The Attitude Era: Wrestling's Wildest Time (1997-2001)

What Was the Attitude Era?

The Attitude Era is generally defined as the period from late 1997 (the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series) through early 2001 (WWE's acquisition of WCW and ECW). It was WWE's response to losing the ratings war to WCW's New World Order storyline. Vince McMahon's answer was to blow up the family-friendly product and go in the exact opposite direction: adult humor, real-world violence, sex, foul language, blood, and characters that felt dangerous.

The result was the greatest commercial turnaround in pro wrestling history. In early 1997, WWE was losing $1 million a month and Vince was quietly considering selling the company. By 2000, WWE was drawing the highest TV ratings in its history, running two prime-time weekly shows on TNN and USA, and printing money.

The Montreal Screwjob

Every retrospective of the Attitude Era has to start with Montreal. At Survivor Series 1997, champion Bret Hart was supposed to face Shawn Michaels in Hart's home country of Canada, then drop the title on Raw the next night before leaving for WCW. Bret refused to lose to Shawn in Montreal. Vince promised it would work out. Instead, Vince ordered referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell the moment Shawn put Bret in the sharpshooter, ending the match against Bret's wishes.

The incident created the “Mr. McMahon” heel character that would define the next four years of WWE television. Vince went from corporate figurehead to on-screen villain almost overnight, and his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin became the biggest draw in pro wrestling history.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

If the Attitude Era has a single face, it's Steve Austin. His character — the beer-drinking, middle-finger-flipping, boss-hating Texan — was the perfect avatar for late-90s American frustration. Fans who hated their own bosses could live vicariously through Stone Cold destroying his.

Austin's “Austin 3:16” promo at King of the Ring 1996 is generally considered the birth of the character, but his real superstar run started at WrestleMania 13 (1997), where his submission loss to Bret Hart turned him babyface via one of the greatest double-turn matches ever. By 1998, he was WWE Champion, and the company's business was rocket-shipping upward.

The Rock

While Austin was the working-class avatar, The Rock was the charisma machine. Dwayne Johnson had started his career as the smiling babyface Rocky Maivia — a disastrously-booked “blue chipper” the crowd hated. His 1997 turn to join the Nation of Domination, where he began cutting the most electric promos in company history, saved his career.

By 1998, The Rock was a main-eventer. His mic work — third-person self-referencing, eyebrow-raising, catchphrase-chaining — became the template for every wrestler who came after him. His matches with Austin at WrestleMania 15, 17, and 19 are all considered classics.

D-Generation X

DX — originally Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, and Rick Rude — was the edgy faction that embodied the Attitude Era's rebellious sensibility. Their “invasion” of WCW (parking a tank outside a Nitro arena in 1998) is one of the most famous segments in pro wrestling history. Their crotch chops, “suck it” catchphrase, and bathroom humor were the literal opposite of WWE's earlier family-friendly product.

After Shawn Michaels' back injury forced him out in 1998, Triple H took over as DX leader and the group evolved to include X-Pac, the New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), and later Chyna. This “second” DX was one of the hottest acts of 1998-1999.

The Supporting Cast

The Attitude Era was deep. Beyond Austin, Rock, DX, and Vince, the roster featured:

• The Undertaker — who transformed from dark-gothic Phenom to the Ministry of Darkness cult leader.
• Mankind / Mick Foley — whose Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998 is one of the most famous spectacles in wrestling history.
• Kane — Undertaker's masked “brother” who became a monster top-tier heel.
• Edge & Christian, the Hardy Boyz, and the Dudleys — the three-way tag team division that produced TLC matches and redefined what tag wrestling could be.
• Chyna — the “Ninth Wonder of the World” who became the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble and win the Intercontinental Championship.
• Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Dean Malenko — ex-WCW Radicalz who jumped ship in early 2000 and instantly elevated the mid-card.

The Content Problem

The Attitude Era pushed boundaries hard — and some of what aired has not aged well. Characters and storylines involving sexual harassment, necrophilia, crucifixion imagery, and racial caricature were routine. By modern standards, much of the programming was actively offensive. WWE's current PG era is partly a direct reaction to the content of Attitude.

It's important to be honest about this. The Attitude Era was commercially successful partly because it was willing to offend — but “willing to offend” isn't automatically artistically good. The best parts of the Attitude Era were the character work, the in-ring action, and the storytelling. The worst parts were exploitation and shock for shock's sake.

The End: WCW's Death

In March 2001, Vince McMahon bought WCW for approximately $4.2 million after AOL Time Warner decided to stop producing wrestling content. The final episode of Nitro aired on March 26, 2001, with Vince simulcasting from Raw and announcing the purchase on-air. ECW followed into bankruptcy a few months later.

For a brief window in 2001, Vince McMahon owned the entire US wrestling landscape. The “Invasion” storyline that followed — WCW and ECW wrestlers “invading” WWE — was widely considered a creative disappointment, and many fans mark the end of the Attitude Era as the moment WCW died without a proper in-ring conclusion.

Legacy

The Attitude Era is the most-watched, most-remembered, and most-debated period in WWE history. It's the era that turned Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, and Undertaker into household names. It's the era that produced WrestleMania X-7 (still the best WrestleMania of all time for many fans). It's the era that saved the company from bankruptcy and set up the modern business structure.

It's also the era that WWE has spent the last 20 years trying to live down the worst of and live up to the best of. Every fan who complains that modern WWE “isn't edgy anymore” is really saying they miss Attitude. Every wrestler who complains that modern WWE “isn't star-making anymore” is also measuring against Attitude. Nothing like it will ever happen again — the TV landscape that enabled it no longer exists. But for four years, professional wrestling was the biggest thing on cable television.