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The Attitude Era of the mid-90s was characterised by steamy and violent programs. At a time when WWE was doing abysmally; the company decided to become edgier and cater to more mature audiences, in the hopes of competing with WCW. In doing so, they ultimately won the ratings war and drove their competition out of business.
Fast forward to 2016 and WWE television ratings have plummeted to record lows. While we’re still very much in the PG era, over time, we’ve witnessed that WWE throws in shades of the Attitude Era, with sexy, bloody and mature themes.
Of course, fans love this, considering that it makes the product appear much more realistic. But at the same time, it does draw gasps, oohs and aaahs from the audience.
Let’s look back at 2016 and five segments where WWE forgot that it was a PG show.
#5 Vince McMahon says the F word
In this countdown, the boss leads by example!
One of the loudest pops this year was for the returning Shane McMahon. Interfering during the presentation of the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence awards, he confronted Vince and Stephanie McMahon and said that he wanted ownership of Monday Night Raw.
As the angle unfolded, during which Vince McMahon would set up a Wrestlemania match between Shane McMahon and The Undertaker, Vinnie Mac made the ultimate gaffe.
McMahon Senior told the younger McMahon that he'd get a ‘f%^&ing’ beating. The crowd could not believe their ears and gasped in unison. Of course, this error was edited out soon after. While it was an accident, this incident sets the tone for the rest of this countdown.
#4 New Day make a masturbation reference
Who’s next in this countdown? Who? Who? Who? Why, it’s The New Day, of course!
When this entertaining trio was feuding with the Vaudevillains, they showcased a makeshift time machine that could take them to the ‘bygone era’. While the segment in itself was quite a fun watch, one particular part sticks out (no pun intended).
Big E looks at the time machine and asks Xavier Woods if the machine was from his parents’ house. On closer examination, he asks Woods why the keyboard is sticky. The implications are obvious, and yes, it’s not very PG.
New Day is known for dropping sexual innuendos quite often, and in many ways, their whole hip swivel is not very PG as well.
#3 The Miz reveals Renee is sleeping with Ambrose
This week’s episode of SmackDown was peculiar indeed. Peculiar because of how much WWE pushed the envelope in terms of edginess. Not only did the Carmella-Natalya-Nikki Bella segment talk about silicone implants, and drop the word ‘bitch’; Talking Smack featured a perverted Santa Claus as well.
Definitely the most non-PG SmackDown in quite a while.
However, the one segment that stood out from the others was the one between The Miz and Renee Young. Having picked up a screwy win over Apollo Crews, The Miz would be interviewed by Renee Young.
Young would mention The Miz’s obsession with Dean Ambrose. Miz would reply saying, ‘Let’s talk about your obsession with Dean Ambrose. After all, you’re the one sleeping with him.’
While it’s a well-documented fact that Ambrose and Young are in a relationship, this segment came out of nowhere and took us all by surprise. The Miz got a resounding slap on his face, for all his troubles.
#2 The Enzo-Lana angle
One of the most compelling things about the Attitude Era was the lack of black and white. Every character was a shade of grey, and this is realistic because nobody is ever entirely good or bad, outside the squared circle.
Therefore, our favourite babyface, Enzo hitting on a married woman in this segment, harks back to the Attitude Era. Lana would blush when she glanced upon Enzo locked outside the locker room, attired only in his birthday suit.
This would lead to an angle between Rusev and Enzo-Cass, which involved Lana inviting Enzo to her hotel room, presumably for sex.
While this was all a set up for Rusev beating Enzo up, it was one of the more non-PG segments we’ve seen, recently. Before Rusev would emerge and reveal the nature of the ruse, the segment was becoming too hot to handle for sure! Hey, we ain’t complaining. More of this, please!
Honourable Mention: Thumbtacks
Let’s be honest. The first ever Ambrose Asylum match between Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose at Extreme Rules wasn’t really very good. That is until the thumbtacks emerged. While they weren't enough to salvage the match, the thumbtacks did add a new dimension to the contest.
The brutal pictures and videos posted by Chris Jericho after the match were absolutely gruesome! While this was definitely one of the more gory segments from this year, we feel that it tip-toes on the line between PG and non-PG television, making it merely an honourable mention.
#1 Randy Orton laying in a pool of blood
Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar at Summerslam was a squash match in many ways. This highly publicised affair culminated with Lesnar laying blow after blow to the head of the Viper. The match had to end in a TKO, because of how badly Orton was hurt; even, in reality, he suffered a concussion. The contest ended with Orton lying in a pool of his own blood.
While blood isn’t commonplace in the PG era, this was a notable exception. The match emulated an MMA fight, and the bleeding happened from cuts opening up on Orton's forehead. It even took the locker room by surprise and resulted in a backstage confrontation between Brock Lesnar and locker room leader, Chris Jericho.
Sasha Banks was also busted open during her 30 minute Iron Man match with Charlotte Flair. However, we’ll discount that match because the bleeding was accidental, unlike this one.
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