The WWE is always harping on about the Attitude Era. If they’re not plugging their “critically acclaimed” Monday Night War series, they are gloating about past successes while subtly bashing a long-dead company. However, despite the company’s love of the Attitude Era, there’s a considerable lack of attitude anywhere within the company.
When the company first announced the WWE Network, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to cash in on nostalgic fans eager to relive the glory days. After all, those kids that grew up in the 90s watching Austin and the Rock were now adults with college degrees and full-time jobs, so it seemed like a no brainer to try to reel in old fans that departed over the past decade.
During the lead-up to the Network launch, it was promised that every pay-per-view and episode of Raw would be available within a few months of launch. Nearly a year later, the Attitude Era is practically nonexistent. Sure, the pay-per-views are all there, but the most controversial and memorable moments of that era typically occurred on Raw.
By even the most conservative estimates, the Attitude Era started in 1997 (some would say it started at the 1996 King of the Ring, but I won’t go back that far). As of today, there are 20 episodes in total from the years 1997 through 2001, including the episode where Vince McMahon purchased WCW, which essentially marked the end of the era. A lot of the most controversial and memorable moments are also conveniently missing, such as Brian Pillman pulling a gun on Austin, the infamous Bret screwed Bret promo, and Bret Hart’s profanity-laced tirade in March of 1997.
In contrast, there are 45 episodes from 1993 alone, and it’s not like the company is uploading the episodes in order because they also uploaded the entire year of 2012 and random episodes from various years. It undoubtedly takes time to convert old episodes of Raw into a format that is suitable for widescreen televisions, but it seems like there is really no rush to upload the content.
Instead of creating the same episode of Monday Night War 20 times, they should instead show the stories that inspired the mind-numbingly boring series. While uploading the content, the company should also take a moment to revisit the past, because there are a lot of similarities between today’s product and the era that immediately preceded the Attitude Era, which I refer to as the In Your House Era.
