The rivalry between The Undertaker and Mick Foley was one of the defining feuds of the Attitude Era. In many ways, the extreme matches between these two helped signify the start of a new era for WWE. With each new stipulation, they took the violence to a new level and gave the fans many memorable moments that are still etched in the minds of people more than two decades later.

The Dead Man reflected on his various extreme encounters with The Hardcore Legend on the latest episode of his Six Feet Under podcast. He mentioned the various stipulations they choose for their matches and explained that the violence made sense because of their characters:

“It was just so violent, for the time period and what they had seen up to that point. I mean, the violence that we projected on each other. There wasn’t anything really that matched that.

I think with Mick and I everything that we did because of our characters it all made sense. You would expect us to be in a Boiler Room Brawl because of his character. You would expect a buried alive, you would expect a body bag. It all made sense to where we were at in our story and what we were doing.”

‘Next Level Commitment’: The Undertaker

The Undertaker explained the motivation of Mick Foley’s character that led him to endure extreme pain in order to take down The Last Outlaw. The former World Champion also praised the wrestling veteran mentioning how it was Mick’s commitment to the craft that made it all possible:

“With Mick and Mankind always, my image and my understanding of it is like, ‘I will do this to myself. Just so that I can do this to you.’ That was Mick’s mentality, right? That was the story that he was telling. I’m going to endure this much pain, which is going to be…it’s going to be monumental pain, just to inflict a little bit of pain on you.

When you started thinking about that kind of mindset, how deranged an individual does he have to be to do those kind of things? I would wear him out. And then he would get on the apron and take a stick or a pencil and jabbing into his leg and he’d pull his hair out. That’s just next-level commitment.

But it all made sense into his tormented mindset and that’s what made it so believable. Then you have this indestructible force called the Undertaker. Like this guy is going to kill himself. This guy will torture himself to torture this person.”

You can check out the full episode of Undertaker’s podcast below:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Roman Reigns has surpassed almost every other WWE Superstar when it comes to his dominant title run, and the Tribal Chief has even surpassed an entire era. 

Reigns’ historic tenure as champion began on August 30, 2020, at that year’s Payback event. Reigns, who had returned to WWE TV the week prior at SummerSlam, defeated ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a triple-threat match to capture the gold. Reigns entered the match near the closing moments of the bout, signing a contract to make his participation in the bout official mere moments before his title victory. 

Surpassing An Era

Roman Reigns has dominated WWE for years, and now has surpassed the much-beloved Attitude Era. In WWE, the famed era is considered as lasting from Survivor Series 1997 (the Montreal Screwjob) to WrestleMania X-Seven in April 2021. This period of time spanned over 1,239 days. Recently, the Tribal Chief’s Universal title reign surpassed this figure. Roman Reigns is currently enjoying day 1268 of his historic tenure as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. 

What’s Next? 

Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. While Reigns intended to face The Rock this April (ensuring the title remained within his family) Rhodes’ decision to face Reigns has ruined the Bloodline’s plans. On last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, The Rock officially joined the Bloodline. In his first heel promo in years, The Rock mocked Cody’s ‘crybaby’ fans and vowed that his goal at WrestleMania is to ensure Rhodes doesn’t finish his story in Philadelphia. 

Paul Heyman has been by his Tribal Chief’s side for years, but who could be next for the legendary manager… 

Stone Cold Steve Austin has chosen who he thinks was the best on the microphone during the Attitude Era, and believe it or not, it isn’t himself.

The WWE Hall of Famer named his longtime rival turned Hollywood juggernaut Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the top talker during the height of pro-wrestling in popular culture. Austin, who is well-known for his skills on the mic, throws praise to the Great One during his recent appearance on the “First We Feast” program on Youtube, but does acknowledge that Rocky didn’t start out as a fan-favorite.

“You cannot overlook The Rock. When he first arrived on the scene, he was this good-looking, third-generation babyface and people just didn’t take to him. They’d say, ‘Die Rocky Die! Die Rocky Die!”

The Rattlesnake later discusses the work The Rock did to improve his character, which started with his decision to join the Nation of Domination. From there, he took his persona to the next level.

“He started wearing the silk shirts and he started referring to himself in third person and working that eyebrow. And he electrified and captivated crowds with his catchphrases, his cadence and his delivery, and his message and calling everybody ‘jabroni. He commanded the audience’s respect, attention and elicited the response that he was looking for from them.”

Who Else Does Austin Revere As A Great Talker?

The Rock wasn’t the only WWE legend Austin decided to call attention to. He also highlighted current AEW star and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts as a talent who captivated audiences by sometimes saying nothing at all.

“Once Jake got in the ring, he commanded your respect. He had this presence about him, and he’s one of the most economic, efficient workers out there, where he didn’t do a whole lot, but everything he did meant something, and he was always working for that DDT.”

Austin may hold these talents in high regards, but few would argue that he doesn’t belong at the top of the list as it is well documented that his run in the late 90s was considered one of the greatest of all time, and catapulted the Rattlesnake to monumental levels.

(Quotes via Wrestling Inc.)

WWE Superstar Mark Henry recently spoke with the U.K. Mirror to promote the new WWE Attitude Era book. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On if Vince McMahon outlined the way business was changing when he was first hired by WWE: “Yes, absolutely. But first of all, I didn’t believe that it was actually him who phoned me, so I hung up on him! I thought it was one of my friends who was playing a joke. He did call me back and this time he said ‘what happened?’ and I was like, ‘is this really Vince McMahon?’ We talked for about five or 10 minutes and he appreciated the fact that as I’ve mentioned, I was a fan of the industry, and I was a winner. He thought I would be a natural at it.”

On the Nation Of Domination split and feuding with The Rock, and if he foresaw Rock becoming one of the best ever: “Most definitely. He is one of the most well-studied, flamboyant characters of all time. And people… there is nobody on earth other than maybe Vince McMahon who has a work ethic like his. He studies and works and studies and works and that is all he ever wanted to do, to succeed. It was an honour to be in the ring with him first and secondly to gain the win. We’ve had a few matches, four I think to be exact, and I may be the only person in history that is undefeated against him over that many matches!”

On his storyline with Mae Young and other crazy storylines: “I enjoyed my time working with Mae Young, she was one of the coolest, most respected people that I ever met in the industry. We both gave each other’s characters life and that is something that is hard for people to understand. There are thousands of wrestlers and there are thousands of really good ones, but to be able to join somebody that kind of fell off the map and both of you rise to the top of the card because of chemistry, and that last for not a week or two, but for a year, and here we are 16 years later still talking about it, it’s impressive. It’s unbelievable.”

On his favorite Attitude Era match or moment: “I think my favourite in-ring moment, it really didn’t have anything to do with me. One of my favourite in-ring moments was seeing Hulk Hogan and The Rock go face to face [at WrestleMania 18]. It gave me something because I felt the connection because The Rock was my brother and as a child I grew up idolising Hulk Hogan. It was the future and the past coming together. It was something where I just stood there in amazement, just like everybody else. It was like five or six minutes where they just stood there and looked at each other and the crowd cheered. That was one of my favourite moments.”

Check out the complete interview at Mirror.co.uk.

• Paul Heyman Talks In-Depth About CM Punk’s Upcoming UFC Debut

I’ve read a lot of feedback online over the past few weeks regarding WWE’s plans for Brock Lesnar at next year’s WrestleMania 31 event in Santa Clara, California.

For those who missed it, check out this article, which is a detailed update on WWE possibly making major changes to their original plans for Lesnar.

Back to the internet feedback.

Many, including WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross, have spoken out recently about how if WWE stays on track and has Lesnar stay untouchable leading up to WrestleMania 31, with Roman Reigns being the guy to finally end his reign of dominance and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the “show of shows,” that “everyone will see it coming.” Especially due to the belief that fans will know it’s Lesnar’s final match on his WWE contract.

So what?

Who didn’t see Daniel Bryan ending last year’s show by leading the fans inside the “Superdome” in one giant “Yes!” chant as the pay-per-view goes off the air with him finally “having his moment” and becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

The answer: no one. Everyone saw that coming and guess what? It was still awesome. It still felt special, and had Bryan not gotten injured, it still would have been an effective way to start his push as a legitimate WWE main event performer.

So my question is, how is next year’s WrestleMania any different?

Once again — it isn’t.

A good idea is a good idea, whether people see it coming or not. This isn’t 1998, we’re not in the midst of a vicious “Monday Night War” where you’ve got to use the “Attitude Era” formula of “shock television.”

Surprises are great, don’t get me wrong. They keep you on the edge of your seat and give you a reason to continue tuning into the product because you “never know what could happen.” But again, I say a good idea is a good idea, whether it’s a surprise or not.

The key factor, however, is that it has to be a good idea.

And that’s exactly what the rumored plans for WrestleMania 31 are — they’re a good idea.

Lesnar breaks The Undertaker’s legendary streak. He squashes WWE’s top Superstar in John Cena at a major pay-per-view event. He wreaks havoc on the entire WWE roster, with seemingly no end in sight. That is, however, until he meets that bad son of a bitch Roman Reigns.

No one can beat Lesnar. Hell, no one can touch him. And then comes the showdown with the “untouchable” bad ass on the other side of the fence. The “good guy” version of Lesnar. A beast of a different breed.

Here comes Roman Reigns.

Unfortunately for Reigns, an injury has put him on the sidelines, which hurt his momentum as a guy rising through the ranks. However, if he comes back in time for the Royal Rumble in January, where he arguably made his name earlier this year as an individual player, instead of just being “The Enforcer” of The Shield, then all the cards fall perfectly into place.

First off, fans can get their precious “surprise moment,” when the ten-count clock counts down and out comes Reigns for the first time in several months. From there, much like last year, he can eliminate Superstar after Superstar, possibly breaking his own record in the process. The only difference? This time he’s the last man standing. This time he wins the Royal Rumble, which of course sets him up for a title shot at WrestleMania 31.

On the same show, Lesnar destroys John Cena for the third straight time, remaining WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the process.

The stage is set.

Heading into WrestleMania 31, we have Brock Lesnar as an unbeatable monster on the heel side. We have Roman Reigns as an unbeatable monster on the babyface side.

We have our WrestleMania 31 main event is what we have.

During the build up to WrestleMania, we make sure to point out the streak of dominance both men are currently riding and we ponder which immovable force budges first at the biggest show of the year.

What’s wrong with that? Do we really need some kind of big elaborate “surprise” to make WrestleMania feel special? To have a satisfying climax to the biggest show of the year?

Of course not.

Good is good, whether you see it coming a mile away or it creeps up on you out of the blue. If the story is solid enough, which I feel Lesnar vs. Reigns is — or has the potential to be I should say (you never know how WWE will handle the booking) then you’ve got all the ingredients for a “Superstar-making performance” for Reigns, which unless I’m confused, is supposed to be the goal in all of this.

Check it out — I didn’t mean a word I just said! Are you surprised?! You shouldn’t be …because of course I’m joking.

The point?

I shouldn’t have to surprise you to entertain you with a solid editorial, I just need to tell a good story. Whether or not I accomplished that remains to be seen. You can let me know if I achieved my goal by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also connect with me on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

The following is the complete content listing for WWE’s “The Attitude Era Vol. 2” DVD and Blu-ray set that is scheduled to be released in November.

DISC 1

Bare Essentials

Miss Slammy Swimsuit Competition
Sunny vs. Sable vs. Marlena vs. The Funkettes
Slammy Awards • March 16, 1997

Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
RAW • December 29, 1997

Bad Ass Dad

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie
RAW • January 26, 1998

Intercontinental Championship Match
The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock
Royal Rumble • January 18, 1998

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mr. McMahon
RAW • April 13, 1998

Leather & Chains

Owen Hart & Legion of Doom vs. Triple H & New Age Outlaws
RAW • April 20, 1998

D-Generation X Takes New York
RAW • June 8, 1998

Falls Count Anywhere #1 Contenders Match for the WWE Championship
Mankind vs. “Kane”
RAW • July 6, 1998

Letting the Dogs Out

Bikini Contest
Sable vs. Jacqueline
Fully Loaded • July 26, 1998

Val Venis & Taka Michinoku vs. KaiEnTai
RAW • August 3, 1998

WWE Championship Match
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Ken Shamrock
RAW • September 14, 1998

Boot Camp Match for Al Snow’s Contract
Al Snow vs. Sgt. Slaughter
RAW • September 21, 1998

Six-Man Elimination #1 Contenders Match for the European Championship
Edge vs. Gangrel vs. D’Lo Brown vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Droz vs. Marc Mero
RAW • September 28, 1998

Extreme Name Change

WWE Championship Match
The Rock vs. X-Pac
RAW • November 23, 1998

DISC 2

Becoming a Pimp

Godfather & Val Venis vs. Mark Henry & DLo Brown
Rock Bottom • December 13, 1998

Triple H vs. Edge
RAW • January 11, 1999

Bloodbath

Kane’s Career on the Line
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane
RAW • March 1, 1999

Hardcore Championship Match
Hardcore Holly vs. Bad Ass Billy Gunn
RAW • March 15, 1999

Wild and Crazy Guys

Handicap Match
The Big Show vs. Triple H & The Rock
RAW • April 5, 1999

Pimpin’ Ain’t Country

Intercontinental Championship Match
Goldust vs. Godfather
RAW • April 12, 1999

The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian
Shotgun Saturday Night • April 17, 1999

Casket Match
The Rock vs. Undertaker
RAW • May 17, 1999

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Test
Sunday Night Heat • June 13, 1999

DISC 3

Drinking with the APA

Tag Team Championship Match
Acolytes vs. Kane & X-Pac
RAW • August 9, 1999

Sexual Chocolate

Mark Henry Sex Therapy Sessions

Valentine’s Day Delight

Mark Henry and Mae Young Get a Room
RAW • February 14, 2000

Triple Threat Match for the European Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho vs. Tazz
RAW • March 13, 2000

Behind Breaking the Walls

Intercontinental Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle
RAW • May 8, 2000

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
Sunday Night Heat • June 18, 2000

Intergender Tag Team Match
The Rock & Lita vs. Kurt Angle & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
SmackDown • August 24, 2000

Triple Threat Match for the Women’s Championship
Lita vs. Ivory vs. Jacqueline
Sunday Night Heat • September 17, 2000

Weak Stomach

Hardcore Championship Match
Gerald Brisco vs. Crash Holly
RAW • June 5, 2000

Evening Gown Match for the Hardcore Championship
Gerald Brisco vs. Pat Patterson
King of the Ring • June 25, 2000

Wanna Ride?

Intergender Tag Team Match
The Rock & Lita vs. Triple H & Trish Stratus
RAW • July 31, 2000

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES

The Undertaker Attends His Parents Funeral
RAW • April 20, 1998

#1 Contenders Match for the Tag Team Championship
Kane & Mankind vs. Owen Hart & The Rock
Sunday Night Heat • August 2, 1998

Golga vs. Marc Mero
RAW • August 3, 1998

Hardcore Championship Match
Al Snow vs. Road Dogg
RAW • January 4, 1999

Lumberjack Match
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock
RAW • May 3, 1999

Gangrel & Christian vs. Droz & Prince Albert
Sunday Night Heat • May 16, 1999

WWE Championship Match
Triple H vs. Mr. McMahon
SmackDown • September 16, 1999

Mark Henry and Mae Young Double Date
RAW • December 27, 1999

The APA Opens Their Doors
RAW • January 31, 2000

Last Man Standing Match
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho
Fully Loaded • July 23, 2000

Last night’s Raw was held in Portland, Oregon and featured a crowd packed with hipsters, a few memorable contests, and the nWo reunion that had been teased on social media all week leading into the event.

The show was the “go-home” edition of Raw and was the final build for Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. As always, a few questions were answered, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following Monday’s Raw.

5. Is Corporate Kane Back Permanently?

Kane was back in his suit and tie this week on Raw, having once again handed in his mask on last week’s episode. The Demon made a match between Roman Reigns and RybAxel before departing for the locker room.

My question is simple: Does Kane have anything left in the tank with his corporate character? It seems the company doesn’t know what to do with him, as he has shifted back and forth between demon and corporate Kane over the past few months. If Kane is going to become a permanent fixture in the Authority storyline, hopefully something worthwhile comes of it, because it otherwise simply results in a convoluted storyline.

4. Where Have the Usos Been?

The Usos were absent from Raw this past week (other than the announcers issuing an open challenge on their behalf for tonight’s Main Event), and with SummerSlam only a few days away, they are also noticeably absent from the pay-per-view card. There are rumors of a fatal four-way tag team contest being put together for the pre-show, but nothing has been confirmed thus far.

With the Usos having defeated basically every tag team on the roster and holding the titles for most of the year, I think it is time for the brothers to drop the titles. Nothing against the Usos, but they have fought everyone on the roster and their run is quickly becoming stale. It appeared the titles were going to be put on the Wyatt Family a few weeks back, but the Usos prevailed. Hopefully a title change can shake up an otherwise stagnant tag team division.

The following are highlights of a new CBS New York interview with Mr. Anderson:

On if wrestlers had a say in the six-sided ring returning: “As far as I know (wrestlers) didn’t have any. As far as I know that was strictly an organizational thing. You know, the higher ups in the company going off of the fans vote on it. I believe that was completely out of our hands. I had no say in it as far as I know.”

On whether or not the Attitude Era is now holding pro wrestling back: “I sort of think that if fans are holding on to ECW and that era and things from the past, I sort of think that means we’re not giving them what they want to see… I think the best way to go about that is to keep trying new things until something works. And that’s what we do. That’s what our writers do. They’re continuously coming up with new ideas.”

On if Sting told TNA he was going to WWE: “No, he didn’t make any mention. This is the nature of our business. The wrestling business… people come and people go. It’s sort of been that way forever.”

Check out the complete interview at CBSLocal.com.

News broke today that Spike TV would not be renewing their television deal with TNA. The company – which is owned by Dixie Carter and currently employs Vince Russo – has had financial difficulties in the past.

In fact, it has almost become a joke to post pictures of TNA crowds on social media websites in recent weeks, as they more closely resemble the crowds one would find at a small county fair, not a touring professional wrestling promotion.

This recent TNA crowd perfectly illustrates why the company is having a hard time securing a television deal.

Although Spike TV decided not to renew TNA’s contract, the current deal still runs through October, providing the company with a few months to find a new home for Impact Wrestling. Initial reports indicate that there is little chance of that happening, however, as few cable providers will be willing to pay the company what Spike TV was paying to air TNA programming.

With their television revenue gone at the end of October and poor ticket sales not bringing in enough to keep the company afloat, Monday’s announcement was likely the death of TNA. With that said, it will be interesting to see if TNA’s departure from the world of televised wrestling will affect the WWE.

After acquiring WCW in March of 2001, the WWE held a virtual monopoly on the world of televised wrestling in the United States. That monopoly was eventually broken after Jeff Jarrett founded TNA in May of 2002. Although TNA has never provided the same level of competition that WCW brought to the table during the 1990s, it at least prevented the WWE from acting as a monopoly.

Other promotions have gained a sizable following in the United States (ROH, CZW, etc.), but TNA has been the only company the WWE had had to worry about finding on television.

The following are highlights of a new Inside The Ropes UK interview with Steve Austin:

On Vince Russo’s influence on the Attitude Era: “I think he had a great contribution to the Attitude Era. When I was talking to him on my podcast, we got into some heavy stuff. You know he didn’t do too well in WCW, he didn’t do so well in TNA and that’s where I think the criticism comes from. I always thought that Vince Russo was at his best when he was presenting his ideas to a guy like Vince McMahon who is very grounded with the basic fundamentals and psychology of professional wrestling. So Vince Russo could take him out of his box a little bit and then Vince McMahon could keep Russo’s ideas grounded so they all make sense. I say that with all due respect to Vince Russo, he’s gonna come back on my podcast and he’ll talk about those WCW and TNA says. But no doubt he left an indelible mark on the Attitude Era and I had a blast working with the guy. I believe that when he speaks, he speaks from the heart.”

On his neck injury in 1997 and Daniel Bryan’s current injury: “Well you know when I got dropped on my head (in 1997), I bruised my spinal cord and has some stenosis, so i didn’t need the surgery right away, I just needed to rest my neck. Then when I got back in the ring some bone spurs pressed against the spinal cord and that’s where the real danger was and I had to get the surgery. Which of course is an entirely different situation to Daniel Bryan who had minimally invasive surgery. For me, I was able to maintain a television presence, stay a part of the story lines then when I got back in the ring, started doing tags, six mans just to keep me in front of the crowd, keep drawing the houses but to protect me. Once I started getting hot and was able to overcome that thing that happened to me, it only made people buy into Stone Cold Steve Austin more. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Daniel Bryan. Will he have to change his work style? What will the crowd do when he comes back? I hope that they accept him with open arms and I hope they have some great story lines or angles to get him back the level that he was or even higher if that’s possible.”

Check out the complete interview at Facebook.com/theinsidenetwork.

The undercard singles titles are all chilling across the pond these days, as Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, and Paige all won championships in recent weeks. New champions are a welcome sight in the WWE these days, especially considering how stale the previous champions’ runs had become.

Dean Ambrose’s reign as United States Champion will likely be the forgotten reign in years to come. He held the title for almost a year while only defending it a few times before finally dropping it to Sheamus during a battle royal a few weeks back.

The same holds true for Big E and the Intercontinental Championship. Although he did not hold the title as long as Ambrose held his US Championship, his reign was unmemorable and he engaged in no meaningful feuds during his months with the title. As for AJ Lee, her run with the title seemed fresh at first, but she eventually ran out of challengers and it seemed like the right time to crown a new champion.

Ambrose held the title for almost a year and hardly ever defended it.

With recent undercard title reigns being unmemorable, it leads one to wonder if unification is the answer. One of the primary reasons the titles go undefended is because it is difficult to have too many stories going at once, especially meaningful ones that involve championship contests. This leads to champions holding insignificant titles like the US Championship as a way to legitimize or build up the character, but in reality, the title does little because it goes undefended.

One of the best options would perhaps be to unify the United States and Intercontinental Championships. By unifying the titles into just the Intercontinental Championship, it could make the title seem important again. In the Attitude Era, the title held importance, with fans knowing that most superstars who held the strap were on their way to the main event.

That is not the case anymore, however, as the title is thrown on random superstars in an attempt to build interest, but then creative puts in no further effort. It is a little sad that the most interesting thing to happen involving the Intercontinental Championship in recent months was a tournament to crown a number one contender that did not even involve the champion at all (except for a few clips showing him standing in the back, angrily looking at a monitor).

On paper, last night’s card seemed like nothing to write home about. After all, Daniel Bryan was defending his title against a superstar who peaked a decade ago, Bray Wyatt and John Cena were meeting in a rematch from WrestleMania, and other than Evolution vs. the Shield, the rest of the matches seemed like they could turn out to be throwaway contests. The event was basically the furthest thing from a throwaway, however, as it was a well-executed pay-per-view that was filled with worthwhile matches.

The Hounds of Justice stole the show during the match of the night.

Evolution vs. the Shield was the clear highlight of the night, as expected. Each superstar involved in the match put on an excellent show, but the star of the match was without a doubt Seth Rollins. While Triple H, Randy Orton, and Dean Ambrose were battling in the crowd, Rollins dove from the top of the entranceway to take out his Evolution foes, allowing for Roman Reigns to handle Batista in the ring and secure a Shield victory. The match was perfectly executed and is an immediate match of the year contender.

The main event between Daniel Bryan and Kane greatly exceeded expectations. This one seemed like it could be forgettable, as the outcome was never really in doubt and Kane is not exactly a main event superstar anymore. However, both superstars performed well together and the backstage spots were something that resembled contests from the Attitude Era.

In the end, the match even involved a flaming table, although the crew botched this spot a bit by running in with the extinguishers before Kane was even on fire, but hey, what can you do? Overall, it was a great culmination to the night and certainly much better than I was anticipating.

Near the end of last year, it appeared the WWE would once again focus on promoting its tag team division. After the championships were practically ignored and bounced around between random teams that were comprised of young talent for over a year, Team Hell No helped legitimize the titles once again.

Kane and Bryan held the titles for nearly a year before eventually dropping the straps to Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. The division picked up even more after the Shield got their hands on the titles and was straight up stacked for months. At one point the company was even relying a lot on six-man tag matches just to get as many guys as possible on the broadcast.

Team Hell No helped spark fan interest after a dull period in the tag division.

Near the end of last year, the Rhodes Brothers, the Shield (Rollins and Reigns), the Wyatt Family (Harper and Rowan), the Real Americans, the Usos, the Prime Time Players, and the New Age Outlaws were all in contention for the Tag Team titles at some point.

Since then, nearly every one of those teams has fallen off the face of the Earth, save the Usos who are now the champions. The Rhodes Brothers are barely competing together, the Shield is beyond competing for the championships at this point, the Wyatt Family has been involved in other affairs, both the Real Americans and Prime Time Players have split, and it appears the New Age Outlaws do not want to exercise that rematch clause after all.

The dissolution and promotion of various teams has resulted in the tag team division entering into a transitional state where the company needs to develop new teams or promote others from NXT. Think about the current teams on the roster. We have the Usos who are obviously champions, but who are their challengers? The only other teams even on the roster are Los Matadores, Ryback and Axel, and 3MB, unless I am forgetting someone.

Upon glancing at this year’s WrestleMania card, fans may notice a glaring omission: championship title matches. After unifying the titles at last year’s TLC, there are a total of five championships in the WWE. Of the five, only two are being defended on the actual telecast and the tag team titles will be relegated to the pre-show.

Ignoring championship titles is nothing new in the WWE, as it has become pretty much standard in recent years, especially at WrestleMania. The previous two WrestleManias featured three championship matches on the actual telecast, and the twenty-seventh edition was even worse, with only two championship matches on the entire four-hour program.

This is a far cry from a decade ago at WrestleMania XX, where there were a whopping seven title matches and the belts were used to build up superstars and did not simply remain stagnant for months at a time.

Steve Austin and The Rock were both elevated to the main event scene after battling for the Intercontinental Title.

The perfect example of the diminished value of titles is the United States Championship. A decade ago at WrestleMania XX, John Cena won his first championship by defeating Big Show for the United States Championship. His win helped launch Cena into the main event by putting gold around his waist and making the title seem important.

Fast forward a decade and the United States Championship is completely irrelevant, with Dean Ambrose only defending the title a handful of times since October of last year.

The same holds true for the Intercontinental Title as well. During the Attitude Era, the Intercontinental Title was one of the most important ways to elevate a superstar from the midcard to the main event, with Steve Austin and The Rock’s epic battles for the IC strap serving as an illustration of how to use a midcard title to put an up-and-coming superstar over with the crowd.

Now the title is thrown around the waist of whichever flavor of the week the WWE is trying to make seem important. It was Curtis Axel for a while after he was repacked and paired with Paul Heyman. After they realized he was not getting over with the crowd, they decided to give the belt to Big E and he has done next to nothing.

Phil Johnson sent along the following:

WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase Sr. recently took some time to participate in an exclusive in-depth interview with PWMania.com. DiBiase, now retired from active wrestling, serves the public as a minister for Heart of David Ministry and had a lot to say about his new profession, wrestling, his family and more including Vince McMahon, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, WCW and the attitude era. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Vince McMahon & The Million Dollar Man Character: “It all has to do with marketing. The greatest marketing is word of mouth. Nobody can disagree that Vince is extremely good at marketing. He has marketed WWE so well and even the name Wrestlemania is synonymous with events like the Super Bowl. Now, this past Super Bowl was terrible. But, it’s a brand, just like WWE is a brand. People will still watch that brand. Wrestlemania will sell out because of its strength as a brand.”

Grooming Steve Austin: “I was really happy for him. I told him when I managed him the reason Vince put me with guys is because he hoped I would groom them. I told Steve at the time to keep doing what he was doing because what it is believable. You may not get over as fast, but you will last longer than guys who get over real fast and then their popularity dies out. Once you get over, you can do whatever you want. I don’t think anybody expected his character would grow to be as big as it did.”

The Attitude Era & Steve Austin: “But, as far as still managing him if I was still there, I wouldn’t be with him. As a Christian, I had an issue with the Attitude Era. If Stone Cold’s character was the heel, I’d be okay with it. But because he was drinking beer, flipping the bird and cursing…and getting cheered for it? And he becomes a babyface? That sends a message to teenagers that it’s ok to do all those things. That didn’t sit well with me.. The same thing was true with the NWO because we were the bad guys. But the bad guys were becoming the cool thing to be. There are good guys and bad guys in wrestling and I feel the story that should be told is that the good guys in the end win. If we send that message to kids, we are sending the right message. The Million Dollar Man character always got his butt kicked in the end.”

The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Appearances: “Regarding his once-a-year Wrestlemania appearances, I can only think “Mark, how many times can you do this?” Every year I think he would be getting closer to the end. But the fact that he only makes this one-time appearance is great because fans of the Undertaker will be there and will look forward to seeing him. One of the reasons Elvis Presley was famous is because the only time you ever saw him was when he walked on stage. He would walk on stage, would perform and literally left the building. It adds to the mystique. The less you see something you like, the more you want to see it.”

“The Million Dollar Man” also spoke more on Steve Austin and Vince McMahon, his future plans, WCW, WWF/E, Ted DiBiase Jr., being a minister among several other topics. You can read the in-depth interview in its entirety at PWMania.com.

– As previously reported, WWE Attitude Era star “Road Dogg” Jesse James has been rumored to appear on tonight’s country-themed edition of WWE RAW. James posted a tweet earlier mentioning that he was heading to Nashville (the site of tonight’s RAW) and that he’s “warming the chords up.” This has led to speculation that James will perform his “With My Baby Tonight” song from the pre-Attitude Era where he worked as “The Roadie.”

– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently noted on Twitter that he feels it is unlikely that he will ever call another match at WrestleMania. Additionally, JR mentioned that he will not be attending any of the upcoming WWE events in Oklahoma or Texas, including the December 2nd edition of RAW in Oklahoma City.

This week on The Breakdown, the show arrives on it’s new time – every week on Friday – and Steve takes a look at how the WWE’s writing crew – and the WWE’s attitude on writing – is hurting the product (more…)

WWE’s new Attitude Era DVD & Blu-Ray set was released today and can be purchased from Amazon.com for under $20.

Scott Keith of RSPWFAQ.net got an advance copy of the DVD and provided the following details:

– The main documentary feature runs for about an hour

– Among the personalities interviewed for the documentary were Vince Russo, JBL, Mick Foley, and Mark Henry.

– The vingtage WWF scratch logo is not blurred out anywhere and the letters “WWF” are not muted when spoken by wrestlers or announcers.

– Most of the original Attitude Era theme songs are in tact, with only the Undertaker’s Limp Bizkit theme and Mike Tyson’s entrance music dubbed over.

– As for censorship, the DVD contains blood, adult language and middle fingers gallore. The only ‘bleeps’ are for the vulgar language that was censored from the original TV broadcasts.

Here is the official content listing:

DISC 1

Documentary:

The Birth of Attitude

Entrance Music

D-Generation X

Austin vs. McMahon

Long-Arching Stories

Innovations

New Demographic

Critics

Expansion

Comedy

Wealth of Talent

The World Was Watching

Watershed Period
Jim Ross interviews Goldust & Marlena
Raw – Nov 3, 1997

Steve Austin Throws the InterContinental Championship Off A Bridge
Raw – Dec 15, 1997

Soldier of Love
Raw – May 4, 1998

Mr McMahon Presents Mankind with the WWE Hardcore Championship
Raw – Nov 2, 1998

Jim Ross Interviews Triple H
Sunday Night Heat – July 25, 1999

An Evening At The Friendly Tap
SmackDown! – Jan 20, 2000

Mae Young and the Acolyte Protection Agency
SmackDown! – Jan 27, 2000

“The Jug Band”
Judgment Day 2000

Triple H Trains Trish Stratus
SmackDown! – July 27, 2000

Edges Totally Awesome Birthday
Raw – Oct 30, 2000

The Rocks Message to His Hell in a Cell Opponents
Raw – Dec 4, 2000

GTV

DISC 2

Mike Tyson Joins DX
Raw – Mar 2, 1998

A New Beginning For D-Generation X
Raw – March 30, 1998

Sable vs. “Marvelous” Marc Mero
Raw – May 11, 1998

Nation of Degeneration
Raw – July 6, 1998

Brawl for All Match
Bart Gunn vs. “Dr Death” Steve Williams
Raw – July 27, 1998

Four Corners Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
The Undertaker & Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane & Mankind vs. The New Age Outlaws vs. The Rock & Owen Hart
Raw – Aug 10, 1998

Lions Den Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart
SummerSlam 1998

Finals of WWE Championship Tournament
The Rock vs. Mankind
Survivor Series 1998

The Rock & The Undertaker vs. Mankind & Stone Cold Steve Austin
Raw – Dec 7, 1998

Austin Gives The Corporation A Beer Bath
Raw – March 22, 1999

The Undertaker vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Raw – June 28, 1999

The Debut of Y2J
Raw – Aug 9, 1999

DISC 3

European & Intercontinental Championship Match
DLo Brown vs. Jeff Jarrett
SummerSlam 1999

Buried Alive Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
The Rock & Mankind vs. The Undertaker & Big Show
SmackDown! – Sept 9, 1999

Stone Cold & Jim Ross vs. Triple H & Chyna
Raw – Oct 11, 1999

Boss Mans Sympathy for Big Shows Dad
Raw – Nov 18, 1999

The Wedding of Stephanie McMahon & Andrew “Test” Martin
Raw – Nov 29, 1999

The Godfather & DLo Brown vs. Too Cool
SmackDown – Jan 27, 2000

WWE Hardcore Championship Match
Hardcore Holly vs. Crash Holly
Raw – March 27, 2000

WWE Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero
Raw – April 3, 2000

Steel Cage Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Rikishi vs. Val Venis
Fully Loaded 2000

Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match for the World Tag Team Championship
Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz
SummerSlam 2000

Hell in A Cell Match for the WWE Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Undertaker vs. Triple H vs. Rikishi
Armageddon 2000

Special Features

(Best Buy Exclusives)

GTV – Al Snow & Head

Mae Young Gives Birth
Raw – Feb 28, 2000

WWE Womens Championship Match
Lita vs. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
Raw – June 12, 2000

The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz
Raw – July 17, 2000

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES

King of Kings Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Triple H vs. Owen Hart
Raw – June 29, 1998

The Oddities w/ Insane Clown Posse vs. The Headbangers
Raw – Sept 28, 1998

The Truth About Sammy
Raw – Jan 18, 1999

The Unholy Union of Stephanie McMahon & The Undertaker
Raw – April 26, 1999

The Rock vs. Val Venis
SmackDown – Oct 7, 1999

Survivor Series Elimination Match
Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane & Shane McMahon vs. Triple H, X-Pac & The New Age Outlaws
SmackDown – Nov 4, 1999

WWE Hardcore Championship Match
Al Snow vs. Crash Holly
SmackDown – June 29, 2000

The Hardy Boyz & Lita vs. Perry Saturn, Eddie Guerrero & Dean Malenko
SmackDown – Nov 30, 2000

Chris Jericho & The Dudley Boyz vs. Kurt Angle, Edge & Christian
Raw – Dec 25, 2000

* WWE Ranks The TOP 20 ICONS Of The ATTITUDE Era: Do You Agree With The List?

(Credit: WWEDVDNews.com)

WWE.com has published the following list of the Top 20 Icons of the Attitude Era:

20. The APA (Farooq and JBL)
19. Shane McMahon
18. Goldust
17. The Dudleys
16. Bret Hart
15. Kurt Angle
14. Team Extreme (Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Lita)
13. Stephanie McMahon
12. Big Show
11. Edge and Christian
10. Chris Jericho
9. Kane
8. The New Age Outlaws
7. The Undertaker
6. Shawn Michaels
5. Vince McMahon
4. Mick Foley
3. Triple H
2. The Rock
1. Steve Austin

DISCUSSION: Let the debate begin. What do you think about the list? Chyna and Sable are conspicuously absent from the list. Plus – if this is the top ICONS of the era – where’s Jim Ross?! Shawn Michaels is ranked at #6 when he was out of action and a non-factor for most of the Attitude Era .. and where the HELL is Moppy? Comment below and tell us what you think about the list.

It was reported Friday that WWE may have canceled, or at least delayed, its scheduled DVD and Blu-ray release, WWE: The Attitude Era, based on the title’s removal from internal video release schedules for both the United States and Australia. This report is false.

WWE spokesman Adam Hopkins contacted this website to debunk the report. The title will be released as scheduled on November 20, 2012.

Here is the official synopsis for WWE: The Attitude Era, “In the late-90s, WWE was struggling for ratings survival while a cultural shift in the viewing audience’s taste was occurring. “Saying your prayers and taking your vitamins” had lost its luster a month the rebellious masses who preferred “flipping the bird” and “laying the smackdown”… Enter Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Mankind and the notorious crop of edge and fearless Superstars who ushered in The Attitude Era.

“Now in this three-DVD set fans can own all the infamous moments from this controversial and revolutionary eta that redefined sports entertainment for an entire generation. Over 8-hours of envelope-pushing content includes all the agression, antics and innuendos that proved to be the perfect cocktail for an explosion of popularity.”

– WWE tag champion Daniel Bryan appeared on the Sirius radio Fantasy Football show on Thursday afternoon to talk football, WWE turning the NFL’s replacement referee debacle into a storyline and his hometown team, the Seattle Seahawks, benefiting from the very controversial referee call on Monday night’s game with the Green Bay Packers.

– It appears that WWE’s planned DVD/Blu-Ray set on the Attitude Era has been cancelled, or at least postponed. According to WWEDVDNews.com, internal DVD schedules reveal that the project is no longer slated for a November 2012 release.

While Amazon.com still has the DVD available for pre-sale, BestBuy.com has already removed it from their upcoming DVD release listings.

Just yesterday, WWE’s Attitude Era DVD was in the news when it was revealed that the project would have a “PG” rating and would not feature any ‘adult’ content, which was a staple of the beloved era.

* Picture of Ricardo Rodriguez’s New Masked Luchador Character

– Former TNA star Amazing Red was backstage at Sunday’s WWE No Way Out pay-per-view and was telling fans he had a tryout earlier in the day. Red was reportedly brought in by WWE announcer Matt Striker.

– With the upcoming 1,000th Episode of RAW and the new WWE ’13 video game both featuring legends from the Attitude Era, there has been talk of WWE doing an Attitude Era DVD set. Mick Foley tweeted about a possible Attitude Era DVD earlier this year and Booker T mentioned during No Way Out that he was recently interviewed about the era.

– Pop music icon & WrestleMania I celebrity Cyndi Lauper made her first WWE appearance on RAW in over 20 years. It was rumored that she was there to promote a new reality television show, but it was not mentioned. WWE did plug her new CD, “Bring Ya to the Brink.”

Roddy Piper noted on Twitter that Lauper was brought in to update the WWE Universe on what she’s doing now and to also help promote the upcoming 1,000th RAW.

http://youtu.be/fZHq5hIegsw