various PR stunts over the years. WWE seems to be really respectful of the US Military and also hosts a show every year for the soldiers, and have traveled around to meet them every single year. This candid picture shows D-Von Dudley, Stevie Richards and former WWE Diva Terri Runnels posing with the military men, as it shows just how attached these wrestlers are to the protectors of their nation. This awesome picture was probably taken sometime during the Attitude Era when WWE traveled to wrestle in front of the armed forces.

14 14. Kurt Angle Cooking With Regis & Kathie Lee

Kurt Angle was definitely one of the real unsung heroes of the Attitude Era, as the Olympic Gold Medalist came to the WWE after winning the medal and made quite a name for himself. Angle would initially be pushed as a mid-carder, winning the Intercontinental Championship during the era. He also had to do some promotional work for the WWE being a top-level talent, as this weird, candid picture shows him doing just that with Regis and Kathie Lee. This seems to be in a cooking show where Kurt is being taught about how to make some sort of a food dish, as the young Kurt looks into what he's being told in this picture. This really unseen and surprising photo shows the side of wrestlers many haven't seen as even an Olympic Gold Medalist had to do weird promotional work like this for the WWE to stay afloat.

13 13. Rollercoaster Fun

While the Attitude Era might have been the most difficult time to be a wrestler in the WWE because of the constant pressure and almost 24x7 work, these wrestlers did find time to have fun and had only themselves to accompany. So they used to hang around and go places together at the time, as many of these wrestlers were great friends with each other as well due to them having to stay together almost every day of the week. This awesome picture shows some of these wrestlers getting ready to go on a rollercoaster ride, as the likes of Mick Foley, Al Snow and Jeff Hardy can be seen in this picture having the time of their lives. This photo is just as candid as they come showing these wrestlers have a blast, as this delightful picture also shows how the wrestlers had fun back in the day.

12 12. Goldust Being... Goldust

Goldust has been in the WWE ever since the Attitude era, and he has been weird right from day 1 in the company. His bizarre gimmick of a face-painted, weird individual has given many the creeps over the years, as his weird character has been quite fascinating in the eyes of many. Goldust was probably most over during the Attitude Era when his character was fresh and at his bizarre best, and he did all he could to portray his weird character in the perfect manner. This unseen picture shows how he behaved like a quirky individual even when the cameras were off as he is acting like a dog and is kept on a leash by Marlena, his valet during the Attitude Era.

11 11. The Rock Goes Hollywood Before Going Hollywood

The Rock was a hot star in wrestling during the Attitude Era, when "The Most Electrifying Man in all of sports-entertainment" was involved in the main event feuds and his rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin eventually winning the Monday Night Wars for WWE. The Rock had a lot of charisma and was a top star for a reason, as he started to plan for a career in movies right from when stardom hit him. He started to become good friends with Hollywood actors and this candid picture of him hanging out with comedian Will Ferrell shows as such. Both actors were great friends at the time and The Rock started to plan his movie career from the Attitude Era as this candid, awesome picture shows these different comedians hanging out together in the backstage area.

10 10. Too Cool & Joe C

While the Attitude Era had its share of dark, intimidating characters there was also a nice mix of fun characters which would entertain the audience and the team of "Too Cool" was probably the most entertaining one of the Era. The team of Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Grand Master Sexay would make for a lot of entertainment with their delightful nature as they loved to have fun and danced after the match was over to the audience's delight. This picture shows the three of them dancing with Joe C, Kid Rock's hype man and buddy. It shows just how much fun these three used to have back in the day, as Too Cool loved to dance and defeat any team who threatened to spoil their party.

9 9. Sable Packing Her Bags

Sable was THE Diva of the Attitude Era, as the sexy woman got a lot of popularity when she started to rise as the top Diva during the Attitude era. Her raunchy behavior and antics made her quite popular amongst the fans, but she wasn't really that popular in the locker room and didn't have much respect from her colleagues. Sable got more and more arrogant as her popularity peaked, as she fell out with management because of that and was fired from the company. This candid picture shows Sable going home with her bags packed, as she'd be away from the WWE for some years in which she took legal action against them and did some other work, as the Diva might have been on top of the Women's Division because of her looks but her horrible attitude came back to bite her soon enough during the Attitude Era itself.

8 8. That's One Big Bike

The Big Show appeared in the WWE during the Attitude Era, as "The Giant" (as he was known in WCW) wasn't satisfied with his destruction there and decided to jump ship at the right time. He was booked really strongly in his initial years and was treated like the giant he was, as he did some great work during the Attitude Era and put others over as well. The Big Show was at his "biggest" at the time as well, as this candid picture of a cool Show riding a bike shows just how big and chilled he was in real life. He's needed to ride a bigger bike because of his size as Show was quite the fun-loving, calm person in real life and this frank picture shows just how much of an awesome dude he was during the Attitude Era.

7 7. Do You Smell What The Shaq Is Cooking?

The Rock might have been a heel during most of the Attitude Era, but his charisma and off-screen personality made him someone you couldn't help but admire and he got a lot fans because of his work. This included celebrities from other sports as well, as he had a good friend in Shaquille O'Neil who was himself ruling the roost in the NBA during wrestling's attitude era. This awesome picture shows The Rock and Shaq pose together, as this candid picture shows just how good friends they were as Shaq loved to come backstage to WWE events and meet with the Great one. The Rock was undoubtedly one of the more popular guys in the back during the Attitude era, as his stardom peaked during that era allowing him to make some valuable friends like Shaq and the two loved to hang out together and this candid picture shows as such.

6 6. Early Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar signed with the WWE when the Attitude Era was in its closing stages, but he was so impressive that he was sent to the main roster a few months after signing with the company. Lesnar was a NCAA champion and he had all the skills to stand toe to toe with just about anybody in the WWE ring and was actually pushed to the main roster after spending some time in OVW. Before he would be introduced as the "Next Big Thing" with Paul Heyman at his side, Lesnar actually worked some dark matches in the WWE with Jesse "The Body" Ventura as his manager/mentor. This rarely seen picture of a very young Lesnar with Ventura at his side shows how he was managed by Ventura before being picked up by Heyman, as this awesome candid photo shows a side of Brock nobody has really seen and how he was before he debuted in the company.

5 5. The Bone Street Krew

Before the Attitude era started, there was a lot of backstage politics in WWE because of the Kliq which consisted of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac as the group got what they wanted. After the latter three left, The Kliq was hindered but there was still a lot of backstage politics for which the Undertaker created his own backstage group in the Bone Street Krew. This consisted off Taker along with the likes of The Godfather, Savio Vega, Rikishi, The Godwinn's and even JBL as this candid picture of the Bone Street Krew shows just how big bad-asses they were. The Undertaker became the locker room leader once Bret Hart left and protected his boys really well, as this awesome picture of the group shows how united they were together as Taker handled and cared for his boys very well during the Attitude era.

4 4. Vince McMahon In A Casket Match

Vince McMahon has hardly been one to break kayfabe on-screen, as the boss of the multi-billion dollar empire has a strict set of values and rules which have made him and his company so successful. Vince was in the thick of things during the Attitude era, as his villainous "Mr. McMahon" and his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin was what forced every fan to turn to the WWE and pile on WCW's misery. Even though he never broke kayfabe and always stuck right to his evil character on WWE TV, this candid picture of Vince lying inside a casket with Paul Bearer seated beside him. This awesome candid picture shows how even someone like Vince loved to have fun at times, as he was very friendly and open in the backstage area as he was an evil, cruel man on the Television sets.

3 3. The Hart Family

Bret "The Hitman" Hart was the face of the WWE in the mid-90s, as he was definitely the best wrestler in the world at the time but was sick of the company because of the backstage politics and his very real rivalry with Shawn Michaels. Hart had the companionship of his own family as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and Owen Hart, as well as the British Bulldog as all of them, were big family behind the camera as well. This candid picture of Hart having a laugh with Neidhart shows just how attached they were together when in the WWE, as they stuck together to evade the evil ways of the Kliq and always loved to have fun together. This awesome candid picture of the two was before the Montreal Screwjob, after which Neidhart followed Hart to WCW and even though both their careers took a dent after the move, at least they had the companionship of family in WCW as well.

2 2. Stephanie McMahon & Trish Stratus

Stephanie McMahon and Trish Stratus were never really big fans of each other during their angle in the Attitude Era, as the two ended up feuding because of Vince McMahon. Despite being rivals on-screen, the two were actually very good friends in real life as this awesome picture of both of them together shows as such. Stephanie and Trish were really close backstage and loved to hang out with each other whenever possible, and staying in Stephanie's good books also helped Trish's career in the WWE as well. But the two seem to have shared a real bond with each other as this candid picture shows, and they might've not likened each other on-screen, but got along really well outside the WWE.

1 1. Socko 3:16

Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind might not have been on the same level in terms of popularity during the Attitude era, but both had to take a difficult route to attaining success. Both of them had to go past the Authority to win gold and the two of them met each other quite a few times in the ring but didn't really have the most pleasing friendship. It was actually quite opposite when the cameras were off, as Stone Cold and Mankind(Mick Foley) were great buddies in real life as this candid picture of them sharing a laugh together shows how good friends they were. They got out the best in each other in the ring and then shared a pint outside it, as this awesome picture shows two of The Attitude Era's best enjoying the company of each other and shows how these guys all loved each other in their most candid moments.