One of the most popular periods in pro wrestling history, The Attitude Era was WWE’s peak -- surpassing even the Hulk Hogan-centric “Golden Era” -- as stars like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin became pop culture icons and the company’s shift towards edgier content scored them record TV ratings and a whole lot of controversy. The Attitude Era’s sheer popularity certainly means that it’s got its dissenters as well as its admirers.
Reddit, it turns out, is a great place for dissent thanks to a frequent offering of unpopular opinions, where Redditors are encouraged to offer their hottest takes -- and everyone’s got an opinion about the Attitude Era.
10 Short Title Reigns = Better TV
A now-deleted user posted in 2021 lamented the fact that title reigns these days are often pretty long, which in their eyes takes some of the drama out of most title stories, as fans generally know that, for example, a new WWE Champion is likely to retain for the first couple of feuds.
Since everyone talks about how to keep WWE from shedding viewers, their suggestion is to mimic the days of The Attitude Era, where titles would change hands all the time, keeping things fresh and keeping casual viewers tuning in to see what happens next.
9 Michael Cole Was Great
If there’s one thing fans hate about modern WWE, it’s Michael Cole, who’s been the company’s lead commentator since the early 2010s and has been criticized for his repetitive catchphrases (“It’s BOSS TIME!”) and lack of genuine enthusiasm, not to mention being accused of being Vince McMahon’s puppet.
But everyone had to start somewhere, and brave user u/heartagramguy offered the unpopular opinion that Cole was actually a great commentator during SmackDown’s early days. After all, it felt like things were less tightly controlled back then, and he had a great partner at the table in the form of Tazz.
8 Stone Cold Is Overrated
There’s a lot to criticize about The Attitude Era, from booking mistakes to stuff that frankly hasn’t aged well. But it oftentimes feels like 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin is the most bulletproof thing about that era, as WWE’s chaotic top babyface who had legendary feuds with The Rock, The Undertaker, and his own boss, Vince McMahon.
But even a star like that has his detractors, one of whom is u/tbeats666, who felt that Steve Austin was overrated and mostly relied on catchphrases, especially late in his career.
7 Pulling The Curtain Back on the Undertaker
While some wrestlers’ in-ring personas are informed by their real lives, wrestlers are not actually their characters for the most part, which obviously includes The Undertaker, who is NOT a southwestern zombie mortician.
In 2020, Redditor u/DCEagles911 stepped up to say that the more one learns about The Undertaker’s real life, the less cool he seems, reasoning that his interest in motorcycles, MMA, and military stuff feels like as much of a costume as his wrestling persona. This take was DEEPLY unpopular, and the comments section really took the Redditor to task.
6 WrestleMania 17 Isn’t That Great
Just in time for this year’s WrestleMania season, Redditor u/iknownothingsir posted a thread calling for unpopular opinions specifically about WrestleMania 17, which is generally regarded as one of the best ‘Manias ever, as well as the best of the Attitude Era.
But rather than simply ask for them, the Redditor offered one to get the ball rolling, saying that it’s mostly memorable because of Steve Austin’s heel turn at the end of the night. Commenters were reluctant to agree with that assessment, but nevertheless offered a few unpopular opinions of their own.
5 Love For The Blue Blazer
The Owen Hart-focused episode of Dark Side of the Ring inspired a now-deleted user to sing the praises of Hart’s silly Blue Blazer gimmick, as the documentary show didn’t exactly discuss the concept in a positive light.
The user reasoned that it was a great gimmick for Owen, because he took wrestling less seriously than his brother Bret, and the goofiness of the gimmick made sense, because he didn’t care for the provocative content of WWE at the time. Several commenters showed up to speak positively about the gimmick, which Hart used in the early ‘90s, and allowed him to show off his athleticism.
4 The Attitude Era Had Two Of The Worst WrestleManias Ever
In a 2020 thread devoted to general unpopular opinions about WrestleMania, Redditor u/Thealmightyfug went after the Attitude Era, saying that, despite the popularity of WWE at the time, the promotion also produced (in their opinion) two of the worst ‘Manias ever, namely WrestleMania XV and WrestleMania 2000.
WrestleMania XV is certainly not considered a particularly great show, as the most well regarded match is between Shane McMahon and X-Pac, and the Rock/Austin main event isn’t even considered their best match. WrestleMania 2000 being the worst is a much hotter take, as the card has some bright spots, like a three-way tag team ladder match, but the biggest common criticism is the overbooked “McMahon in every corner” main event.
3 Bret Vs. Shawn At Survivor Series 1997 Is Underrated
In a thread asking for recommendations for must-see Attitude Era pay-per-views, one user suggested Survivor Series 1997, which notably features Kane’s first match but even more notably ends with the Montreal Screwjob, one of the most infamous moments in WWE history.
In discussing the significance of that bout, Redditor u/SiphenPrax offered an interesting unpopular opinion that -- aside from the finish -- the bout is “one of the least talked about popular matches in WWE history.”
2 The New Age Outlaws Were The Best Attitude Era Tag Team
It sounds weird to have an unpopular yet positive opinion about The New Age Outlaws, but time does weird things to popular pro wrestlers, as fans deem certain performers to be overrated or products of their time, especially if they weren’t supremely gifted technical wrestlers.
But Redditor u/Minnale101 made a post to express the belief that Road Dogg and Billy Gunn made up the best tag team of the era. It’s a worthy argument, because they had loads of charisma, five tag team title reigns, and were ridiculously popular with live crowds.
1 Ruthless Aggression > Attitude Era
Generally, the Attitude Era is considered a bygone era looked back on with rose-tinted glasses, as youngsters who watched WWE at the time are adults now. But it’s not everyone’s favorite period, as evidenced by Redditor u/1Wallace223 in a call for unpopular wrestling opinions, who said that the Attitude Era was “terrible” compared to the period that followed, called Ruthless Aggression.
That’s when WWE eased up a little on the in-your-face edginess of the previous era and started putting on longer, more competitive matches. For many wrestling fans, that sounds more ideal compared to what WWE was offering beforehand.