The Attitude Era was a great time to be a fan. Professional wrestling had not seen such a rise in popularity since The Golden Era of the mid to late 1980s when Hulk Hogan put the WWE (then WWF) on his back and turned Vince McMahon's northeast promotion into a worldwide phenomenon.
The Attitude Era is remembered for wildly famous superstars, the Monday night wars, violence, and scantily clad women referred to as Divas. Here are the reasons we think either era is the best.
10 Attitude Era: The Monday Night Wars
A TV war was waging during The Attitude Era between the WWE's Monday Night Raw and WCW's Nitro. Television ratings meant everything and both promotions pulled out all the stops to keep eyeballs glued to their brand.
Matches usually reserved for a paying audience were shown for free each week on (mostly) live TV. Each promotion played a weekly game of "can you top this?" and while the WWE would ultimately win the war, the true victors were the millions of fans who tuned in each week.
9 Golden Era: Weekend Wrestling Shows
Long before wrestling was shown strictly in primetime, fans got their fix on weekends. In September of 1986, the WWE launched its new flagship show Superstars of Wrestling hosted by Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura and Wrestling Challenge (the B show) hosted by the legendary duo of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
The hour-long programs were taped in well-lit venues across the country and production values were a step up from the company's prior TV shows. Watching Superstars and Challenge became a ritual like Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday football.
8 Attitude Era: Hell In A Cell & TLC
The Attitude Era gave fans matches they had never seen. The era gave birth to Hell In A Cell - a giant steel cage with a roof that surrounded the entire ring area. The matches featured iconic moments like Mick Foley falling from the roof of the cell and crashing through a table.
Anything goes during The Attitude Era and nothing exemplified that better than a TLC match (tables, ladders, and chairs). If the inventive match was the canvas, then the artists were The Hardy Boyz, The Dudleys and Edge & Christian. The three teams battled in a series of unforgettable TLC contests often considered some of the best matches of all time.
7 Golden Era: Memorable Storylines
The Golden Era featured some of the most iconic wrestling angles of all time, reportedly crafted by Vince McMahon and his cronies while sitting poolside at his Stamford mansion.
Fans from this era know exactly where they were when Andre The Giant turned on Hulk Hogan. More than 30 million TV viewers watched the twin referees screw Hulk Hogan out of the championship and, in a case of near-perfect storytelling, fans witnessed the year-long build to WrestleMania V when the Mega Powers exploded
6 Attitude Era: The Rock
In the early days of The Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin drew comparisons to Hulk Hogan with many long time fans saying they had not seen such a frenzy surrounding a wrestler since the days of the Hulkster. Then something unexpected happened - The Rock.
When Rocky Maivia turned heel, was given a microphone and began referring to himself as "The Rock," a legend was born. With a mix of charisma, athletic ability and a slew of memorable catchphrases, "The Peoples Champion" electrified the wrestling world. For the first time in company history, WWE had two superstars standing side by side on the top of the mountain.
5 Golden Era: The Managers
During the Golden Era, a heel was not taken seriously unless he was accompanied to the ring by a manager. A good cornerman had one job - to get his guy over with the crowd. A skilled manager would do the majority of the talking and if the audience was booing then the job was done.
The Golden Era was filled with memorable managers known for their over the top antics and cheating ways. The legendary roster included Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, The devious Mr. Fuji and perhaps the greatest of all time, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
4 Attitude Era: DX
In its earliest form, D-Generation X was a three-man show (four if you count Rick Rude). Shawn Michaels and Triple H did the heavy lifting while Chyna served as the duo's bodyguard. The faction was hot but their popularity rose to another level the night after WrestleMania XIV.
Triple H stood in the middle of the ring as onlookers thought DX was dead with Shawn Michaels having lost the belt to Steve Austin the night before. Instead, Helmsley introduced his fellow Kliq buddy X-Pac, who cut a scathing promo about his former employers down south. By the end of the night, the New Age Outlaws joined the crew and one of the most popular stables in the history of wrestling was born.
3 Golden Era: The Big 4
During the Golden Era, the only way to see the biggest stars battling it out was on pay-per-view and there were only four of them a year. WrestleMania was joined by Survivor Series in 1987 with SummerSlam and the Royal Rumble following a year later.
With so few opportunities to convince fans to shell out their hard-earned money, the WWE stacked their four events with the biggest matches possible giving them a "must-see" feel. The contests seemed to mean more in the '80s since the events were preceded by months of build-up. Fans were heavily invested in the outcomes by the time the pay-per-view rolled around.
2 Attitude Era: Austin Vs McMahon
It is perhaps the biggest angle in wrestling history - the one that finally turned the tide of the Monday Night Wars. The Austin/McMahon feud launched "Stone Cold" into the wrestling stratosphere and turned the WWE owner into the sport's biggest heel.
It was every disgruntled worker's dream scenario. Each week, millions of fans around the world tuned in to Monday Night Raw to watch the beer-drinking, foul-mouthed Steve Austin make life miserable for his billionaire boss, now calling himself Mr. McMahon. The feud was the first of its kind and a huge reason the WWE is now a billion-dollar publicly-traded company.
1 Golden Era: Hulkamania
Vince McMahon was in the process of transitioning the WWE from a Northeast promotion to a nationwide attraction. Hulk Hogan was the last piece of that puzzle. When the former AWA star defeated champion The Iron Shiek on January 23, 1984, Hulkamania was born.
In the years that followed, Hogan became the biggest star the sport had ever seen. The golden boy was intense on the microphone and exciting to watch inside the ring. What he lacked in pure wrestling skill he more than made up for with his charisma. The Hulkster would go on to headline the first WrestleMania and seven more after that. Whether he is the best of all time is up for debate but one thing is certain - Hulk Hogan did it first and that is special.