The Attitude Era was arguably the most popular time period in sports entertainment. Not only was that time period was a boon in ratings, but helped launch figures like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin to stardom today. As the Attitude Era came to a close, WWE shifted television programming from a TV-14 rating to the TV-PG rating we have come to be familiarized with today. The "PG Era" has no doubt given us some fantastic moments that we love to relive on the WWE Network at our leisure.
The Attitude Era however, was the proverbial "bread and butter" for the company, a time we will likely never experience again. The Attitude Era gave us many matches we will probably never see again in WWE. Here are 10 Match Types That Only Happened In The Attitude Era.
10 Bra & Panties Match
You will be hard pressed another type of match that epitomized the Attitude Era like the Bra & Panties Match. Seeing the Divas of yesteryear like Sable, Terri Runnels, Trish Stratus, and Lita was certainly a favorite amongst the target audience at the time.
With the days of the Bra & Panties Match likely gone with the advent of the PG era, today's WWE Universe fighters and viewers are treated to a period where women's wrestling is more emphasized than it arguably has been in a long time.
9 First Blood
Another casualty of the PG Era, the First Blood Match is another one that will likely never be seen again. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kane was the first incarnation of this match, taking place place at the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view.
Matches of this variation were few and far between over the coming decade, the most recent one taking place at the 2008 One Night Stand pay-per view when John Cena defeated JBL.
8 Kennel From Hell Match
The Kennel From Hell match was a one-off and widely considered to be one of WWE's worst matches ever. WWF Unforgiven 1999 was the site of the debacle between Al Snow and The Big Boss Man. The story around the time revolved around the death of Snow's dog Pepper, and The Big Boss Man's culpability in Pepper's untimely demise.
What attempted to come off as a vicious structure with a pack of rottweilers circling the ring area between two cages, turned comical. The dogs seemed more interested in relieving themselves and humping each other rather than either competitor in the ring. It is is likely for the better that WWE chose to move in directions moving forward that do not include this match.
7 Inferno Match
A match where the loser must be set on fire (yes, really) is something else that likely will not be seen during the PG era. A minute handful of these matches have taken place, in fact you can count them on one hand.
Additionally, they have all featured at least one of The Undertaker or Kane. In today's era where young children and families are the target audience, we will most likely never see this match again.
6 Duchess Of Queensbury Match
In a one-off at Backlash 2001, the current (and youngest) AEW Champion Chris Jericho faced off against now NXT General Manager William Regal in this particular match mode. This match featured the two competitors in a match in Regal's Wheelhouse, where the titular Duchess bent every rule imaginable to favor Regal.
Ultimately, this particular match does not look like it will return anytime soon either due to how tied it is to the character of William Regal. That, and it was just plain damn weird.
5 Boiler Room Match
The Boiler Room Brawl match spotlighted infamous Mick Foley alter-ego, Mankind. As the name suggested, this match took place in the boiler room of the arena. A winner was determined when the first man was able to escape the boiler room.
This is a particular portion of the Attitude Era that many fans look back towards with nostalgia and fond memories. After all, what can beat a heated brawl in a heated boiler room?
4 Evening Gown Match
Another favorite of the targeted young adult male demographic of the day, the Evening Gown Match declared the first competitor to rip the evening gown off of their opponent as the winner.
Like the Bra & Panties matches, this match will likely stay locked in the vault where it belongs now that the Women's Revolution is at the forefront of WWE.
3 Buried Alive Match
The Buried Alive Match had a handful of contests throughout the Attitude Era, all of them featuring the Undertaker. Appropriate, given how he's often referred to as "The Dead Man."
This match's objective was to bury your opponent in a six foot deep grave plot that was constructed at ringside for the occasion. In all of his Buried Alive matches, The Undertaker has been on both sides of the grave.
2 Empty Arena Match
The Empty Arena Match was arguably one of the most memorable moments of the Attitude Era. One of two incarnations of Halftime Heat, this match aired on television during halftime of Super Bowl XXXIII. The difficulties of gaining an audience during this time are tremendous, as proven by the fact that WWE went 20 years in between broadcasts of this type.
Eric Kravit, host of Billy and The Krav and play-by-play announcer for the Premier League Junior Islanders says "Getting people to turn away from a Super Bowl Halftime Show is a difficult thing to do. While ambitious, it was doomed from the start. Had the WWE Network not existed, I think this match could have been lost to history, like the Kennel From Hell match before it."
1 Lions Den Match
The Lion's Den was a smaller cage structure and was placed towards the stage area of the arena. The rules were largely ambiguous. Usually the matches ended by submission but victories were attained in other ways in a normal wrestling match as well.
Ken Shamrock's tenure throughout WWF/WWE brought this match to the company and was an offshoot reference of his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.