The Attitude Era could not exist in today's WWE

This imagery would never happen in the PG era of today’s WWE

For five years, which doesn’t seem that long, wrestling was part of the subculture of entertainment in such a way, we all were repeating dialogue and wearing merchandise our parents wouldn’t have allowed us to be seen in when we were younger (my mother was appalled at some of the things I wore). Variety made wrestling cool. Options made us love it more. Entertainment is what Vince McMahon promised, and that is exactly what he gave us.

What is on television now is an out of whack fabrication like someone threw a bunch of ideas on a wall, just to see what stuck and what fell to the floor. The Attitude Era not only defined McMahon’s second chapter of brilliance, it helped define all of us as fans and what we really wanted to see on television.

Could another Attitude Era exist in today’s professional wrestling? Probably not. Too many questions, too many protests, too many issues with social media. If the troubles with Hulk Hogan, comments made by Paige, continual gripping by Bret Hart and growing issue of fans coming over the rails to be part of the action wasn’t enough, the idea of crotch grabbing, thong-wearing women and softcore porn antics would break the Internet. It’s catchy and it would boost ratings – until the morality police got involved. I wonder if this is something Donald Trump approves of.

Another reason to stay the hell away from it.

History in professional wrestling cannot repeat itself. No matter how hard it has been attempted and very few succeed (Flair-Steamboat, Rock-Austin, ‘Taker-Michaels), it cannot capture an audience like it did before. That is why it’s called history. That’s why it pains us to watch what we see now because it does not compare. Brining back superstars of that generation only upset us more. They aren’t who they used to be, they aren’t as magnanimous. Wrestling fans want their cake, their superstars and a Shawn Michaels-Razor Ramon ladder match all in one helping.

So we have to live with what we are stuck with. We have to take the good (Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens) with the bad (Kane, The Ascension) and accept it. Maybe another Attitude Era will evolve. But nothing like it was almost 20 years ago. That would be asking too much. It would also be asking us to forget there is a reason it is called history in the first place.