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The past is a strange thing. It is an entity that can’t be changed and, practically, has no part in the present. And yet, it is so very important. For some, pasts are a source of regret for what could have been. For others, it is a lesson to not repeat the mistakes that had grave repercussions.
And for some others, it is a vault that, when opened, brings about a lot of nostalgic joy to people. Sometimes when you are randomly walking down the street, you suddenly illuminate the world around you with a smile out of nowhere.
While the people may be confused as to what happened, you know what it is: a bright memory from the days of yore.
In the WWE Universe, the past is perhaps the best place. It is a place where the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin came week-in and week-out to entertain fans with wrestling and mic skills.
The Attitude Era. Ah, the good ol’ days. Perhaps the best of days. Back then, WWE was at a pinnacle due to the entertainers they had in their roster. They did just about everything and it had just about everything.
And so, we reminisce the top 10 best moments from that era…
#10 Stone Cold Stunner on McMahon
The feud between Stone Cold Steve Austin and WWE chairman Vince McMahon defined the Attitude Era. It was perhaps the most important and greatest feud of the time and is still fondly remembered by many.
The commercial success of this feud was regarded by many as the driving force that kept WWF (which is now known as WWE) alive. It all began when Vince McMahon, who was a kayfabe commentator at the time, revealed that he didn’t want Austin to become the champion at WrestleMania XIV.
McMahon went to great lengths to ensure this and hired Mike Tyson to officiate the WrestleMania XIV main event match between Austin and Shawn Michaels. Tyson, however, betrayed McMahon and made the count for Austin.
After that, McMahon handed the belt to Austin and asked him to tone down his behavior. Austin’s response? A Stone Cold Stunner!
#9 DX invades WCW
Another defining moment of the Attitude Era, DX made one hell of a move when they invaded the now defunct WCW. Back in the day, WWF and WCW were rivals that were in a constant war for ratings.
So during a typical WCW Monday night event, named Monday Nitro, DX invaded the event by driving in with a tank outside the venue where the event was taking place. After that, they did some of the most memorable things ever recorded during the Attitude Era.
At first, Triple H and his team made some R-rated innuendos that would have sparked anger among fans if it was done in this time. After that, they made the fans pledge their alliance towards DX.
To top off this brilliant move, they also made them chant ‘WCW sucks'. DX also tried to enter the arena but weren’t able to do so.
What a way to bring down your rivals!
#8 The Rock, this is your life
Another one of the Attitude Era’s greatest feuds, Mick Foley – aka Mankind – and The Rock gave WWE fans some of their greatest moments. However, there might be very few better than this segment.
Mick Foley brought people from The Rock’s past in order to taunt him. At first, it was The Rock’s sixth-grade teacher, who was roasted by him to the disgust of the teacher (which was obviously natural).
Then, Foley brought The Rock’s coach and the Great One then used one of his most well-known phrases to ask his coach to stick his whistle up his candy a**.
Finally, The Rock’s high school girlfriend came in and the Brahma Bull insulted her for cutting him off at second base. After that, he delivered a line which sent Jerry Lawler into splits of laughter – and, as much as I want to put the burn line here, I simply can’t in order to keep this slideshow in the confines of PG-13.
#7 Mankind’s first title
Monday Night, back in the day, was a war between WCW and the WWF for better ratings. The two companies were always shoulder to shoulder here - with the WWF mostly behind -but everything changed after this moment.
Mankind and The Rock’s feud reached its pinnacle when the former beat the latter for the title, thanks to some assistance from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Vince McMahon had his Corporation team in the ringside to ensure that Foley doesn’t end up as the champion.
Mankind, however, was also not without help as DX were by his side to provide assistance. In the end, Steve Austin smashed a chair on The Rock’s head and placed Foley’s battered body over his opponent after which the referee counted to three.
WCW commentary feed, at the time, made the blunder of announcing Foley’s championship-winning news and it was reported that an estimated 600000 people changed their channel to watch the moment.
After this, WCW never won the rating war again.
#6 Double turn
For many, this was the match that began the Attitude Era – a time which was not only the best of the WWF/WWE but also ensured that the company stayed commercially successful and subsequently be the wrestling superpower that it is now.
At the time, Steve Austin, who only just dropped his failed ‘Ringmaster’ gimmick, was feuding with the then three-time world champion Bret Hart. Austin used promos to insult Hart and the pair faced each other at the Survivor Series in 1996.
While it might not have been an epic match like the one in WrestleMania 13, it was a brilliant face off that convinced the company to continue to the feud that later reached a pinnacle at the aforementioned WrestleMania event.
After a brutal combat, which saw the number of fans rooting for Austin steadily increase, The Hitman locked in the sharpshooter but Stone Cold wasn’t one to give in.
Eventually, Austin became unconscious and the bell rang but Hart didn’t release the lock, instantly turning himself into a heel and Austin into a face.
#5 Beer truck
What made Attitude Era so special is the hilarious moments that adorned it during the entirety of its existence. One of the best of the lot has to be what Stone Cold Steve Austin did to Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and The Rock.
In what turned out to be one of the greatest moments in the history of RAW, the aforementioned heel trio – that was also known as the Corporation – were doing a promo in the ring when Stone Cold Steve Austin cut them off.
The Texas Rattlesnake entered the arena with a giant truck that almost took down the giant screen on top of the entrance and then went on to berate The Rock. As the Brahma Bull was retaliating with his words, Steve Austin took out a hose from the truck and showered the trio with beer.
To this day, it remains one of the most iconic moments of the Attitude Era.
#4 Milk truck
This is somewhat less talked of and, subsequently, an underrated moment from the Attitude Era. While in the beer truck sequence, it was Stone Cold who was pounding the misery on his rivals, the roles were reversed in this segment.
As some superstars from the roster – known as the Alliance – were praising Austin in what was a celebration party appreciating their leader, Kurt Angle crashed the celebration by entering the arena with a mini-van.
After that, he started throwing milk packets at Steve Austin and co., who were dumbfounded with the antics of the Olympic gold medalist. He then proceeded to take out a hose from the van and spray them all with milk, laying them on the floor with the force of it.
While Austin’s beer truck is the more famous segment, Angle’s milk truck was perhaps the best satire trick pulled off in the WWE.
#3 Montreal screwjob
Every wrestling fan, even the most casual ones, know of this incident that took place in a match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. It was Bret Hart’s last match for WWF as he had signed a contract to join rival promotion WCW.
The Hitman, however, didn’t want to lose his title to Shawn Michaels as the pair feuded both on and off screen. Subsequently, Vince McMahon agreed to the stipulation and the match was supposed to end in a DQ, which meant that the title wouldn’t change hands.
However, behind Hart’s back, McMahon had plotted a plan to dethrone him and make the Heart Break Kid the new champion. As a result, when Michaels locked the sharpshooter – which was Hart’s signature move – on the Hitman, McMahon instantly ordered for the bell to be rung, making Michaels the champion despite the fact that the Canadian didn’t tap.
While this might have been very harsh on Bret Hart – and that too in front of his home crowd – it did become the most talked-of incident in the history of the company and gave McMahon the image of an evil boss, something that played a significant role during the era.
#2 Austin 3:16
As a child, I always wondered what in the world 3:16 meant. Was it a record? Did Austin beat someone to win the belt in 3:16 minutes? I thought and thought about it but it was only after the age of the internet arrived that I knew what this was all about.
After winning the semi-final of the King of the Ring, Austin was set to take on Jake Roberts in the final. Roberts’ gimmick was that of a preacher – which ran parallel with his real life – who would quote Bible every now and then to play up his gimmick.
So after Stone Cold pretty much destroyed Roberts in the ring, he delivered what turned out to be one of the most iconic speeches in the history of WWE/WWF.
“You [Roberts] sit there, and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere. Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16 - AUSTIN 3:16 SAYS I JUST WHIPPED YOUR A**!”
To this day, Austin 3:16 is still among WWE’s most commercially successful endeavors. For some, it was the moment that began the Attitude Era.
#1 Mankind v Undertaker
If Austin was the face of the Attitude Era, then Mick Foley’s lolling tongue out of his battered face and a broken tooth was the image of the era. Stone Cold, DX, The Rock… they might have been essential cogs of the Attitude Era but none of them could endure as much pain and perform as Mankind could.
It was a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE title and the two performers were Undertaker and Mankind. In a move that surprised everyone, Foley entered the arena and began to climb on top of the cell right away
Soon, Undertaker followed and the Dead Man also rose on top of the cage to begin the match about 16 feet above the ring. A few minutes later, Undertaker threw Foley off the top of the cage and into the announcer’s table.
However, Mankind didn’t stop there. As he was being stretchered off the arena, he rushed his way back on top of the cage. This time, he was choke slammed through the cage and into the ring… but he wasn’t done just yet.
After dropping hundreds of thumbtacks, Mankind wanted to slam Undertaker on it but the move backfired as the Dead Man smashed Foley’s back on them.
The image of Foley sticking his tongue out of his bloodied face with one of his teeth uprooted and hanging on his mustache is an ever-lasting image that defined the Attitude Era – that they could do anything to put on a show.
