No More Attitude Era – Scotts Blog of Doom!

Hi Scott,

In a recent interview, Wade Barrett talked about how when the Attitude Era was going on in WWF it lost fans and the "product now is much better in that way because everyone from the kids to the adults to their grandfathers and grandmothers can watch the show". He also went on to say that WWE won't go back to the Attitude Era again, I'm assuming because having Lana come out in pasties would alienate anyone under the age of 11. Reading this left me kind of irked, so here are my questions to you:

1. Has WWE forgotten how much money they made during that time? I'm assuming this is just Soviet Revisionism at its finest here.

2. Do you see WWE going to a more "attitude" phase at all? Like when they start losing the current audience (ie revenue) they have?

3. Is it wrong that the statements made feel like an insult on the time when I enjoyed this company? I started in 2000 and loved WWF, it got me back into wrestling. I feel like the current regime is telling me that I was wrong for liking that period.

Sorry for going on a bit. Thanks for reading!

Here's the interview in question: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/interview-exclusive-interview-wwe-superstar-bad-news-barrett-speaks-about-the-nexus-john-cena-wwe-2k15-attitude-era-and-more-2019904

Wes

1. They made a lot of money, but ultimately lost a LOT of sponsors. Like once the PTC b------- came down there were a ton of mainstream advertisers that would no longer touch them with a ten-foot pole. Switching to PG was an act of self-preservation as much as anything.

2. Doubtful. The toothpaste is out of that tube for good and now they have to micromanage that kind of thing for the investors. I just can't see them throwing away all their kid-friendly sponsorships for some boobs and blood.

3. That period was great because there were well-written characters with clear motivations and storylines that made sense. I honestly couldn't care less if I ever saw another broken table or bladejob in WWE again. People vastly overrate the impact of TV-14, as Russo proved when he went to TNA and shockingly didn't turn around the product by having thumbtacks on every episode.