The End of the Attitude Era

Well let’s start with the obvious - why is this “the end”? 

The short answer is because Stone Cold Steve Austin just turned heel. Hell has frozen over. And in truth that is the whole answer. That symbolises a lot of changes for the company and sadly they are mostly for the worse.

The Attitude era began officially in December 1997 with the speech given by Vince McMahon which is posted elsewhere on this website BUT, the WWF’ TV ratings and PPV buys remained stagnant at that point. They were still losing to WCW Monday Nitro every single week. It wasn’t until March 1998 and the first World title victory of Steve Austin that the company’s fortunes changed and a rocketship was strapped to both the ratings and income. The WWF became a household brand and one of the hottest properties in the world - make no mistake, while the WWE has had more profitable years since this period, it has never achieved the white hot, mainstream status it attained in the late 90s. The world was a very different place of course and I don’t think anything can become as hot for as long as the WWF did then but being a wrestling fan from 1998 - 2001 was truly magical. People didn’t just like the WWF - millions of people were OBSESSED with the WWF. That started with Stone Cold winning the WWF title and beginning his feud with Mr. McMahon and so it’s fitting that it ends with him winning the WWF title and beginning a partnership with Mr. McMahon.

His heel turn at Wrestlemania X7 was the first huge creative misfire for the company in quite some time. Austin pushed for the change because he was bored of playing a good guy and because he was well aware that he wasn’t as popular post-neck surgery as he had been during his 1998 - 1999 peak. Having watched this whole period with fresh eyes I’d actually argue pretty strongly that Stone Cold’s peak was the summer of 1999. So yes he pushed for this heel turn but it failed right out of the gate because while he wasn’t as popular as he had been, almost no one wanted to actually BOO the Rattlesnake either. On the night, many people viewed his shaking hands with McMahon as a face turn for Vince, rather than a heel turn for Austin. 

Stone Cold himself has said many times he regrets this change in hindsight, but Steve is and always has been a world class performer. He played a heel brilliantly. The bigger issue was that there was no one for him to work with - The Rock made his first departure from the company the next night on Raw and would be gone until the late summer. It wasn’t long before Hollywood came calling on a more permanent basis and just like that, the WWF (by then WWE) was down its two biggest stars. With no top babyface to work with, Austin was left working with the same man he worked with for the bulk of his first title run in 1998, and for a huge chunk of his second title run in 1999 - The Undertaker. That, in a nutshell, was the WWF’s entire issue in 2001.

Looking away from Steve Austin for a moment, the company had a much bigger issue - lack of fresh matches and talent. The WWF hit its heights by throwing EVERYTHING at us every single week. Every Raw was booked to feature an entire month’s worth of storyline developments packed into a 90 minute show. They blew through six and eight month long feuds and stories in a matter of weeks because the culture and the ratings demanded it. It brought the WWF to its most relevant ever but after three years of that - there was nothing left in the tank.

All those midcard guys people wanted to see rise like Triple H, The Rock and Mick Foley? They all had, and had main evented many, many PPVs by 2001. The Undertaker, Kane and yes, Stone Cold Steve Austin himself had worked with everyone - often more than once. All of the fresh, new names (mostly signed from WCW and ECW) had been rushed up the card and by late 2000 people like Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle had already been main eventers (and in the case for Jericho and Benoit, failed to win the title multiple times and fans had moved on). By late 2000 the WWF had almost no fresh matches and feuds left and by mid-2001, it was officially a problem. The influx of talent from WCW and ECW helped prolong the inevitable but by 2002 there was no turning back.

Many people have said that the death of WCW and ECW is what killed the WWF’s momentum. It is a fact that from Wrestlemania X7 onwards the ratings and buyrates began a steady decline and by the mid 2000s, the company was a fraction as popular as it had been at its peak. The company has always remained profitable with a large, loyal fanbase but nothing compared to the late 90s heyday. Was it the lack of new, established stars being fed into the roster? Was it the lack of competition allowing the WWE to get lazy creatively? Yes, both of those things are true and hurt the company creatively but the bigger part was that the WWF in the Attitude era was a TV show who’s popularity had exploded. It was Seinfeld, Friends, South Park and Everybody Loves Raymond. It had its time of pulling in massive ratings and media coverage and then? Everyone got tired of it and moved on. Those other TV shows all had the luxury of ending their runs once the interest died but the WWE has soldiered on long past their peak. So has South Park, The Simpsons and Family Guy but animated characters don’t age do they?