When Bret Hart has a meltdown on TV after losing a steel cage. When Shawn Michaels stuffed his shorts and kept jumping into JR’s face. When Vince McMahon told fans that they were done insulting their intelligence. When the WWE quit doing silly occupational gimmicks and embraced the 90s-era counterculture, that’s when the Attitude Era began.
While the Attitude Era has been looked back on very fondly, thanks to the heydays of Austin, Rock, Helmsley, Foley, and several others, there were also several items that didn't make any sense at all. Every time fans find some items that don’t make a lick of sense, there’s always another rock (no pun intended) to turn over.
10 Austin’s A Criminal
If you want any proof that the generation of geriatric millennials are a complete lost cause - look to their wrestling god. No, not JBL - Stone Cold Steve Austin. We all cheered for this man, who promoted drinking and driving; driving and vandalizing every vehicle he could get his hands on. He flagrantly disobeyed authority and told his boss to...well you know. There wasn’t much that The Texas Rattlesnake wouldn’t do to get a rise out of anyone trying to get him to do the right thing, but that would usually get him arrested or barred from the arena, much to the fans’ delight.
9 The Titles Meant Nothing
While there might be the occasional grudge match here and there, most of the entire wrestling industry is predicated on who the champions are and who the challengers are. As men like Stone Cold would say, “if you’re not trying to be the champion, then why are you in the business?”
But during The Attitude Era, the belts didn’t mean a whole lot and were merely used as props to be passed around like hot potato. While there were some great champions during this era, there were far more transitional and comedy champions than tangible title holders.
8 Women’s De-Evolution
Not only was the WWE trying to market to younger crowds during the Attitude Era, but they also didn’t seem to mind how their bevy of buxom beauties were marketed and presented to the masses. Debates can be made that the icons of The Attitude Era like Sable and Sunny liked strutting their stuff (after all, some of the superstars spent hours in the gym crafting their gorgeous physiques). But there were certain moments that no matter how much the ladies might have been ok with the way they were being portrayed, it didn’t do any favors for women’s wrestling.
7 The Level Of Violence
Wrestling might be a representation of a violent fight sport, but the Attitude Era reached and exceeded a lot of limits. Generally speaking, there were no heights that Shane McMahon or Jeff Hardy wouldn’t ascend to leap off. No level of violence that Mick Foley wouldn’t be willing to suffer for a pop, including a bunch of chair shots right to the head. In an effort to be more realistic and more hardcore, the violence would sometimes go to wild levels that even the tagline of “don’t try this at home” wouldn’t stop a lawsuit from happening.
6 It’s A Swerve, Bro
While Vince Russo does certainly have his legion of fans, when you're essentially blackballed from the wrestling industry, chances are you’re nowhere near as good as you think you are. Russo’s best (only?) claim to fame was his work in WWE during the Attitude Era, which was generally tweaked and approved by Vince McMahon. Russo was able to get nearly everyone on the roster in some sort of spot and character. But his love of swerves for the sake of swerving became so commonplace that they stopped meaning anything. Owen swerves Severn, McMahon swerves Foley, Chyna turns on DX only turn on the Corporation and then both HHH and Chyna swerve DX and go back with The Corporation. Perhaps this is what Gorilla Monsoon meant when he referred to “Excedrin Headache #5.”
5 Attempted Murder & Mayhem
While the violence of the day might have been a bit excessive, it got far worse when intent to maim and murder became apparent, bloodthirsty fans didn’t seem to mind that The New Age Outlaws heaved Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie off the stage in a dumpster. Nor did they mind at all when the Deadman tried to embalm Stone Cold, murder the Big Bossman, or kidnap various superstars and divas. Or when Triple H smashed Austin with a car and forcibly marry Stephanie. No amount of macabre mischief was enough during the Attitude Era.
4 Rose-Colored Nostalgia
It’s not the nostalgia about the Attitude Era that doesn’t make sense, it’s the rose-colored nostalgia that doesn’t make any sense. Other than the upper-midcard and main eventers, there was a slew of terrible ideas and gimmicks during the Attitude Era. Chaz as Beaver Cleavage, Tiger Ali Singh as a pseudo Million Dollar Man, the Legion Of Doom being humanized then dehumanized before being emasculated on TV.
3 The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust
Goldust was so ahead of his time that by the time the Attitude Era came along, his character was already stale. But instead of ramping back up all of the characteristics that the company scaled down on during the New Generation, Goldie just kept ramping up the strangeness.
But instead of coming off as creepy and weird in classic ‘Dust fashion, Dustin Rhodes was rapidly becoming an embarrassment with all of the antics he was attempting - thankfully McMahon turned him down on the breast implant idea.
2 Terri Runnels - Femdom & Faking Miscarriages
Speaking of Goldust, the other half of that act, Marlena also ramped up her ridiculousness during the Attitude Era. It's hard to pinpoint how nonsensical something is while it’s happening, but there was a slew of things Terri Runnels was doing post-Goldust that wasn’t making any sense.
Her two biggest grievances were making a mockery of Mark Henry as some sort of pro-domme, which only aggravated Chyna, Henry’s girlfriend at the time. She also for seemingly no real reason (thank you Vince Russo), faked a miscarriage with Val Venis.
1 Austin Turns Heel
It’s one of the biggest regrets in Austin’s career that he didn’t look at Vince and tell him to “watch the Stunner” at WrestleMania X7. But he truly felt that turning into a vile nasty heel was the right move. But it just made no sense. Austin spent years fighting back and forth with McMahon and the two men were at each other’s throats. Yet, Austin decided that he wanted to be WWE Champion so badly that he’d throw out whatever vendetta to side with McMahon.