Have Wrestling Fans Been Spoiled by the Attitude Era?

The title says it all: have we really been spoiled by the Attitude Era? The answer to that is simply yes. Let's take a look back at how the WWE has progressed since, let's say 1995.

In the mid 1990s, professional wrestling was very simple. Good versus evil, and everybody knew the role of their favorite superstar. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were the ultimate fan favorites, while guys like Hulk Hogan and Jeff Jarrett had fans ready to start riots by their mere presence. At the time, wrestling had a family-oriented, almost cartoon-like appearance. Wrestling was full of "characters" and things were clean-cut and wholesome entertainment.

Fast forward to 1996. The then-WWF and WCW had engaged in a massive battle of ratings and bragging rights. On one side, you had the emergence of the skyrocketing "StoneCold" Steve Austin, and his storied wars against the likes of Bret Hart, Vince McMahon, and others. Flip the coin, and you had the nWo and their wars on the entire WCW. By this time, pro wrestling had gotten used to the more raunchy, extreme side of the profession that had network censors constantly on their toes. Action in the ring took a change as well. You saw more chair shots, more high-flying action. The business had progressed at such a rate that everybody adjusted and accepted how thing were and what was to come.

Now we skip ahead to 2010. Suddenly pro wrestling, and especially the WWE has apparently done a full-scale 180-degree turn. They have reverted back to the PG-style, family-friendly programming. No more do you see beer-drinking and middle fingers. Even the chair shots have taken a backseat to the toned down action that is more of a mirror image of 1995 than it was even five or ten years ago.

What brought on the change of pace for WWE? Is it just a marketing practice by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to get more revenue and ratings? Is it a strategy for Linda McMahon who is currently at the helm of run to Unite States Senate? Several theories could be formed about why WWE made the change.

Personally, I think fans in general were spoiled on that era of wrestling. The accelerated violence, the repetitive foul language, and everything about that time period is what a lot of fans expect now. That's not saying that ALL fans want that, but there are a group of people that the Attitude Era was all they knew and they don't know how to adjust to what many of the older fans already know.

However slowly I believe that most fans are starting to accept the changes and the fact that WWE is trying to make their programming more family-friendly. The question now is this - if they were to ditch the PG rating and go back to the attitude era-style of entertainment, would the fans take back to the style with open arms, or would they be accused of being like TNA, who has recently adopted the ECW style as of late? It's one of those items where we have to sit and wait to see what happens.