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#4 WWE and Pro-wrestling goes mainstream during the Attitude Era
By the time the mid-90s arrived, Vince McMahon's WWE had started losing fans at a quick pace. The product had gotten stale and people had gotten tired of over-the-top characters and goofy angles. When WCW introduced the nWo, Vince McMahon was forced to change his product drastically, in order to be able to compete with his rival. As a result, Vince McMahon announced WWE's new adult-oriented direction, which would consist of mature storylines and other such content.
This time period is now famously dubbed the Attitude Era. It saw the rise of megastars like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Mike Tyson's run with WWE on the road to WrestleMania 14 gave the company some much-needed mainstream attention. Things only improved further, as WWE kept garnering huge rating numbers over the next few years. Some of WWE's top Superstars had become cultural icons, and were well known even among people who didn't watch the product. The introduction of the Attitude Era was a turning point in the Monday Night Wars, and is rightfully deemed as possibly the greatest time to be a wrestling fan.
