Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
The Attitude Era was considered by some as the single greatest era in WWF/E history. The television ratings were astronomical, buy rates were skyrocketing and the content, well, it wasn’t exactly for the faint of heart. The language was foul, the lines between heels and babyfaces were completely blurred and the nudity was in your face. We all know when the Attitude Era was ushered in, as covered by my colleague Craig, but when did it all end?
Different people will give you different answers, but the official/unofficial end came after WrestleMania X-Seven. Why after WrestleMania 17? We will get to that, but first, we must all understand what led to the change in eras. The WWE’s biggest rival, World Championship Wrestling went under and was purchased by WWE. The emergence of WCW was the main reason Vince McMahon changed his company from a family-friendly show to a much more adult-oriented show.
There was no longer the need to keep pushing the envelope of taste when he had won the infamous Monday Night Wars. Vince now owned his competition. Add to that, much of the content the WWF/E had was copied from Extreme Championship Wrestling. ECW would fold and be sold to Vince just a couple of days after WrestleMania. The writing was indeed on the wall for the Attitude Era.
While there are no real seasons for WWE programming as with other television shows, the day after WrestleMania is usually their “new season.” That is when many new superstars debut and fresh feuds and storylines develop. That brings us to the actual event: WrestleMania X-Seven which was held on April 1st, 2001. This WrestleMania, in particular, was called by many as the best ‘Mania of all time.
It featured a street fight between Vince and Shane McMahon, The Hardy Boys vs the Dudleys Vs Edge and Christian, Triple H vs the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock. The ending of the pay per view saw Steve Austin turn heel on the Rock and align with Vince McMahon. Steve Austin, who was the poster boy for the Attitude Era in his year’s long war with Mr. McMahon, shook hands with the enemy.
It was the handshake that not only ended their feud but also put an unofficial end of that particular era. The next night on Monday Night Raw, Triple H aligned with both Austin and McMahon and took out the Rock. The Rock who was another instrumental piece of the Attitude Era was taken off the TV, so he could film a movie. It was the beginning of a new path Dwayne Johnson would take in his career.
The outlandish, adult-themed characters were either being phased out or toned down. Characters like Val Venis and The Godfather vanished by the summer of 2001 and didn’t return until the beginning of 2002. Steve Austin would incorporate more of a comedic tone to his heel persona. The atmosphere had certainly changed in the WWF.
Soon enough, the WCW/ECW Invasion angle came and that became the focus of the company. The changes to its content all began and ended at WrestleMania X-Seven.
