The WWE Universe is not going to take the PG Era Seriously unless it passes by. A majority of the fan community is still running on the fumes of Attitude Era without seeing what PG has to offer. Of course, the company messes up at times but they had similar mess ups in the Attitude era as well.Vince McMahon and his ideas during the PG era might have not been as good as his ones in the Attitude era but there were certain instances where Vince completely won over the fans.So take a step back from criticizing PG era for everything bad that is happening and take a look at some of the memorable moments that came in thanks to PG.
#10 Mark Henrys retirement speech
Talking about blurring the lines between Kayfabe and reality, Mark Henry did just that with his retirement angle. He has been in the WWE for nearly two decades so when he announced on Twitter that he had big news to break out about his retirement, the fans went mad.
Henry attracted a lot of main stream attention as well and many of his celebrity friends were fooled by his retirement prank. The fans tuned into Monday Night Raw to see a heartfelt retirement speech but instead they got a classic swerve.
The World’s strongest man went on to lay out John Cena on the night and challenged for Cena’s title when everyone was expecting him to hang up his boots.
#9 Nexus Debuts
Seven rookies coming in and destroying the entire WWE arena including John Cena and CM Punk was a mouthwatering prospect for the fans. The beauty of surprise was there to be seen as no one expected the formation of the stable or the destruction.
All of the seven guys previously featured in WWE’s NXT reality show and seeing those tearing up Raw became an instant hit with the fans. It was a perfectly scripted ambush by the company.
With just one segment, WWE built up the biggest angle of the year or probably the PG era. If they was a bit more careful with the whole thing, it would have been a bigger success story than it already is.
#8 Rock makes his return
The WWE squared circle has seen a plethora of superstars but none of them have been as electrifying as the Brahma Bull himself. Rock left the wrestling business to pursue a career in Hollywood towards the twilight of the Attitude Era.
In his absence, many news top names sprouted out in the company. With Rock’s acting career taking off big time, no one expected him to come back into the WWE. And this was the reason for everyone’s shock factor when Rock returned in 2011.
It was one of the biggest returns in the PG era and Rock did the unthinkable when he wrestled John Cena at WrestleMania, not once but twice in the space of two years.
#7 Seth Rollins turns on the Shield
Shield will probably top the list if someone ranks the top stables of PG Era. They didn’t have the controversial factor like NWo or D generation X but three hungry guys tearing apart the entire main roster was a treat to watch.
The trio was taking out almost all the main event stars and like every other beautiful thing, Shield also had to reach an end point. It happened a few months after WrestleMania and played host to an excellent heel turn from Seth Rollins.
Rollins then went on to become the top heel in WWE while both Ambrose and Reigns found success on their own. Rollins using the chair to knock out his brothers was a classic moment indeed.
#6 Ladies and gentlemen, the Pipe bomb
There were a lot of frustrations that the fans wanted to unload about WWE. From Cena’s superman push to real wrestling being avoided, the WWE Universe wanted to point out Vince McMahon’s mistakes on a larger platform than the internet.
They did not have a voice to do the same until CM Punk decided to be one. On a regular Monday Night Raw main event, Punk came in, took a microphone, sat on the ramp and started telling the truth.
It was a half shoot but the fans bought it as a complete shoot by the straight edge superstar. Vince wouldn’t have expected Punk to go to such limits but on the whole, it was a successful angle.
#5 Brock Lesnar returns
The WWE invested heavily on Brock Lesnar during his initial run. Vince McMahon saw Lesnar as a long term star back in the early 2000s but Lesnar had other plans. He quit WWE to pursue a career in UFC and morphed into an even bigger star.
After almost a decade of walking out of the company, Lesnar finally returned in 2012. He appeared on the night after WrestleMania to confront John Cena and the rest was history.
Lesnar soon became a mainstay in the WWE programming even though his appearances were limited to a handful every year. At the end of the day, it Lesnar’s return caused more impact than anyone imagined.
#4 Daniel Bryan lives his dream
WWE fans have always being fond of underdog stories, Daniel Bryans run to the WrestleMania XXX Main event was something similar. Starting from the lower reaches of the wrestling world, Bryan clawed his way to the top and reached WWE.
There, he spent an awfully long time in the midcard before turning into the most over baby face in the company. Even though Vince McMahon had no intention of making Bryan a top guy, the fans left him with no choice.
The rebelling fans coupled with Bryans undeniable wrestling skills so he beat Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista at the same night to win the WWE World heavyweight championship. It was a dream come true moment for everyone and a perfect climax to WrestleMania as well.
#3 CM Punk walks away with the Championship
CM Punk quitting the company was a big headline maker but an even better on was him walking out with the WWE championship. it was a rare moment in the WWE where the fans had no idea whether they are seeing something real or scripted.
Punk’s contract was up at Money in the Bank and he defeated Cena for the WWE championship. So technically, a non-contracted superstar was holding the title and the same non-contracted worker decided to walk away with the gold.
He did return a couple of weeks later but till then, the fans though that Punk legitimately quit the company thanks to the effectiveness of the pipe bomb promo.
#2 Stings debut
Sting’s debut has been in the build for almost a decade. It finally happened in 2014 Survivor Series and the crowd literally went mad. It was a moment that every wrestling fan wanted to see and when it finally arrived, the debut was larger than life.
The Icon came in with his typical style and ended the reign of Authority. There is still a lot of buzz around why Sting did it but the fans will not be worried much about that since they already saw what they wanted to see.
There isn’t a debut in the near future that could outclass what Sting did at Survivor Series and it was definetly a moment worth cherishing for the years to come.
#1 Undertakers streak ending
Yes, Undertaker’s streak came to an end in the PG era. A portion of the fans will say that ending Taker’s streak was a bad decision by the company but that opinion is sure to change if one stumble upon the latest pictures of Undertaker.
As far as the moment is concerned, it was one of those occasions which made us proud about being a wrestling fan. A man who never lost a match at WrestleMania for more than two decades was literally destroyed by Brock Lesnar.
When the referee counted three on the mat, there was a deafening silence all over the Arena. The fans needed a few minutes to digest what they saw. Moments like this where the fans pinch themselves to filter out dreams is what Wrestling is all about.
