TheAttitude Era was a major era ofprofessional wrestling within theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), succeeding the New Generation Era. The Attitude Era was characterized by adult-oriented content, which included increased depicted violence, profanity, and sexual content, as well as disregarding the "good guys versus bad guys" formula[4] in favor of unpredictable and shocking storylines, in a significant shift from the "traditional" and family-friendly output that the WWF had produced up until that point.[5] The Attitude branding officially lasted from November 9, 1997 (atSurvivor Series 1997)[1][2] to May 6, 2002 (renaming of WWF to WWE),[3] and was succeeded by the Ruthless Aggression Era.[6]
The era was spearheaded during theMonday Night War when WWF'sRaw went head-to-head with rivalWorld Championship Wrestling's (WCW)Nitro in a weekly battle for TVratings. As part of the change, the WWF also rebranded its flagship show (which becameRaw Is War), redesigned the arena setups, and later introduced the "scratch" logo and officially referred to and promoted the "Attitude" name. The Attitude Era was a highly successful period for the company with television ratings, merchandise sales,andpay-per-view buy rates for the WWF reaching record highs and it also came at a time of a general shift in Americantelevision moving away from family-friendly to "edgier" content,[7] with the WWF pushing the limits of what was deemed acceptable for TV.[8]Bret Hart,Shawn Michaels,Sycho Sid andStone Cold Steve Austin were among the wrestlers that ushered in the Attitude Era, with events such as Hart's explicit rant,[9] the formation ofD-Generation X and theMontreal Screwjob being key points of evolution to the Attitude format.[5][10] However, Hart and Sid both left the WWF at the dawn of the era, and Michaels retired soon after.
Steve Austin would go on to become a major superstar of the Attitude Era and was joined by many new stars includingThe Rock,Triple H,Kane,Mick Foley (in various personas),Chyna andKurt Angle, whereasThe Undertaker continued to be popular as a veteran,[11] and the company's chairmanVince McMahon would form a villainous persona out of himself, involving his real-life family in storylines.[12] The Austin–McMahon feud was one of the longest-running and most prominent rivalries of the era.[13] WWF also signed a number of wrestlers who left WCW during this boom period, includingChris Jericho,Eddie Guerrero,Chris Benoit, and theBig Show.[14] In addition, theWWF Women's Championship was reactivated in September 1998 after years of dormancy, and most of the company's female talent, such asSable,Sunny andStacy Keibler during this time period were marketed as sex symbols booked in sexually provocative gimmick matches (e.g., "bra and panties", bikini, lingerie, etc.), whereas prominent female stars such asChyna,Lita, andTrish Stratus were presented as serious wrestlers.[15] The era also saw the resurgence oftag team wrestling, namelyThe Hardy Boyz,The Dudley Boyz, andEdge & Christian, who were featured in several destructive, physical and stunt-filledTables, Ladders and Chairs matches during this era. Distinguished stables that were established in this era includeD-Generation X,Nation of Domination,The Corporation,Ministry of Darkness,Corporate Ministry andThe Brood, and had developed major rivalries among each other. Also, theHardcore Championship was established in November 1998, a chaotic division involving no disqualification, falls count anywhere matches that would start ringside and then would be taken outside, with blunt weapons involved.[16]
The actual start of the Attitude Era itself is often debated among fans;Vince McMahon's promo on the December 15, 1997 episode ofRaw about not being "passé" is usually the latest point in time.[17][18] The WWE themselves retrospectively claim that the start of the era is hard to pinpoint, and have used inconsistent events to categorise the era.[5] In 2017 and 2021 respectively, the WWE releasedDVD andBlu-ray compilations named1997 - Dawn of the Attitude and1996 - Prelude to Attitude, signifying that the era was, in yearly terms, beginning in 1997.[19]
It is generally considered that the start of the Attitude era was gradual rather than immediate, based on different elements: the year 1996 saw the WWF increasing graphic violence andselling sex among its female talent, while the year 1997 saw the major aesthetic makeover, the normalisation of crude language and behavior, and the beginning of dramatised plots.[20][21] General consensus is that the era (incorporating all these elements) had fully begun during the second half of 1997.[22] In the years following, the Attitude era continued to evolve and experiment with ever more violent and crude content.[23][24]
During the New Generation Era of the mid-1990s, the World Wrestling Federation was at a difficult point following thesteroid scandal against its chairmanVince McMahon,[25] the loss of some of its stars to rival WCW, and a difficult financial situation. In theMonday Night War, a television ratings battle between WWF'sMonday Night Raw and WCW'sMonday Nitro, the WCW had the upper hand. The former WWF megastar,Hulk Hogan, had also been enjoying success at WCW as part of thenWo with its distinctly "edgy" nature.[26] This also coincided with societal acceptance of racier TV content occurring in the latter half of the 1990s, strongly influenced byNYPD Blue and amplified byThe Jerry Springer Show, which had become exceptionally popular in 1997.[27][7] Kevin Eck wrote in aThe Baltimore Sun column in 1997:[28]
The kids of the '80s who grew up rooting for All-American good guys like Hulk Hogan, they say, are now jaded twentysomethings who worshipMarilyn Manson,Howard Stern, andDennis Rodman. They're looking for something more real, more dangerous, the kind of entertainment they can now find in fringe "sports" likeExtreme Championship Wrestling [ECW] andThe Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC].
In an effort to revamp itself, the company began to transition from the "traditional way" wrestling had long been presented,[29] instead opting for a product which "pushed the envelope" according to then-head writerVince Russo.[30] The creative side of the product during the era's early stages in 1997 was spearheaded by Russo, who drastically changed the way WWF television was written.Ed Ferrara would later join Russo in June 1998, when he was hired by the WWF.[31] Russo's and Ferrara'sbooking style has been described as "Crash TV",[32] where they contributed edgy, controversial storylines involving sexual content,profanity,[33]swerves,[30] unexpectedheelturns, andworkedshoots, as well as short matches, backstage vignettes, shocking angles and levels of depicted violence.[34]Vince McMahon commented in a May 1997 interview that the "taste of the American public changes from time to time" and "If their tastes change, so too will the direction of our company."[28] McMahon had already started a working relationship with hardcore wrestling promotionECW as early as September 1996, which influenced the Attitude era.[35][36]
Several on-screen moments have been credited with helping WWF transition into the Attitude Era.[20]
In his book, Vince Russo mentions the debut of the characterGoldust on October 22, 1995 as a pivotal turning point,[37][38] due to Goldust's controversial homoerotic undertones.[39] The WWF then begun playing up female sexuality withSunny, who appeared in sexualized skimpy outfits on and off the ring, including atRoyal Rumble,[40] and began to be pushed in other WWF media and suggestiveRaw segments.WrestleMania XII also saw the debut on-screen appearances ofSable,[41] who often dressed in suggestive leather outfits, andMarlena (who was also the manager of Goldust). Rather than being serious wrestlers, all three were normally ringside valets and personas, used forsex appeal. Both Sunny and Sable also appeared inPlayboy-like suggestive shots for the officialRAW Magazine (marketed to "Mature Readers" as opposed to theWWF Magazine) published by the WWF through 1996.[28] Also in that year'sSummerSlam pay-per-view, all three of them featured in a bikini contest. Sexualization was also pushed in comedic stunts by Sunny and Marlena in the first couple of episodes ofShotgun Saturday Night.[42]
After"Stone Cold" Steve Austin debuted at the WWF, he would go on to win the1996 King of the Ring tournament by defeatingJake "The Snake" Roberts. In his post-winad-libbed speech, Austin mocked Roberts' recital of the biblical passageJohn 3:16 by saying, "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about yourPsalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"[43] Austin's rebellious,anti-hero attitude and delivery was well received by crowds, signifying a change in public taste[44] (this was also evident bySycho Sid's reception as a heel atSurvivor Series).[45] The speech is referenced by some fans as being the actual start of the Attitude era,[46] both because of the nature of the speech (which was uncharacteristic for its time) and the fact that Austin would eventually become the biggest star at the peak of the Attitude era, with "Austin 3:16" becoming the major marketing tool for WWF during the era.[47]
Brian Pillman, who joined the WWF in June 1996, carried over his "Loose Cannon" persona fromECW as a deranged, unpredictable character, and provided segments that would later define the Attitude era.[48][49] The infamous "Pillman's got a gun" segment onRaw on November 4, 1996, was an uncharacteristically dark angle, and has also been viewed as a key moment of change within the company, although Pillman and the WWF did issue a public apology after the segment,[50] with McMahon admitting at the time that they went too far.[28] Another new uncanny gimmick introduced that year wasMankind (himself also formerly of ECW), who feuded withThe Undertaker and fought physically fierce matches with such as theBoiler Room Brawl atSummerSlam, the earliest example of the sort of backstage brawls andhardcore matches that would later become fundamental to the Attitude era.[21][22] Mankind also used his disturbed persona to invoke unusual violent tactics in his main event match againstShawn Michaels atIn Your House 10: Mind Games.[22][51]
The WWF also refreshed branding and visual production. The March 10, 1997 episode ofRaw debuted a new look and theme centered solely around the colors red and black, along with the renaming ofMonday Night Raw toRaw Is War (suggested to signify that the WWF was waging "war" with WCW'sMonday Nitro) and being extended to two hours, with the second hour dubbed the "War Zone". Production within the arenas also changed significantly:pyrotechnics were utilized for everyone and at the start of every show and lighting effects were altered. The ring rope colors were changed from red, white and blue to monocolor (and the turnbuckles changed from blue to black), and the wrestlers' entrance was redesigned to one featuring a long ramp, while theTitantron video display appeared for the first time, withSycho Sid being the first wrestler to enter using it.[52][53] These aesthetic changes would make their way onto other WWF events as well.
One week later, on the March 17 episode (and the week beforeWrestlemania 13), after losing asteel cage match againstSycho Sid in an attempt to win back theWWF Championship,Bret Hart angrily shoved Vince McMahon to the mat during a post-match interview and went into a profanity-laced tirade.[54] Both the WWF and theUSA Network apologized for the language, which included the words "goddamn" and "bullshit", including commentatorJim Ross while on air, and it led to the USA Network introducing a seven-second delay in order to bleep out offensive language.[55] Some fans have referenced Hart's uncensored tirade and marking the start of the Attitude era.[56]
The company'sRaw program continued to struggle for US ratings in theMonday Night War in early 1997. This led toVince McMahon's full embrace of a new direction that would build the Attitude era, partly convinced byVince Russo who then joined the creative writing team forRaw, significantly altering the nature of the wrestling, andRaw's production was completely refreshed to fit the target theme.[57][58]
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin began a long-termfeud with one of WWF's top superstars, Bret Hart, from late-1996 to mid-1997. They faced each other for the first time atSurvivor Series and although Austin lost, the match was well received and it made Austin popular among fans despite being a heel.[59] Their feud then climaxed in a Submission Match atWrestleMania 13, with a raredouble-turn, turning Hart (who had been a traditional 'good guy' at the WWF for a long time) into a heel.[60] Austin skyrocketed in public popularity after the Wrestlemania match[61] and he had already become a household name by the middle of 1997.[62] The match has also been cited by some as starting the Attitude era.[63]
In a symbolic moment of the company's change, at the 1997Slammy Awards, Austin beat up a returningDoink the Clown.[64] Later, a storyline involvingOwen Hart and Austin culminated in Austin performing aStone Cold Stunner on Vince McMahon to a positive crowd response and led to Austin beingkayfabe arrested (September 22, 1997 episode ofRaw).[43]
Darker and more dramatic storylines began to be regularly implemented on WWF programming by mid-1997, such asPaul Bearer's implication thatThe Undertaker had murdered his own family (which would build on to the debut ofKane). The existingNation of Domination stable was in quick succession joined by theDisciples of Apocalypse,Los Boricuas andThe Truth Commission, which all began feuding with each other in "gang wars" with racial undertones from July 1997.[65] Around the same time began a feud betweenGoldust andBrian Pillman, where atGround Zero: In Your House Pillman attempted to "win" Goldust's wifeMarlena to use as his personal "sex slave".[66]Kayfabe began to be regularly broken, and the cartoonish gimmicks that had previously been the mainstay of WWF superstars were mostly eliminated by the latter half of 1997.[67]
TheD-Generation X stable formed in August 1997, made up ofShawn Michaels,HHH andChyna, and were noted for their shocking segments and crudeness, such as playingstrip poker in the ring (December 8, 1997 episode orRaw)[68] - these elements would define the Attitude era.[69] Their feud with theHart Foundation, led by Michaels's arch-rivalBret Hart, was notable for being one of the first major heel against heel storylines in the WWF.[70]
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Another storyline from 1996 to 1997 was the personal feud between Bret Hart andShawn Michaels, who had legitimate issues with one another outside of wrestling. The conflict behind the scenes spilled into their on-screen storyline, where both men made deeply personal remarks in interviews and promo segments that were often rooted in these issues.[71] One of the best known incidents was the so-called "Sunny Days" comment on the May 21, 1997 episode ofRaw where Michaels seemingly unscripted directed at Hart that he was having a real-life affair with"Sunny" Tammy Sytch.[72]
On November 1, 1997, then-WWF Champion Hart officially signed a contract to work for WCW beginning that December. Notably, Hart was also unhappy with the new "crude" direction that the WWF was taking in its programming.[73] Vince McMahon sought to prevent Hart from leaving the WWF as its champion, allegedly not wanting Hart to potentially appear on WCW television with the WWF Championship, and proposed having Hart lose to Michaels at their scheduled match atSurvivor Series on November 9. Hart refused due to his personal issues with Michaels becoming too great, with Bret using his "creative control" clause included in his WWF contract as leverage. Both parties seemingly came to an agreement in which the match would have a disqualification finish – which would not result in a title change – therefore, Hart would retain the championship and either lose or forfeit the title at a later date. However, McMahon, Michaels, and other WWF employees covertly went on to change the outcome of the match without Hart's knowledge.
During the pay-per-view broadcast atSurvivor Series (1997), a video package aired immediately before the Hart vs. Michaels match, debuting the "Attitude" promo that included the first instance of the WWF "scratch" logo.[1][74] This "edgy" design was noticeably different from the existing cartoony yellow and blue themed WWF logo.[75] During the match, Michaels placed Hart in the Sharpshooter, Hart's signature finishing maneuver. McMahon – who was at ringside, a rarity at the time, as he was primarily working as an on-screen commentator – quickly orderedrefereeEarl Hebner to call for the bell and award Michaels the WWF Championship by submission, despite Hart not submitting. Hart, realizing that he had been the victim of a so-called "screwjob", spit on McMahon, destroyed television equipment, and traced the letters "WCW" in the air with his finger while fans in the arena threw garbage into the ring area and expressed their support for Hart. The incident would go on to be dubbed theMontreal Screwjob.One week later, onRaw, McMahon gave an interview withJim Ross in which McMahon explained his actions and infamously claimed that "Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart." The WWF successfully went on to parlay fan resentment towards McMahon – whose position as owner of the WWF was rarely acknowledged on-screen prior to the Montreal Screwjob – into creating the "Mr. McMahon" character, a villainous, overbearing boss. McMahon's newheel character would become a major part of the WWF's transition to reality-based storylines, particularly his rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The Montreal Screwjob is considered by some as the beginning of the Attitude Era.[56] The scratch logo was gradually rolled out (first appearing on-air on the December 15, 1997 episode ofRaw)[76] and had fully replaced the older block WWF logo (such as in the WWF published magazines) by May 1998.
On the December 15, 1997 edition ofRaw, McMahon expressed the change into the new era as an evolution towards more contemporary tones in afourth wall breaking segment denoted as "The Cure For The Common Show".[18] He harkened back to the phrase "sports entertainment", to describe the pairing of athleticism now delving deeper beyond sports mediums in favor of broader spectrums like popular television programs of the time. McMahon discussed the idea ofblurring the lines more for fans between the typical hero and villain (orbabyface andheel) dynamic which would ring true for popularanti-hero Steve Austin. He referred to the "era of the superhero urging you to say your prayers and eat your vitamins" as passé; as of that time former WWF ChampionHulk Hogan had also transitioned from larger than life superhero into the leader of the villainous faction TheNew World Order on WCW television. It verbally represented a transition further from the Hulkamania era of the 1980s as well as the "New Generation" period of the early-to-mid-1990s.[77][78]
McMahon laid out a campaign to continue adapting creatively with the times as a means of furthering the WWF's longevity. He advised parental discretion for parents of younger viewers among an increased viewer base who would now be watchingRAW andWar Zone, but that no such discretion would be necessary for the morning shows SaturdayLiveWire and SundaySuperstars.[77][78] Near the end of the promo, McMahon added that the new creative direction has "resulted in a huge increase in television viewership", thus implying that the "Attitude" era had already been underway to positive TV ratings effect.[78]
In October 1997, USA Network owners atSeagram agreed to sell the network to media mogulBarry Diller.[79] Diller's purchase of the USA Network was finalized in February 1998,[80] and longtime USA Network managing head Kay Koplovitz would be ousted from the network she founded two months later.[81] Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham's bookSex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment stated that "the terrain shifted completely under everyone's feet" following Diller's purchase of the USA Network, which began in October 1997, and that Koplovitz was in fact planning to remove WWF programming from the USA Network prior to the purchase.[82]
Following the purchase, the WWF began to dominate cable television ratings withRaw episodes which were not only breaking away from traditional censorship, but that were also showing fans at ringside screaming obscenities, wearing risqué t-shirts, and holding signs that often sported controversial phrases.[83][84] The USA Network was even reported as showing less remorse than WWF owner Vince McMahon did over a controversial incident on the September 14, 1998 episode ofRaw where the wrestlerJacqueline had one of her breasts exposed during an evening gown match, which network spokesman David Schwartz described as "not worse than anything you see on broadcast television at that time of night, such asNYPD Blue."[84] USA Network executiveBonnie Hammer, a protege of Diller who was also one of the few USA Network executives to speak out against the plan to cancelRaw,[85][82] worked extensively with head writer Vince Russo in reinventing the World Wrestling Federation.[86]
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Stone Cold Steve Austin had been a leading figure into the start of the Attitude Era and is considered to be the most prominent superstar throughout the era.[87] The era featured a generation of new wrestlers that would become prominent WWF stars during this time, largely replacing the old guard of the preceding New Generation Era (such asShawn Michaels,Bret Hart,Diesel,Yokozuna,Razor Ramon,Lex Luger andDoink the Clown), althoughThe Undertaker was a notable exception who would also be prominent in the Attitude Era.[87]
In addition,Vince McMahon himself, the chairman of the WWF, would be a major prominent figure in the Attitude Era as he began competing and feuding for the first time since his first on-screen WWF appearance in 1969. McMahon made his in-ring debut on the April 13, 1998 episode ofRaw Is War against Stone Cold.[12]
AfterStone Cold Steve Austin won the 1998 Royal Rumble, former heavyweight boxing championMike Tyson, who was in attendance at the pay-per-view, made a guest appearance onRaw the following night.[43][44] Tyson, who at the time was still suspended from boxing, was to be introduced as the "Special Guest Enforcer" referee for the championship match atWrestleMania XIV,[88] but Vince McMahon's presentation of Tyson was abruptly interrupted by Austin, whoflipped off Tyson, leading to a brief scuffle.[44] In an interview with Austin, head writer Vince Russo described this moment as the start of the Attitude Era.[88] Over the following weeks, Tyson aligned himself with Michaels, Austin's opponent at WrestleMania, and D-Generation X.[88] At WrestleMania, in the closing moments of the match, Tyson counted Austin's victorious pinfall on Michaels.[43][89] Tyson was paid $4 million for his role.[90]
Following his crowning as champion, a long-term storyline pitting Austin and McMahon as rivals began,[44] and it proved pivotal in increasing the WWF's revenues from merchandise sales, arena events, and PPV sales, as well as television ratings.[91][92] Week by week, Austin would regularly have to overcome the odds stacked against him by Mr. McMahon.[44] Austin and McMahon were featured in numerous segments which led to a scheduled match between the duo on April 13, 1998, episode of Raw. Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no-contest when Mick Foley (Reprising his character Dude Love) interrupted. On that night, Raw defeated Nitro in the television ratings for the first time since June 10, 1996. Austin again wrestled McMahon on February 14, 1999, atSt. Valentine's Day Massacre in a steel cage match, which he won when the debutingBig Show accidentally threw him through the cage wall, resulting in Austin earning a WWF title shot atWrestleMania XV, where he defeatedThe Rock, whom he also defeated in a rematch the following month atBacklash.
Throughout the Austin-McMahon rivalry, McMahon founded two heelfactions:The Corporation andThe Corporate Ministry. The feud between the two also involved some of the most iconic moments of Austin getting revenge on McMahon, including driving aZamboni to the ring to attack McMahon; disguising himself as a hospital nurse to ambush McMahon; stealing a cement mixer and filling McMahon'sChevrolet Corvette with cement; and driving to the ring in a beer truck and using a fire hose to spray Vince,Shane McMahon, and The Rock with beer.[43][93]
AtFully Loaded in 1999, Vince McMahon added a special stipulation to the scheduled first blood match between The Undertaker and Austin for the WWF Championship. The stipulation was that if Austin won, McMahon would kayfabe step away from the WWF, but if Austin lost, he would never receive a shot at the WWF Championship again. Austin won the match, thus leading to Vince temporarily being banned from the WWF.[94] AtSurvivor Series, Austin was run down by a car driven by a mystery assailant in the parking lot.[95] This was due to Austin needing to take time away from wrestling because of underlying spinal and neck issues caused by his initial injury atSummerSlam in 1997. Austin then underwent spinal fusion surgery by Dr.Lloyd Youngblood.[96] Austin would not be seen on WWF television (aside from a one-off appearance atBacklash 2000) for nine months.
Upon Austin's return atUnforgiven 2000, he confronted and questioned several superstars, hoping to find his assailant.Rikishi would ultimately admit responsibility for the attack on Austin, claiming the assault was done as a favor per the request of Austin's prior rival, The Rock. Austin faced off against Rikishi atNo Mercy, the match ending in a no contest. Austin would go on to win the2001 Royal Rumble match and face The Rock for the WWF Championship in the main event ofWrestleMania X-Seven. At WrestleMania, Austin officially turned heel after aligning with his former rival Vince McMahon and defeated The Rock to regain the WWF Championship.[97][98] During theInvasion storyline, Austin entered a rivalry withKurt Angle, losing the WWF Championship to Angle atUnforgiven.
Dwayne Johnson, a third-generation wrestler, made his debut at the1996 Survivor Series as "Rocky Maivia", naming himself after his grandfatherPeter Maivia and his fatherRocky Johnson. Despite being a babyface with an impressive winning streak and anIntercontinental Championship reign, he was frequently met with negative reception from live audiences, such as loud boos, "Rocky sucks!" chants, and even crowd signs that read "Die Rocky Die". Maivia officially turned heel when he joined theNation of Domination in late 1997 and renamed himself "The Rock". As a member of the Nation of Domination, The Rock won the Intercontinental title for a second time. The Rock eventually overthrewFaarooq to become the leader of the Nation. After the Nation disbanded in late 1998, The Rock began referring to himself as the "People's Champion" and began to receive the support of the audience, which led Vince McMahon and the Corporation to target him.Survivor Series 1998 marked the first PPV headlined by The Rock. During the final match of a tournament against Mankind to crown a new WWF Champion, a double turn occurred with the help of McMahon, similar to the previous year's Survivor Series, revealing that Rock was working with The Corporation all along, leading to The Rock's victory. The Rock officially joined McMahon as the crown jewel of The Corporation, abandoning his previous moniker as "The People's Champion" and declaring himself "The Corporate Champion".[100]
The Rock had a lengthy feud with Mankind, who won the title on an episode ofRaw in January 1999. The reign was short-lived. However, The Rock received his rematch at the 1999 Royal Rumble in an I Quit Match. The Rock won the I Quit Match in a controversial fashion and became the WWF Champion again. A rematch, known as "Half-Time Heat", took place during halftime of that year's Super Bowl, which saw Mankind win the match and the title. The Rock would receive another rematch at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in a last-man-standing match for the chance to headlineWrestleMania XV as the WWF Champion. The bout ended in a draw after both men were unable to stand before the ten count. Despite Mankind being the WWF Champion, he gave The Rock one more shot at the title in a ladder match onRaw. This would end up being their final match, which ended again in controversy as the recent acquisition to The Corporation, "The Big Show" Paul Wight interfered and choke-slammed Mankind off the ladder, allowing The Rock to win the WWF championship for the third time, and headline WrestleMania XV. At WrestleMania, The Rock defended the title in a no-disqualification match against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Before the match, WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels declared The Corporation were to be barred from ringside. Despite this, Vince McMahon interfered anyway attacking Austin and the referee. Giving The Rock an advantage. Mankind would even the odds, assisting Austin by filling in as the final referee, which allowed Austin to defeat The Rock and win the championship.[101] The following month, The Rock would get his revenge by stealing Stone Cold Steve Austin's prized Smoking Skull Belt, which Austin used the previous year as his own personal title. This was the basis for their match at Backlash: In Your House. A rematch of WrestleMania XV, with Shane McMahon as special guest referee. At Backlash, Austin successfully defended the WWF championship, and won back the Smoking Skull Belt.
After Backlash, The Rock was fired from the Corporation by Shane McMahon after both blamed the other for the defeat. The Rock, who was now an enemy of The Corporation once again declared himself the People's Champion and went on a number of small feuds during the latter part of 1999. During this time, The Rock's popularity began to flourish again, and he aligned with his former rival Mankind to create the tag team,The Rock 'n' Sock Connection. In November 1999, The Rock surpassed Stone Cold Steve Austin as the WWF's top babyface star.[102] The team won the WWF Tag Team Championship on an episode of Raw in 1999. After the Rock 'n' Sock connection broke up, The Rock went back into the main event picture of the WWF, battling the likes ofTriple H and his stable, the McMahon-Helmsley Regime. During the McMahon-Helmsley storyline in May, The Rock departed brief hiatus from the WWF to film The Mummy Returns as his character, the Scorpion King before he returned to the WWF to face Triple H in a 60-minute Iron man match for the WWF Championship at Judgment Day in May 2000. Late in the Attitude Era, The Rock faced Stone Cold Steve Austin again atWrestleMania X-Seven in the main event match for the WWF Championship. Austin once again defeated The Rock to regain the title and joined forces with his nemesis Mr. McMahon. Later in 2001, upon his return to the company following a brief hiatus, The Rock would defeatBooker T atSummerSlam to win theWCW Championship, which was now part of the WWF following WWF's purchase of WCW earlier that March.[103] Later that year atSurvivor Series, The Rock led Team WWF to victory over Team Alliance as part of the Invasion storyline, by being the sole survivor after last eliminating his rival Austin and celebrated the win with Vince McMahon.[104]
Mick Foley played three different personas during this era: Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack. While Mankind was his main WWF persona, and Cactus Jack was previously used in his days in WCW, ECW, Japan, and various independent promotions, Dude Love was inspired by a character Foley created when he and his high school friends participated inbackyard wrestling inLong Island, New York. Foley debuted both Dude Love and Cactus Jack in the WWF in mid-1997, while Mankind debuted at Foley's first-ever WWF event on April 1, 1996, during theRaw afterWrestleMania XII. Foley's creative versatility allowed him to create distinct characteristics for each character. The 1998Hell in a Cell match between Mankind and The Undertaker remains one of the most iconic and memorable Hell in a Cell matches to ever take place, with its level of extreme violence and dangerous spots, such as Mankind getting legitimately knocked unconscious and suffering multiple injuries. Though Mankind lost the match, he has been well praised for the brutality he endured during the match.
On the January 4, 1999 edition ofRaw, Foley won his first WWF Championship, defeating The Rock with the help of Steve Austin.[105][106] This match is regarded as a major turning point of theMonday Night War, shifting the ratings permanently in the WWF's favor.[105][106] The duo fought in an infamous"I quit" match atthe 1999 Royal Rumble event. The match was notable for its brutality, in the ending The Rock chased a bloodied Mankind out of the ring and up the walkway while having Mankind handcuffed, hitting him repeatedly with a chair (a total 13 times over the match) until he fell unconscious on the concrete. Finally, Mankind was heard shouting "I quit!" three times in a row; the audio was actually a recording from a promo Mankind made onHeat in the match build up, so Mankind never actually quit, but the Rock was still declared the winner of the match.[107]
Backstage In 2000, Foley reprised his Cactus Jack persona and was involved in a major rivalry with Triple H over the WWF Championship. The duo had a critically acclaimed street fight match at the 2000Royal Rumble which Triple H won, with the level of brutality displayed by the duo being praised.[108][109][110] AtNo Way Out, Foley lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match, and as per the stipulation, Foley was forced to retire from full-time competition. Despite this Foley competed in the Fatal Four-Way Elimination match main event ofWrestleMania 2000 against the Rock, The Big Show and Triple H, which was won by Triple H. Foley would then serve as storyline WWF Commissioner under his real name beginning in the summer of 2000. He lost the position that December after being kayfabe fired onscreen by Mr. McMahon during which he also received a brutal beat down.[111][112]
At the start of the Attitude Era, followingShawn Michaels' severe back injury and subsequent retirement from wrestling in 1998,Triple H assumed leadership ofD-Generation X. AtSummerSlam, Triple H defeatedThe Rock in a ladder match with the help of fellow D-X member Chyna to win theIntercontinental Championship. AtWrestleMania XV, Triple H lost to Kane after Chyna interfered on his behalf and seemingly rejoined D-X. Later on in the night, however, Triple H would betray his long-time friend and fellow D-X member X-Pac by helpingShane McMahon retain the European Championship and joined The Corporation, turningheel in the process. In April, he started moving away from his D-X look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new traditional wrestling trunks, and adopting a shorter hairstyle. His gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF Championship opportunity, and Triple H began referring to himself in interviews as "The Game".[113] After failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H, along with Mankind, challenged then-WWF ChampionStone Cold Steve Austin to atriple threat match atSummerSlam, which featuredJesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match and the title by pinning Austin.[114] The following night onRaw, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.[113] However, he would lose the WWF Championship to Mr. McMahon on the September 16, 1999, episode ofSmackDown! before regaining it atUnforgiven in aSix-Pack Challenge that includedBritish Bulldog,Big Show, Kane, The Rock, and Mankind. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin atNo Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show atSurvivor Series. Triple H then continued his feud with Mr. McMahon by marrying his daughterStephanie McMahon and defeating McMahon atArmageddon, which saw Stephanie betray Vince. As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie began, which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; together, they were known as The McMahon-Helmsley Regime.[115]
Triple H participated in the Fatal Four-Way Elimination match main event ofWrestleMania 2000 with Stephanie at his corner for the WWF Championship, becoming the first heel to win the main event of WrestleMania.[116] He would continue to feud with The Rock in the following months, which included a 60-minute Iron Man match between the duo atJudgment Day, a match Triple H won.[117] However, Triple H would lose the title to The Rock in a Six-Man Tag Team Elimination Match at that year'sKing of the Ring. Triple H would then be involved in a love triangle withKurt Angle and Stephanie before revealing himself to be the man who convinced Rikishi to run over Stone Cold Steve Austin the year prior. At the 2001Royal Rumble, Triple H lost to Kurt Angle in a WWF Championship match.[118] Triple H would, unfortunately, suffer a severe quadriceps injury during an episode ofRaw in May 2001, which would lead him to be out of action for the rest of the year.
Chyna made her WWF debut on February 16, 1997, atIn Your House 13: Final Four; her character emerged as aplant from a ringside seat, chokingMarlena whileGoldust was in the ring with Triple H.[119] Her original role in the promotion was as the stoicenforcer/bodyguard for Triple H and later D-Generation X, which was founded by both Triple H and Shawn Michaels. She often helped them cheat to win by physically interfering in matches by executing her trademarklow blow to the groin.[119] She was given the ring name "Chyna", an intentionally ironic moniker;fine china is delicate and fragile, a sharp contrast to her character.[120] Backstage, however, the male wrestlers initially hesitated to let a woman be seen overpowering them on television.[121] Despite this, she would become a prominent member of D-Generation X, and besides competing in the women's division, she would regularly compete against male wrestlers in intergender matches.
Chyna being considerably stronger than any other women in the roster participated in severalIntergender wrestling matches against mid-card male wrestlers and won theIntercontinental champion twice. She defeatedJeff Jarrett atNo Mercy in 1999 to win her first Intercontinental Championship title. Not long after losing the Intercontinental Championship title during her first reign, Chyna became the on-screen girlfriend of the recently debutedEddie Guerrero. Originally seen as villains, they became fan favorites during the summer of 2000, with Guerrero dubbing her his "Mamacita".[122] They facedVal Venis andTrish Stratus in anintergender tag team match atSummerSlam with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.[123] Chyna won the match, but her second reign ended when she lost the belt two weeks later to Guerrero in a Triple Threat match withKurt Angle.[124] The two officially split in November 2000 after Chyna, in storyline, was shown footage of Eddie cavorting in the shower with two other women.[125] Chyna left the WWF on November 30, 2001, several months after she had been taken off of television.[126]
AtSummerSlam in 1996, The Undertaker became embroiled in a feud with his former managerPaul Bearer. During the course of their conflict, Bearer threatened The Undertaker with the threat of revealing his "secret", calling him a "murderer", and accusing him of killing his parents and brother. In the weeks that followed onRaw, Bearer revealed that Kane was actually still alive and that Bearer had an affair with The Undertaker's mother, which produced Kane, meaning Bearer was Kane's biological father. Kane officially debuted atBadd Blood: In Your House, interfering in the inauguralHell in a Cell match between Undertaker andShawn Michaels. Following a series of taunts from Bearer and Kane, who cost him the WWF Championship at theRoyal Rumble, Undertaker, who had previously stated that he would never fight his own brother, agreed to face Kane atWrestleMania XIV. The Undertaker won the match at WrestleMania and proceeded to win the first everInferno Match the following month atUnforgiven.[127]
Kane then teamed with The Undertaker's rivalMankind, and they won the Tag Team Championship on two occasions. In the interim, Kane would win the WWF Championship from Stone Cold Steve Austin during a First Blood main event match atKing of the Ring 1998, which was preceded by aHell in a Cell match between Mankind and The Undertaker that Undertaker had won, but Kane lost the title to Austin the following night onRaw. A few weeks later, thanks to the influence of The Undertaker, Kane turned on Mankind. Following the conclusion of this storyline, The Undertaker and Kane united to form a tag team that became known as The Brothers of Destruction.
In late 1998, The Undertaker turned on Kane and realigned himself with Paul Bearer, both wrestlers executing a double turn in the process. Now a heel and proclaiming himself as the "Ministry of Darkness", Undertaker began taking a more macabre and darker persona, claiming that a "plague of evil" was coming to the WWF. During the weeks that followed, he reignited his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom he blamed for costing him the WWF title. AtRock Bottom: In Your House, Austin defeated the Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with the help of Kane, writing him off of WWF television for a month. As a result, The Corporation had Kane committed to an insane asylum. Kane was then forced to join The Corporation in order to stay out of the insane asylum. He was later betrayed by them and thrown out of the faction.
A 12-minute match between The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin drew a 9.5 rating on June 28, 1999. It stands as one of the highest-rated segment inRaw history. The match was fought for the WWF World Heavyweight Title, and was won by Austin.[128]
The Undertaker and Kane briefly reformed The Brothers of Destruction in the summer of 2000; at this time, Undertaker had recently taken on the "American Badass" biker persona instead of the satanic character he had portrayed previously. Now faces, the two challenged then-Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian for the titles on an episode ofRaw, but due to interference from Kurt Angle, they were disqualified, meaning they didn't win the titles. On the August 14 episode ofRaw, Undertaker faced Chris Benoit in a match where Kane turned heel on Undertaker by chokeslamming him through the ring, and the two feuded with each other once again. This culminated in a match atSummerSlam, which resulted in a no contest when Undertaker unmasked Kane, causing him to flee the ring.[129] On April 19, 2001, episode ofSmackDown! The Undertaker and Kane defeatedEdge and Christian in a no disqualification tag team match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.[130]
Kurt Angle, the 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, debuted at the1999 Survivor Series as a heel who opposed the society and culture of the Attitude Era. Citing his "three I's"; Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence, Angle would hypocritically chastise crowds each week to the crowd's disapproval. In his initial push, he remained undefeated for several weeks, eventually losing to the debutingTazz by passing out at the2000 Royal Rumble.[131] Angle would go on to win the European and Intercontinental championships, holding both titles simultaneously and dubbing himself the "Eurocontinental" champion. Angle lost both the Intercontinental and European championships in a two-fall triple threat match to Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, respectively, without losing a single fall. Angle would go on to win the2000 King of the Ring tournament and be crowned the 2000 King of the Ring.
Kurt Angle would then be involved in a love triangle withTriple H andStephanie McMahon during the summer of 2000, stemming from interactions between Angle and McMahon beginning in December 1999. This would lead to Angle's first PPV main event, where he would face The Rock and Triple H for the WWF Championship atSummerSlam. Following the love triangle, Kurt Angle defeated The Rock to win his first WWF Championship atNo Mercy. Kurt Angle successfully defended the WWF Championship in the first and only 6-man Hell in a Cell match atArmageddon that included The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, The Undertaker, and Rikishi. In February 2001, Angle would lose the WWF Championship back to The Rock atNo Way Out. Later that year at the2001 King of the Ring event Kurt Angle defeatedShane McMahon in a highly acclaimed Street Fight match notable for its extreme brutality, which included spots like Angle throwing McMahon through glass walls and both men suffering legitimate injuries.[132]
Kurt Angle has been cited having the greatest rookie year of not only the Attitude Era but in WWE history, quickly becoming a main star. AtUnforgiven in 2001, Kurt Angle defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to win his second WWF Championship.[133]
D-Generation X officially formed on August 11, 1997, edition ofRaw afterHunter Hearst Helmsley, Chyna, andRick Rude helped Shawn Michaels win his main event match against Mankind. The night afterWrestleMania XIV,Shawn Michaels began a four-year hiatus from in-ring wrestling to recuperate from a severe back injury. Triple H cut a promo claiming that he was taking over D-Generation X and had ejected the absent Michaels for "dropping the ball" after losing the WWF Championship the previous night. Triple H would then recruit theNew Age Outlaws ("Road Dogg" Jesse James and"Bad Ass" Billy Gunn) andX-Pac. On April 28, 1998, WCW'sNitro event was held at theNorfolk Scope inNorfolk, Virginia, whileRaw was held nearby at theHampton Coliseum inHampton, Virginia. With the ongoing war between WWF and WCW, D-X was sent to initiate an immediate "invasion" ofNitro, driving in an armyJeep and challenging WCW headEric Bischoff. Soon after, D-X appeared atCNN Center (as well as WCW's stand-alone Atlanta offices) to call out WCW ownerTed Turner. The stable's popularity continued to rapidly grow, and they were eventuallypushed asantihero fan favorites, much like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.
On the November 6, 2000, episode ofRaw, Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and Triple H, as part of D-Generation X, took onThe Radicalz (Chris Benoit,Eddie Guerrero,Dean Malenko, andPerry Saturn) in an eight-person tag team match, which D-X won. This would be their final match while united in the Era, after which Triple H and Chyna began receiving their own singles pushes while the others fell into the mid and lower cards.[134]
In 1998, storylines involving Mr. McMahon struggling to maintain order within the WWF led to the creation of a new faction, the Corporation. The Corporation was officially formed on November 16, 1998,[135] whenShane and Vince McMahon, along withBig Boss Man,Sgt. Slaughter,Pat Patterson,Gerald Brisco, andThe Rock joined forces. The faction would feud heavily with Stone Cold, D-Generation X, and later the Ministry of Darkness, the latter of which would lead to an eventual merge. The merger would lead to the creation of theCorporate Ministry, a mega-faction led by Shane McMahon and The Undertaker, as well as suffering defections with the creation of the short-livedUnion.
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Upon his return, The Undertaker introduced hisMinistry of Darkness, a satanic-themed stable which would consist ofThe Acolytes (Faarooq andBradshaw),Mideon,Viscera andThe Brood (Edge,Christian, andGangrel). The storyline continued over the weeks that followed, as Undertaker announced his intentions of taking over the WWF and claimed he was working for a "higher power". He began a feud withVince McMahon and his daughterStephanie, with the Ministry burning Undertaker's symbol in the McMahon family yard. AtBacklash: In Your House, The Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie and attempted to marry her to Undertaker the next night onRaw by holding a "Black Wedding". The ceremony was successfully ruined by Steve Austin after two attempts by former Corporation membersBig Show, and Ken Shamrock failed. The Ministry would later merge with the Corporation, forming theCorporate Ministry, which would be involved with most major storylines until July, when they would disband.
In August 1995, WWF debutedTammy Lynn Sytch as "Sunny". According to theToronto Sun, she was able to use "sex appeal, looks and serious wrestling moves" to become famous beyond wrestling,[136] and was named byAOL as the "most downloaded woman of the year" in 1996.[137]Rena Mero made her WWF debut atWrestleMania XII in March 1996; using the name "Sable", she escortedHunter Hearst Helmsley to the ring when he facedThe Ultimate Warrior, and her first major angle involved her then real-life husband "Wildman"Marc Mero.[138] The WWF used both Sunny and Sable inselling sex during 1996, occurring before the Attitude Era and influencing what would later come.[139] Sable quickly eclipsed both her husband and Sunny in popularity, first leading to her becoming an in-ring performer,[138] and later to the reinstatement of theWWF Women's Championship.[140]
Sable would become the first WWF female to refer to herself as a "Diva";[140] the term would be coined and shortly thereafter became the official title for WWF's female performers. The use of Sable as an on-screen character was increasingly sexual, including competing in the first "bikini contest" againstJacqueline atFully Loaded: In Your House.[140] Her on-screen popularity resulted in her breaking through into mainstream pop culture, becoming the first wrestler to appear on the cover ofPlayboy.[140] Sable was considered the "blonde bombshell", the usage of Sable's appealing appearance to draw more male viewers reignited the interest in the women's division[141] and wrestling journalistDave Meltzer has described her as a "huge ratings draw".[142] Sable later said that it was written into her contract that she was not allowed to take bumps.[143] Even rivalWCW's management was worried about Sable's attractiveness being a huge drawing factor for male viewers during that time.[144]
The Sable character would eventually be transitioned into a heel,[145] and soon after the relationship between the WWF and Mero would break down, with Mero filing a $110 million lawsuit, saying that the WWF had become increasingly "obscene, titillating, vulgar and unsafe", and alleged that she was asked to perform in lesbian storylines, as well as being requested to strip on live television.[146] Sable's rise in popularity was repeated by Chyna, who would be featured in a more prominent role; in addition to being prominently featured in legitimate wrestling matches against both women and men, she would also be featured twice on the cover of Playboy,[147] and her autobiography reached number one onThe New York Times Best Seller list, the fourth by a wrestler to achieve the feat.[148][149]Miss Kitty, who was Chyna's manager, notably flashed her breasts duringArmageddon 1999, consenting to do in a WWF attempt to attract more 18-34-year-old males.[150]
Lita made her WWF debut as a valet forEssa Rios on the February 13, 2000, episode ofSunday Night Heat, where Rios won theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship fromGillberg.[151] During the match, Lita captured the attention of the fans and viewers by mimicking Rios' moves, notably themoonsault andhurricanrana.[151] Lita eventually left Rios' side and allied withThe Hardy Boyz, and the trio formed astable known asTeam Xtreme. As a member of Team Xtreme, Lita developed a more "alternative" image,[151] and her popularity greatly increased.[152]
In June 2000, the trio began a storyline withT & A (Test andAlbert), with Lita engaging in a rivalry with their manager,Trish Stratus.[153] Lita also began a concurrent feud with WWF Women's ChampionStephanie McMahon, who was promoted at the time as being one of the biggest stars in the company.[154] On the August 21, 2000 episode ofRaw, Lita defeated McMahon for the Women's Championship, her first championship win.[155] McMahon would later describe the moment as an "incredible privilege".[156] In 2001, Stratus and McMahon took part in their own storyline revolving around Stephanie's father Vince; Stratus later noted that the female performers had moved from being on the side of storylines to being a "viable part of the program".[157]
Frustrated over WCW's refusal to allow him to wrestleGoldberg, as well as various other issues,Chris Jericho left WCW and signed with the WWF on June 30, 1999. On the August 9 episode ofRaw, he officially made his debut, referring to himself as "Y2J" (a play on theY2K frenzy) and began feuds with The Rock, Chyna,Kurt Angle andChris Benoit while capturing the Intercontinental andEuropean championships on several occasions in the era. On the April 17, 2000 episode ofRaw, Jericho defeated Triple H to seemingly win the WWF Championship, but the decision was reversed by refereeEarl Hebner under pressure from Triple H. Therefore, the company does not officially recognize Jericho's supposed title reign. Jericho continued to feud with Triple H throughout 2000, leading to a Last Man Standing match atFully Loaded, which Triple H won. Jericho would maintain a prominent spot on the roster, becoming a fixture in both the mid-card and upper-card. Jericho would go on to defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night atVengeance 2001, becoming the first Undisputed WWF Champion in the process.[158] In the main event ofWrestleMania X8, Jericho lost the Undisputed WWF Championship to Triple H.[159]
Many other WCW wrestlers, who were unhappy with the disorganization, backstage environment, andworkplace politics of the promotion, jumped ship to the WWF. The first high-profile acquisition wasPaul Wight, who had previously wrestled as "The Giant" in WCW since 1995. Wight allowed his WCW contract to expire on February 8, 1999, whenEric Bischoff denied his request for a pay increase.[160] He signed with the WWF the next day and debuted atSt. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House as "The Big Show" Paul Wight, Mr. McMahon's enforcer in The Corporation. AtSurvivor Series in November 1999, The Big Show defeated The Rock and Triple H in a triple threat match to win the WWF Championship.[161]
In January 2000,Chris Benoit,Eddie Guerrero,Dean Malenko andPerry Saturn left WCW for the WWF. Benoit had just defeatedSid Vicious for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship atSouled Out 2000 on January 17, but the decision was reversed after disputes with WCW management. The quartet made their television debut on the January 31 episode ofRaw as audience members and backstage guests of Mick Foley before attacking the New Age Outlaws. They were offered a chance to "win" contracts by defeating members of D-Generation X in a series of three matches. Despite losing all three matches, they were given WWF contracts by Triple H in exchange for betraying Foley. The quartet became known asThe Radicalz.
Brawling in places outside the ring was a staple feature of the Attitude Era, and on November 2, 1998, the Hardcore Championship was introduced whenMr. McMahon giftedMankind the championship belt.[162] Hardcore matches were no-disqualification, no-count-out, falls count anywhere matches, involving a variety of weapons. Wrestlers would often take their matches outside the ring into other parts of the arena and occasionally outside the arena.[163] Frequent participants in the Hardcore division includedAl Snow,Crash Holly,Steve Blackman, andRaven. Raven was the most successful wrestler in this division, winning the championship on 27 separate occasions. Another stipulation was introduced when Crash won the belt, known as the "24/7 rule", meaning the belt was to be defended any place, at any time of day, so long as a referee was present.[163] This rule has allowed the shortest title reigns and quickest title changes in the company's history, and four women have held the Hardcore Championship:Molly Holly (as Mighty Molly),Trish Stratus,Terri Runnels, and one of The Godfather'shos.[163] For the first time, the Hardcore Championship was contested in a ladder match in 2001 atSummerSlam where Rob Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy. When the Attitude Era ended, the championship was retired and unified with the Intercontinental Championship on August 26, 2002, after Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer, unifying the titles.[162][163]
While members of "The New Brood", The Hardy Boyz faced off againstEdge &Christian (the original Brood) in the first-ever tag team ladder match, the final match of the "Terri Invitational Tournament" atNo Mercy in October 1999. The Hardys won the match and subsequently the services ofTerri Runnels as their manager. During this time, theDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray andD-Von) debuted in the summer of 1999 following their departure from ECW. They were initially villains and were largely responsible for popularizing the use of wooden tables as weapons in professional wrestling. Bubba Ray, in particular, became notorious for putting women through tables, includingMae Young.[164] In January 2000, the Dudleys faced off against The Hardy Boyz in the first-ever tag team Table match at theRoyal Rumble, which the Hardys won.
Eventually, the three teams were brought together in a chaotic triangle ladder match atWrestleMania 2000 for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Edge and Christian won the match and the titles, and this would be the first of several matches involving the three tag teams. Edge and Christian soon developed the "con-chair-to" (a play on the word "concerto") finishing move, which involved the two hitting an opponent's head simultaneously, on opposite sides, with steel chairs (which simulated the clashing ofcymbals). This led to then-WWF Commissioner Mick Foley to make the first-everTables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC) atSummerSlam in August 2000, also won by Edge and Christian. The following year, a second TLC match, dubbed "TLC II", occurred atWrestleMania X-Seven and is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. This match, which Edge and Christian yet again won, also featured interference fromRhyno, the lackey of Edge and Christian;Spike Dudley, the half-brother of Bubba Ray and D-Von; andLita, the stable mate of Matt and Jeff Hardy.
At the beginning of the era, whenBret Hart planned his exit from the company, he was reportedly also unhappy with the new direction that the WWF was taking.[73] On November 8, 1997, Vince McMahon responded to WWF fans in an online letter published on hisAOL site, where he stated:[165]
In this age of sports-entertainment, the World Wrestling Federation REFUSES to insult its audience in terms of "Baby Faces" and "Heels". In 1997, how many people do you truly know who are strictly "good" guys or "bad" guys? [..] You DEMAND a more sophisticated approach! You DEMAND to be intellectually challenged! You DEMAND a product with ATTITUDE, and as owner of this company--it is my responsibility to give you exactly what you want!
The changes made to create the Attitude Era paid off as it saved the WWF as a company. In 1998, television viewership ofRaw Is War doubled.[166] In the ratings war,Raw began matchingNitro. However both companies benefitted from an overall boom in professional wrestling that year, pushing it into mainstream relevance (to levels last seen during thelate 80s) filling up the most watched TV shows in the US, a large increase in PPV sales and a boom in merchandise.[167] Attendance at WWF live events more than doubled, from 1.1 million to 2.5 million, from 1997 to 1999, whereasRaw Is War also became the most watched show on US cable TV.[8]
Vince McMahon referred to the revamped wrestling as "storytelling" and that viewers tune in for "entertainment". He also commented, in response to criticism, that wrestling is less violent or sexually suggestive compared to pop culture.[167] Others in the industry called McMahon a "creative genius", praising him for his aggressive and ambitious business style.[8]
By 1999, WCW was fading whereas the WWF was continuing to ride the wave of the Attitude Era success. WWF would eventually purchase WCW outright in 2001 and incorporate its properties and talent into the Attitude Era.[168]Wrestlemania 2000 became the highest-grossing non-boxing PPV of all time.[8]
There was also criticism against the WWF regarding its content and how appropriate it is to children, particularly with wrestling's origins as a family-oriented show. Gimmicks such asThe Godfather (a pimp who enlists women in his "whore train")[169] andVal Venis (a pornographic actor), as well as slogans such as the "Suck It" ofD-Generation X, were a cause of concern among some parents and others.[8]Eric Bischoff, president of the rival World Championship Wrestling, was not a fan of some of the Attitude WWF content, having said that controversial incidents "advance the idea that pro wrestling is low-brow entertainment, which may dissuade mainstream companies from advertising. [..] What (McMahon) is doing is going to further stigmatize the product in terms of entertainment value."[84] WCW'sNitro show did not have such lurid displays of sex.[169]Phil Mushnick had also accused the WWF's content for negative ethnic stereotyping, homophobia and misogyny.[8] Mushnick also wrote, in a January 1999 column, thatRaw had turned into "prime-timepornography for children".[170]
WWF programming also became accused by opposers of having been turned into "trash TV". However, the WWF was not alone since there had been a general rise of popularity in trash TV at the time of the Attitude Era.[171] In late 1999,Parents Television Council (PTC) founderL. Brent Bozell III began a campaign to pressure companies to pull advertising from WWF programming,[172] due to the content becoming characterized by "cheap sex, vulgarity and violence of the most sadistic sort".[173] ManyFortune 500 companies had been keen to associate themselves with the WWF due to their transformation into "theater-in-the-round redone as 'roid rage, jam-packed with charismatic, monumental players, prime-time-worthy production values, and labyrinthine plot machinations".[174] Having lost several advertisers forSmackDown,[175][176] which as abroadcast TV show wouldde facto adhere to stricter standards compared tocable TV,[84] the campaign forced the WWF to change the content portrayed on their programming, with McMahon saying that there would be "less aggression, less-colorful language, less sexuality", and controversial characters would be appearing less frequently.[177]
The following year, WWF filed a lawsuit against the PTC, claiming they had used threats and lies to drive advertisers away.[178] The PTC accused the WWF of being responsible for several young children's deaths, including that of six-year-old Tiffany Eunick byLionel Tate,[179] for whichDwayne Johnson received asubpoena to testify in 1998.[180] Shortly before filing the lawsuit, WWF and McMahon had begun a storyline where wrestlerStevie Richards, changed his name to Steven Richards and began attempting to "clean up" the company, forming the "Right to Censor" stable, eventually adding characters previously portraying apimp (The Godfather) and aporn actor (Val Venis).[181]
In 2001, federal judgeDenny Chin threw out a motion put forth by the PTC in an attempt to have the charges dismissed,[182] and the following year the WWF was awarded damages of $3.5 million, and Bozell apologized for the accusations made.[183] In 2001, international broadcasterChannel 4, who aired WWF programming in theUnited Kingdom, declined to renew their contract, citing the concern of the "increasingly extreme nature" of the programs.[184] This followed Channel 4 being told by theIndependent Television Commission earlier in the year that they were wrong to air a violent scene involving a sledgehammer.[185] InIreland, theIrish Film Classification Office banned 13 home video releases from a possible 70 over a three-year period, with age restrictions on 55 of the 70.[186]
On October 3, 1999,Vince Russo andEd Ferrara abruptly left the WWF and signed with WCW;[187] Russo contends that his reason for leaving the WWF was the result of a dispute with Vince McMahon over the increased workload caused by the introduction of the newSmackDown! broadcast and McMahon's disregard of Russo's family. Vince Russo is credited with inventing the "Crash TV" format of shorter story based TV matches with no matches going into commercial, No matches would go over 8 minutes except a main event, and skit-heavy, personal reality-based television took stories and rivalries beyond the scope of an arena, which led to peak cable televisionratings andprofitability for the WWF.[188] However, the WCW fanbase, which consisted mainly of rural, older traditional wrestling fans from theSouthern States, did not welcome Russo's "Crash TV" formula in their programming and almost entirely stopped watching it altogether.[189]
Following the departures of Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara,Chris Kreski would take over the position as head writer of theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).[190] Kreski was later replaced as head writer by Stephanie McMahon following October'sNo Mercy PPV 2000 event,[191] but remained on the creative team until 2002, when he left to pursue other opportunities.[190]
In January 2001,AOL Time Warner announced they were to sell WCW to a group of investors calledFusient Media Ventures, with the provision that they would continue television broadcasts onTNT.[192][193] However, in March, AOL Time Warner announced that they would be ending the broadcasting of professional wrestling across theirTurner networks,[194] causing the abrupt end of the sale. Later that week, it was announced that the WWF had purchased the remaining assets and select contracts of WCW[195] from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million,[196] putting an official end to the Monday Night War.[197] Linda McMahon stated that the purchase had great cross-brand potential,[198] and described it as the "perfect creative and business catalyst for our company".[199]Paul Levesque attributed WCW's downfall to a lack of respect, and that WWF would continue to be successful despite the end of the rivalry.[200] The end of WCW was followed in April 2001 by ECW filing for bankruptcy;[201] ushering in the Invasion storyline. In 2003, ECW and its assets were purchased by WWE.[202]
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On April 1, 2001, WrestleMania X-Seven took place and is generally considered as the other main catalyst to the eventual decline of the Attitude Era. The final match of the night was the WWF Championship match betweenThe Rock andStone Cold Steve Austin, which had a surpriseno disqualification stipulation added just minutes before the superstars were introduced. During the match, the two brawled inside and outside of the ring, with both men bleeding after hitting each other with the ring bell. The Rock attempted to place Austin in aSharpshooter hold, but Austin reversed it into a Sharpshooter of his own. After Rock reached the ropes to force a break, Austin applied theMillion Dollar Dream, a submission hold best known from his former gimmick, The Ringmaster. Shortly after, Rock used Austin's own finishing maneuver on Austin by executing aStunner. Vince McMahon then came to ringside to observe the match. When Rock tried to pin Austin after thePeople's Elbow, McMahon seized Rock's leg and pulled him off Austin, breaking the pin attempt. After chasing McMahon around the ring, Austin responded by using Rock's signature move, theRock Bottom. Later, Rock executed a Rock Bottom for a near fall. After Rock attacked McMahon, he was given a Stunner by Austin for a near fall. After Rock kicked out of the Stunner, McMahon handed Austin a steel chair to hit Rock with at Austin's request, revealing that Austin had sided with McMahon, a man he once considered hisnemesis. With this, Austin turnedheel. Austin attacked him with the steel chair, hitting him sixteen times before pinning him and becoming the new WWF Champion. The show ended with Austin and McMahon shaking hands and sharing beers.
Following the April 2, 2001 edition ofRaw Is War, The Rock departed on hiatus from the WWF to take time off until he returned to the WWF on July 30, 2001 during the Invasion storyline.
The combination of Austin's heel turn, which had a very mixed reception from fans, along with the departure of The Rock and the closing of WCW, effectively ended the boom period.
In the Invasion storyline,Shane McMahon (kayfabe) acquiredWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001, and WCW personnel invaded WWF. For the first time since the Monday Night War, WWF's purchase of WCW had made a major American inter-promotional feud possible, but the Invasion turned out to be a disappointment to many fans. One main reason would be that many of WCW's big-name stars were still under contract to WCW's old parent company,AOL Time Warner, rather than WCW itself, and their contracts were not included in the purchase of the company. Although these wrestlers could, in theory, choose to sign and appear with the WWF, they instead chose to sit out the duration of their contracts and befinancially supported by AOL Time Warner rather than work for WWF for a cheaper salary. These names includedGoldberg,Sting,Scott Steiner,Scott Hall,Kevin Nash,Hulk Hogan, andRic Flair.
On July 9, 2001, the stars of WCW andExtreme Championship Wrestling (acquired byStephanie McMahon in a related storyline) joined forces, formingThe Alliance with WCW owner Shane McMahon and the new owner of ECW Stephanie McMahon leading the charge, with the support and influence of original ECW ownerPaul Heyman. AtInvasion, Stone Cold Steve Austin turned on the WWF and helped the Alliance win the Inaugural Brawl.[203] AtSurvivor Series, WWF finally defeated WCW and ECW in a "Winner Takes All" match, and the angle was concluded. In the aftermath of the Invasion angle, WWF made several major changes to their product.Ric Flair returned to the WWF as "co-owner" of the company, feuding with Vince McMahon.Jerry Lawler returned to the company after a nine-month hiatus after his replacement on commentary,Paul Heyman, was fired on-screen by Vince McMahon. Several former Alliance stars were absorbed into the regular WWF roster, such asBooker T,The Hurricane,Lance Storm, andRob Van Dam. AtVengeance 2001,Chris Jericho went on to unify theWCW Championship andWWF Championship, beating both The Rock and Steve Austin on the same night.[204]
Eventually, Vince McMahon brought back Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall to reunite thenWo at theNo Way Out pay-per-view in February 2002. However, Hogan proved to be too popular with nostalgic fans yearning for the return of "Hulkamania" and soon turned face atWrestleMania X8 after his classic match with The Rock, which The Rock won.
Hulk Hogan would later win the WWF Championship from Triple H atBacklash and become the Attitude Era's final WWF Champion.
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In the aftermath of theSeptember 11 attacks and the upcomingUnited States invasion of Afghanistan in response weeks later, the WWF changedRaw Is War back to simplyRaw on October 1, 2001, to remove the reference to war and to signify that the Monday Night War was indeed over after WWF purchased WCW back in March. As a result, the second hour ofWar Zone was renamedRaw Zone to coincide with the dropping of the "War" line.
With an excess of talent employed as a result of having purchased WCW and later ECW, the WWF needed a way to provide exposure for all of its talent. This problem was solved by introducing a "brand extension", with the roster split in half and the talent assigned to eitherRaw orSmackDown! in a mockdraft lottery held on the March 25, 2002, edition ofRaw. Wrestlers, commentators, and referees became show-exclusive, and the shows were given separate on-screen General Managers. The brand extension came into effect on April 1, 2002. Later in 2002, afterWWE ChampionBrock Lesnar announced himself as the exclusive property of theSmackDown! brand and with the creation of theWorld Heavyweight Championship, all the championships became show-exclusive as well. Additionally, bothRaw andSmackDown! began to stage individual bi-monthly pay-per-view events featuring only performers from that brand – only the major four pay-per-viewsRoyal Rumble,WrestleMania,SummerSlam andSurvivor Series remained dual-branded.[citation needed] The practice of single-brand pay-per-view events was abandoned followingWrestleMania 23.[205] In effect,Raw andSmackDown! were operated as two distinct promotions, with adraft lottery taking place each year to determine which talent was assigned to each brand. The first draft was held to determine the inaugural split rosters, while subsequent drafts were designed to refresh the rosters of each show. This lasted until August 2011, when the rosters were merged, and the Brand Extension was quietly phased out.[206]
On May 6, 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) rebranded as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), after losing a long-runninglegal dispute with theWorld Wide Fund for Nature over the use of the "WWF" initialism.[207] WWE altered its "scratch" logo to omit the "F", and also replaced "WWF Attitude" references with "Get the F Out!" references and other slogans referencing "WWE".[3]
A month later, on June 10, 2002, Stone Cold Steve Austin failed to appear on that night's episode ofRaw and was effectively released from the company; similar events had allegedly taken place in the weeks following WrestleMania X8 stemming from Austin's frustration with his character's direction.[208]
Because of the trademark ruling, the company transitioned into its Ruthless Aggression Era on May 6, 2002,[6] and on the June 24 showing ofRaw, Vince McMahon officially named the new era as such to motivate the younger roster. The Ruthless Aggression Era featured many elements of the Attitude Era, including similar levels of violence, sexual content, and profanity, whilst placing a greater emphasis on in-ring action.[209]
The Attitude Era's success has had a lasting impact. Many consider it the best era of the WWE, or professional wrestling overall, with some fans requesting the WWE to return to the format.[210] On the flip side, others have been critical of the era.Edge, who debuted in 1998, said in a 2014 interview: "The Attitude Era was a lot about the hijinks backstage, and the matches kind of got forgotten about" and "It's looked at with rose colored glasses because the ratings were good, and it was working for obvious reasons, but to me those obvious reasons were characters like Stone Cold, who would then get in and have a long match at a PPV."[211] The"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase said he prefers thePG Era and that while Attitude had good and funny bits, he was not a fan of the "sleazy" content.[212][213] CommentatorJim Ross said the era had "some embarrassingly bad television" but at the same time "some incredible television that got ratings that were absolutely tremendous."[214]
There has also been criticism for macho sexism produced during this era, albeit one that was familiar in the media during the time of the turn of the century.[215]Stephanie McMahon commented in a documentary that "it was not easy being a woman in that period," referring that the sexiness of female wrestlers was "exploited" during this period.Trish Stratus said that producers would often direct diva matches to be like "catfights" instead of real fighting.[216] In the years after the Attitude Era, female wrestlers received better training, longer matches and more "competition", which became most evident on December 6, 2004 when Trish Stratus andLita were booked for a high-profile main event match onRaw.[216]
WWE superstarCody Rhodes said in 2024: "I'm most excited that we no longer have to stand in the shadow of the Attitude Era", referring to the company's recent events such asWrestlemania 40 being more successful than in the Attitude Era in numerical terms.[217]Booker T, who wrestled during the Attitude Era from 2001 to 2002, acknowledged its impact and added that while it "was a part of your life and my life", he also stated that "we can't talk about the Attitude Era forever. We need to move past it sooner or later. We're going to have to start talking about this next generation."[217]
High levels of violence, sexual content, and profanity were significantly cut back from WWE programming in 2008 when the promotion adapted a more family-friendly format and entered itsPG Era, in direct contrast to the Attitude Era; McMahon described the move as having removed the "excess" that was introduced during the Attitude Era.[218]
On November 20, 2012, a three-disc documentary set simply entitledThe Attitude Era was released onDVD andBlu-ray. The video cover is a collage of WWF Superstars and celebrities of that era, designed as a parody ofThe Beatles'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.[219][220] Volume 2 was released in November 2014. Volume 3 was released on August 9, 2016. Volume 4, 1997: Dawn of the Attitude, was released on October 3, 2017.[221] Volume 5, Best of 1996: Prelude to Attitude, was released on November 29, 2021.[19]
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Many video games were released by WWF based on the Attitude Era, with some of the most notable titles beingWWF War Zone,WWF Attitude,WWF WrestleMania 2000,WWF No Mercy,WWF Royal Rumble,WWF SmackDown!,WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It, WWF Road to WrestleMania, WWF RAW, and WWE WrestleMania X8.
A video game entitledWWE '13, which was released in October 2012, paid tribute to the era with its "Attitude Era" mode, which allows the player to re-enact WWF matches and storytelling fromSummerSlam in August 1997 toWrestleMania XV in March 1999. Also, in WWE '13, there is an "Off Script", including the debut of Smackdown! in April 1999 to the match between Trish Stratus and Lita on Monday Night Raw in November 2001. The video game first entitledWWE 2K14 featured some of the four WrestleMania matches based on the Attitude Era as well, withWrestleMania XIV and XV having previously appeared inWWE Legends of WrestleMania prior to their appearances inWWE '13 andWWE 2K14. The video game entitledWWE 2K16 featured some events of the Attitude Era specifically related toStone Cold Steve Austin, who was also on the game's cover.
In 1998, the WWF releasedWWF The Music, Volume 3, which achievedplatinum status in the United States, signifying one million sales,[222][223] whileWWF The Music, Volume 4 reached number five in theCanadian Albums Chart in 1999.[224] Following this, WWF and their composerJim Johnston would collaborate with mainstreamhip hop androck musicians for albums,[224] and Johnston would often hand-pick artists to work with on new theme songs with WWF Aggression album in 2000.[225] In 2001,WWF The Music, Vol. 5 reached number two on theBillboard 200 and number five in the Canadian andUK Albums Chart.[226]
The major news around the wrestling world recently has been the World Wrestling Federation's idea of possibly turning "Stone Cold" Steve Austin into a heel. Austin's popularity has been diminishing during the last few months, and The Rock clearly has become the No. 1 man in the organization. The problem the WWF has with turning Austin into a heel is that he has no friends and does not associate himself with anyone. Pitting him against honcho Vince McMahon again would not work because the fans would turn on McMahon. The only solution for the WWF is to put Austin with Hunter Hearst Helmsley in Degeneration X. The WWF's hope is to have Austin face The Rock at WrestleMania next April.
