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Attitude Era

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File:WWFLogo98-02.png
The World Wrestling Federation logo used to represent the company's "Attitude" promotion.

The Attitude Era was a period in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (known now as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE) and professional wrestling history that began as a direct result of the Monday Night Wars, a television ratings conflict between the WWF and long time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and culminated at the conclusion of the wars in 2001. Similar to the 1980s professional wrestling boom, the Attitude Era was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States from the late 1990s to early 2000s, as television ratings and pay-per-view buy-rates hit record highs. The Attitude Era was defined by a radical shift in programming content. In contrast to the more traditional family-friendly content that was common in WWF programming, the Attitude Era sought to attract the young adult demographic by transforming the product into an edgier form of entertainment. Heroic characters were replaced with disaffected antiheroes and family friendly storylines were replaced with stories based on shock value, similar to the "Trash TV" genre popularized in the 1990s. Real-life issues were often mimed for storyline content, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

Overview

Stone Cold Steve Austin, a prominent figure of the Attitude Era.

WWE records the Attitude Era to have begun on March 29, 1998 with Stone Cold Steve Austin becoming WWF Champion after defeating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, becoming the face of the company;[1][2] it concluded on April 1, 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven with Austin embracing his long time archenemy Vince McMahon after defeating The Rock to become WWF Champion once again, days after World Championship Wrestling was bought out by the WWF.[3] However, the Attitude Era's origin is attributed to events that took place within the promotion during the second half of the 1990s. A more notable date was during the 1996 King of the Ring tournament with Stone Cold Steve Austin's first usage of "Austin 3:16" which began the WWF's transition to an edgier product. During his second tenure with the WWF, Jake Roberts was promoted as a "Cinderella" story. Having defeated alcoholism and at the time been preaching the Bible around the country, Roberts became a face (fan favorite) and was considered the likely winner of the 1996 King of the Ring. At the event, Roberts was defeated by Austin and with the upset victory over Roberts, Austin mocked Roberts' recital of the biblical passage John 3:16 by saying, "You 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 your John 3:16 ... Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!" Austin's defiance of authority and social morals proved to be popular amongst the fans, and "Austin 3:16" became the major marketing juggernaut for the WWF during the Monday Night Wars. 1997 was also a pivotal year that established the main framework for the Attitude Era. The year was notable for Steve Austin's rivalry with Bret Hart, which culminated with Austin's rise to prominence, as well the feud between Hart and Shawn Michaels. The feud between Hart and Michaels was particularly notable in that the two men had serious real-life issues with one another. The conflict behind the scenes spilled out into their on-screen storyline, with both men making pointed personal remarks in interviews that were often rooted in these legitimate issues.

The Attitude Era proved to be a huge marketing success for the WWF, drawing in a previously unaccounted for young adult demographic that allowed them to successfully cripple competitor WCW by defeating them in the ratings wars. Within two years, WCW had become so unsuccessful that it lost its primetime television deal. During this same period, the WWF had become so financially powerful, that McMahon was able to buy the company from AOL Time Warner at a dramatically reduced valuation. From that point, the sexualized and controversial stories that had defined the Attitude Era were de-emphasized in favor of a complex story that became known as the "The Invasion" during which the events behind the acquisition of WCW played out on-screen.

Initiation

In the midst of the Monday Night Wars, a ratings battle between the WWF's Monday Night Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro, which WCW was winning, the WWF would transform itself from a family-friendly product into a more adult orientated product. This era was spearheaded by Vince McMahon along with head writer Vince Russo, who drastically changed the way professional wrestling television was written. Russo's booking style was often referred to as Crash TV — short matches, backstage vignettes, and shocking television. Vince McMahon would also use the real-life controversial events of the Montreal Screwjob incident to flesh out his character of the selfish, manipulative, and self-centered "Mr. McMahon", a corrupt evil-owner caricature fixated on destroying the lives of disobedient employees and ensure the dominance of his hand-picked heel champions. The resultant feud between Austin and Mr. McMahon became the central storyline of the Attitude Era, propelled by Austin's profanity-laded tirades against McMahon and McMahon's increasingly violent and corrupt retaliations against Austin. Against this backdrop, other adult-oriented stories and characters were introduced, including D-Generation X, a crew prone to innuendo and mischief.

In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XIV, McMahon announced that former boxing champion Mike Tyson would be the special guest enforcer in the WWF Championship main event at WrestleMania. Austin entered and won the 1998 Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating The Rock.[4] The next night on Raw, Austin interrupted McMahon in his presentation of Mike Tyson over the objection of McMahon referring to Tyson as "the baddest man on the planet." Austin flipped off Tyson, which led to Tyson shoving Austin and the two fighting until being separated and subdued by Tyson's and McMahon's security. This resulted in an irrate McMahon to publicly disapprove of the prospect of Austin as his WWF Champion. For the following weeks, Tyson aligned himself with D-Generation X, a group led by Austin's opponent at WrestleMania, WWF Champion Shawn Michaels. It was only after WrestleMania that Tyson's intentions would be revealed. Throughout the WWF Championship match, Tyson bickered with both Austin and Michaels, who was upset that Tyson wasn't doing everything possible to ensure that Austin would be unsuccessful. In the closing moments of the match Austin countered Michaels' finishing Sweet Chin Music and executed his finisher, the Stone Cold Stunner. Austin then covered Michaels, which was followed by Tyson himself counting the pin-fall. With this, Tyson turned on Michaels and D-Generation X as Austin became the new WWF Champion. Following the victory, a distraught Michaels confronted Tyson, who then knocked out Michaels with a right-handed punch as Austin celebrated and the Attitude Era was officially ushered in.

Austin vs. McMahon

The Rock, another prominent figure of the Attitude Era.

On the Raw after Austin won the WWF Championship, Mr. McMahon presented him with the newly designed WWF Championship belt and informed Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature and that if he didn't conform to society and become his image of what a WWF Champion should be, Austin would face severe consequences. Austin gave his answer in the form of a Stone Cold Stunner to McMahon. This led to a segment a week later where Austin had pledged a few days prior in a meeting to agree to McMahon's terms, appearing in a suit and tie, with a beaming McMahon taking a picture of himself and Austin, his new corporate champion. The entire thing was a ruse by Austin who in the course of the segment proceeded to tear off the suit, telling McMahon it was the last time he'd ever be seen dressed like this. Austin punched McMahon in the "corporate grapefruits", and took another picture with McMahon grieving in pain.

The following week on April 13, 1998, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no contest when Dude Love interrupted the entire thing. On that night Raw defeated Nitro in the ratings for the first time since June 10, 1996. Meanwhile, several popular characters emerged on Monday Night Raw that would establish consistently high viewing from fans: The Rock, after not winning over the fans as the face Rocky Maivia, was making a new name for himself as a member of the Nation of Domination, and later as a singles performer, and Triple H, who after Shawn Michaels left due to back injuries, took control of D-Generation X and recruited the New Age Outlaws and X-Pac, who had just returned to the WWF after his two year tenure with WCW as a member of the nWo, into his new "D-Generation X Army".

The DX Army and The Rock

With the newly formed "DX Army", D-Generation X participated in numerous segments causing chaos and leaving wreckage wherever they went. On April 27, 1998 Nitro was held at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia, while Raw was held nearby at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. With the ongoing war between the WWF and WCW, the DX Army decided to initiate an immediate "invasion" of Nitro. The DX Army drove to the Norfolk Scope in an army Jeep, challenging WCW head Eric Bischoff to come out and face them or to let them in. The fans outside the arena for the show began chanting "DX" as they joined the DX Army, helping them attempt to enter the arena and invade the Nitro broadcast. Soon after, the DX Army even appeared at CNN Towers to call out WCW owner Ted Turner. Like Austin, D-Generation X were embraced by fans, with their mischievous antics and defiant attitude, as their popularity continued to grow.

Perhaps the only individual to rival Steve Austin in popularity during this time was The Rock, a third-generation star who was originally introduced to fans as Rocky Maivia and pushed as a major face upon his debut. The fans began to turn against Maivia, as they didn't appreciate him being constantly overemphasized as a good guy and forced into the role. Aggravated by the fans' extreme dislike for him and feeling under appreciated and underestimated, Rocky himself turned against the fans and began to verbally insult them on a weekly basis with various trash-talking promos while referring to himself in the third person.

Through his in-ring abilities and tremendous skills on the microphone, The Rock gained a huge fan base as he continued to grow immensely popular despite every attempt The Rock made to be a heel, even interrupting fans as they chanted The Rock's catch phrases in unison with him, reiterating "This isn't sing-a-long with The Rock!" With his engrossing and funny promos, The Rock became one of the most popular WWF superstars of all time.

Notable moments

1997

  • March 17, 1997 - Bret Hart shoves Vince McMahon to the ground and proceeds to go on a profanity-laden tirade. He uses the words "Goddamn" and "shit" several times on live television.
  • March 23, 1997 - At WrestleMania 13, Bret Hart and Steve Austin have a submission match that is widely considered to be one of the greatest WWF matches of all time. The match ended with Hart locking a bloodied Austin in the Sharpshooter, causing him to pass out; afterward, Hart refused to release the hold, and then stomped on Austin's leg. This completed a rarely-seen "double turn," with Hart—once the company's top babyface during its earlier years—turning heel, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin turning face. This moment began Austin's rise to superstardom in earnest, with Austin himself calling it the "the greatest match of my career" and "probably the defining moment of my career." At the same event, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid to win his second WWF championship.
  • March 24, 1997 - Bret Hart gives a speech that officially turns him heel in the United States; he lambastes American wrestling fans for booing him, and points to the country's issues with crime, poverty, racism, and gun control as evidence of its poor moral values. He praises Canada and other countries around the world (where he remained quite popular) as exemplary of good conduct. This kicks off a hot Canada-U.S. feud that sees Hart reform the Hart Foundation with his contracted relatives (Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, and family friend Brian Pillman) to face off against popular American wrestlers such as Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and the Undertaker. The feud was unique for having the Hart Foundation play heels in the United States, but remain babyfaces in Canada and much of Europe (with Austin and Michaels being the opposite), a tactic never employed before.
  • May 1997 - Jim Ross conducts a series of "worked shoot" interviews with Mankind, with the latter acknowledging his real-life identity of Mick Foley and his childhood past. The interviews earn fan sympathy for Foley, and he begins a babyface run that would introduce the characters of Dude Love and Cactus Jack. This ultimately results in Foley becoming one of the Attitude Era's most successful and enduring characters, earning him three world championship runs and several best-selling books.
  • June 8, 1997 - Hunter Hearst Helmsley wins the 1997 King of the Ring, defeating Mankind in the finals. This marks the beginning of a sustained push that sees Helmsley become a main eventer by the year 2000.
  • August 3, 1997 - Bret Hart defeats the Undertaker in a title-match at Summerslam which had Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee, to become the new WWF champion. The stipulation was that Bret Hart will not be allowed to wrestle in the United States ever, if he lost. He won the match after Shawn Michaels hit the Undertaker with a chair-shot to the head, which was actually meant for Bret Hart. This started a bitter feud between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, who would continue to repeat the act of hitting the Undertaker with a chair on several occasions later. This is what led to the introduction of the Hell in a Cell for the # 1 contender for the title.
  • August 11, 1997 - Rocky Maivia returns after being sidelined with a torn ACL for three months, interfering in a match on Faarooq's behalf and joining the Nation of Domination. This is the beginning of Maivia's push, as soon afterward he becomes a cocky, charismatic heel that refers to himself in third-person as "The Rock" and eventually usurps control of the Nation from Faarooq.
  • August 18, 1997 - Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley team up for the first time on Raw, facing Undertaker and Mankind in a tag team match.
  • September 22, 1997 - During this episode of Raw is War, Vince McMahon receives his first Stone Cold Stunner from Stone Cold Steve Austin.
  • October 5, 1997 - The Hell in a Cell match was first introduced at Badd Blood: In Your House at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It featured The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. In that match, the door was unlocked to allow the removal of an injured cameraman. This led to Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker fighting outside the cell, eventually climbing the structure and fighting on top of the cell. The fighting taking place outside of the Cell led to the first fall from the cell, when Shawn Michaels, hanging from the edge of the structure, had his hands stepped on by The Undertaker and fell from the structure, crashing into the table below. Also in that match, the goal of no interference was not achieved when The Undertaker's younger brother Kane made his debut, ripping the door off of the cage and giving a Tombstone piledriver to The Undertaker, allowing Michaels to crawl and pin Undertaker.
  • October 13, 1997 - The group of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna give themselves the name D-Generation X on an episode of Raw is War.
  • November 9, 1997 - At the Survivor Series, with the match between Shawn Michaels and WWF Champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart for the WWF Title, when Michaels locked Bret Hart into Bret's own submission, The Sharpshooter, Vince McMahon, who was at ringside, ordered referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell. The post-match events came under fire of controversy because in the storyline, Bret did not tap out when locked into submission and was not supposed to lose at all. Due to the fact it took place in Montreal, Canada, the event has been dubbed the Montreal Screwjob.
  • December 8, 1997– During this episode of RAW IS WAR, Stone Cold Steve Austin knocks WWF Chairman Vince McMahon off the ring, thus entering the Austin/McMahon saga.

1998

  • March 2, 1998 - The first official appearance of the WWF "Attitude" logo on Raw is War broadcasts. "Attitude" signs and logos are added to the set as well as the new "Scratch" logo underneath the Titantron, where the wrestlers enter. Several variations of the new logo are used within the year.
  • March 29, 1998 – The Undertaker beats Kane at WrestleMania XIV, making Kane the seventh opponent whom Taker had beaten at a WrestleMania event. Later that night "Stone Cold" Steve Austin won the WWF Championship from Shawn Michaels. This marked the official beginning of the Austin era and the Attitude era
  • March 30, 1998 – With Shawn Michaels out because of a back injury, Triple H calls himself the leader of DX, and adds the New Age Outlaws and X-Pac to the group.
  • April 13, 1998 - For the first time since June 10, 1996, WWF Raw won over WCW's Monday Nitro in the ratings when on Raw, Stone Cold Steve Austin was supposed to face Vince McMahon for the first time, one on one.
  • June 28, 1998 – At the King of the Ring, Mankind loses against The Undertaker in the second Hell in a Cell match. In the opening moments of the match, the Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the cage, and later, through a panel on top of the cage and onto the ring below. Later that night, Kane won his first major title from Stone Cold Steve Austin in the first-ever First Blood match.
  • August 2, 1998 - WWF Sunday Night HeAT debuts on the USA Network. The show would eventually air for 10 years.
  • September 27, 1998 - Breakdown in Your House - A match at the event was a Triple Threat match in a steel cage between Ken Shamrock, Mankind and The Rock to determine the number-one contender to the WWF Championship. The main event was a Triple Threat match between Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Kane for the WWF Championship, which ended in controversy when The Undertaker and Kane simultaneously pinned Austin. After the match Vince McMahon stole Austin's smoking skull belt.
  • September 28, 1998 - Raw is War, Vince McMahon attempted to announce a new WWF Champion. He held a presentation ceremony, and introduced The Undertaker and Kane. After saying that both deserved to be the WWF Champion, Austin drove a Zamboni into the arena, and attacked McMahon before police officers stopped him, and arrested him. Because The Undertaker failed to defend McMahon from Austin, McMahon did not name a new champion, but instead made a match at Judgment Day between The Undertaker and Kane with Austin as the special referee.
  • October 5, 1998 – On this episode of Raw, Mankind visits an injured Vince McMahon. During this segment, Mankind introduces Mr. Socko, a hand-drawn sock puppet. Mr. Socko became so popular that it became part of the Mankind gimmick. A few moments later, in another segment, Stone Cold Steve Austin impersonates a doctor and starts attacking McMahon. From this date until Nitro's last episode on March 26, 2001, Raw took the lead in the ratings war and was only beaten by Nitro on October 26, 1998.
  • November 15, 1998 - Survivor Series - Shane McMahon betrays Steve Austin by costing him the match in the semi finals against Mankind. The Rock wins the WWF Championship (making the youngest WWF champion) in the finals after he applied a sharpshooter to Mankind and Vince McMahon ordered the bell to be rung even though Mankind did not submit. This was a reference to the Montreal Screwjob from the previous Survivor Series.
  • December 7, 1998 - The Undertaker has his druids chain Stone Cold Steve Austin to his "Undertaker Symbol" and raised high into the arena in the entranceway. As it physically symbolized Austin being crucified, it was one of the most controversial moments in Raw history.

1999

  • January 4, 1999 – Shawn Michaels turns against The Corporation and rejoins DX. After rejoining DX, the Corporation attacks Michaels, indicating he is definitely out. Later that night, Mankind won his first World Title from The Rock. On Monday Nitro WCW gave away Mankind's victory at the beginning of the show resulting in hundreds of thousands of viewers switching over to Raw to see the title change. This was also the night of the Fingerpoke of Doom, an infamous match between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash that many fans see as the beginning of the downfall of WCW.
  • January 24, 1999 - Vince McMahon wins the Royal Rumble Match after drawing the number two position. He spent most of the match at ringside commentating and another large portion leading Stone Cold Steve Austin to a trap set up backstage.
  • February 14, 1999 - St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House: After being released by WCW, Paul Wight debuts in the WWF as The Big Show and inadvertently costs Vince McMahon his steel cage match against Austin by throwing Austin through the cage wall, with the cage wall giving way. Stone Cold would then go on to headline WrestleMania XV with the WWF Champion.
  • February 15, 1999 - RAW IS WAR, The Rock wins his third WWF Championship in a ladder match after The Big Show made his debut on RAW IS WAR when he chokeslammed Mankind off a ladder.
  • March 3, 1999 - RAW IS WAR, Steve Austin drives a beer truck into the arena and sprays beer on The Rock, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon.
  • March 28, 1999 – The Undertaker defeats Big Boss Man in the fifth Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XV, making Boss Man the eighth opponent whom Taker beaten at the pay-per-view event. After the match, Taker (kayfabe) hanged Boss Man from the cell. It is also the same WrestleMania that Triple H turns against X-Pac and joins The Corporation. Also, it is the first time that Stone Cold Steve Austin faces off and defeats The Rock at WrestleMania for the WWF Championship.
  • April 26, 1999 - The Undertaker tries to marry Stephanie McMahon in a black unholy wedding, in order to get the attention of Vince McMahon.
  • May 23, 1999 – At the Over the Edge event, Owen Hart, who was scheduled to face The Godfather for the Intercontinental Title, fell to his death when he was lowering himself from the rafters, but was released too early. WWF was criticized for going on with the show, even after then-Raw announcer Jim Ross had said that Owen died. The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin to win the WWF championship with help from Shane McMahon.
  • June 7, 1999 - Vince McMahon is revealed to have sided with the Undertaker and acknowledges that he was behind the abduction of Stephanie McMahon. Linda McMahon resigned as CEO of WWF and named Stone Cold Steve Austin as the new CEO. In retaliation for Vince using them as pawns in his "Higher Power" scheme, Linda and Stephanie McMahon gave their shares of the WWF to Stone Cold giving him half of the WWF ownership as the four McMahons (storyline wise) each had 25%. As Shane and Vince each had 25%, this made Austin (again, storyline wise) majority owner of the WWF.[5]
  • June 27, 1999 - Vince and Shane McMahon win Austin's WWF shares in a ladder match at the King of the Ring giving them 100% ownership and total control of the WWF.
  • June 28, 1999 - Austin wins the WWF championship from the Undertaker on Raw is War.
  • July 25, 1999 – X-Pac and Road Dogg defeat Chyna and Billy Gunn for the rights of D-Generation X. Stone Cold defeats the Undertaker to retain the WWF Championship in a First Blood match. A contract signed by Austin and Mr McMahon before the match stated that if Austin lost the match he would never get another shot at the WWF championship, but if Austin won Vince McMahon would no longer appear on television. This was the end of Steve Austin vs Mr. McMahon saga.
  • August 23, 1999 - Triple H wins his first World Title as he captures the WWF Championship time by defeating Mankind one night after SummerSlam.
  • August 26, 1999 - WWF SmackDown make its debut as a weekly television series.
  • September 16, 1999 - Vince McMahon returns to WWF TV and wins the WWF Title from Triple H on SmackDown with help from Stone Cold Steve Austin.
  • September 27, 1999 – On this episode of Raw, Mankind hosted the famous This Is Your Life segment, for The Rock. This segment alone garnered the highest rating for any professional wrestling segment on television (8.4) to date.
  • November 1999 – August 2000: Stephanie McMahon joins DX when she "married" Triple H, Billy Gunn was soon kicked out, and Road Dogg and X-Pac soon split up after a brief time as a tag team. Triple H and Stephanie's marriage began the McMahon-Hemsley Era, a storyline which would carry over in various degrees of prominence until February 2002.
  • November 14, 1999 - Survivor Series: Stone Cold Steve Austin is run down in the parking lot and taken out of the WWF for 10 months. The story was done to give Austin time off for legitimate surgery that was needed to repair long term damage to his neck, some of which related back to an injury inflicted by Owen Hart back in 1997 after a botched piledriver. Olympic Freestyle Wrestling gold medal winner Kurt Angle also makes his debut in a match against Shawn Stasiak, which he won.
  • December 12, 1999 - Armageddon: The Kat wins the WWF Women's Championship in an Evening Gown in a Pool match; after the match she drops her top to expose her breasts on live TV, marking the first incident of intentional nudity in WWF TV.

2000

  • March 19, 2000 - Trish Stratus appears on Heat, scouting various wrestlers.
  • April 2, 2000 - WrestleMania 2000: Vince McMahon turns on The Rock and helps Triple H retain the WWF title.
  • April 30, 2000 - The Rock defeats Triple H at Backlash after Stone Cold Steve Austin made a brief return to the WWF giving chair shots to Vince McMahon, Triple H, Pat Patterson, Gerald Brisco, and Shane McMahon. Earl Hebner returns as a WWF referee as well.
  • June 25, 2000 - King of the Ring: The Rock, Kane, and the Undertaker defeat Triple H, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon in a 6 man tag match. Before the match the rule was who if anyone on Triple H's team was pinned, Triple H would lose the WWF championship to whoever got the win and it was The Rock when he pinned Vince. If Triple H won, he would have to defend his title against whoever won the King of the Ring in July 2000.
  • June 26, 2000 - Steven Richards runs out to cover up Terri as she begins to strip following a match, thus beginning an angle with the Right to Censor stable, a group of conservative wrestlers looking to rid the WWF of "smut". The angle was created to parody the Parents Television Council who had been protesting about the sexual content and violence in WWF programming. Also, Shawn Michaels resigns as WWF commissioner and Linda McMahon appoints Mick Foley as his successor.
  • September 24, 2000 - Unforgiven: Stone Cold Steve Austin returns full time to WWF television to look for the man that ran him down at the previous year's Survivor Series.
  • October 22, 2000 - No Mercy: Kurt Angle defeats The Rock to win his first WWF Championship.
  • November 19, 2000 - Survivor Series: Stone Cold drops the car Triple H is in from a forklift 20 ft (6 m) high as revenge for running him over the previous year.
  • December 18, 2000 - Raw is War: Linda McMahon is deemed unable to continue her duties as CEO of the WWF and full power is granted to Vince McMahon as WWF chairman, who (kayfabe) fires Mick Foley as WWF commissioner.

2001

  • January 21, 2001- Stone Cold Steve Austin (the 27th entry) wins his record third Royal Rumble, last eliminating Kane, who was in the match for over fifty minutes (as the sixth entry) and recorded a record eleven eliminations. Austin's previous wins occurred in 1997 and 1998. Also, actor/comedian Drew Carey appeared as the fifth entry in the Rumble match. He eliminated himself after a run-in with Kane.
  • February 25, 2001- Triple H defeats Stone Cold Steve Austin in a 3 Stages of Hell match, ending their long feud, and The Rock becomes the first six-time WWF Champion by defeating Kurt Angle at No Way Out.
  • March 26, 2001 - Vince McMahon announces to the world on Monday Night Raw that he has acquired WCW. Later in the night during a live Raw/Nitro simulcast, Shane McMahon appeared on WCW Monday Nitro and (kayfabe) announced that it was he who had in fact purchased WCW and also voiced his intentions to go into competition against his father.
  • April 1, 2001 - WrestleMania X-Seven: Stone Cold Steve Austin turns heel by defeating The Rock with the help of Vince McMahon to win the WWF Championship. Also, The Undertaker beats Triple H, making him the ninth opponent Taker had beaten at WrestleMania, Shane McMahon defeats Vince McMahon in a street fight, Kurt Angle defeats Chris Benoit, Kane defeats both Raven and Big Show in a hardcore triple threat match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship, Chyna defeated Ivory for the WWF Women's Championship, Edge & Christian defeat The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz to win the Tag Team Titles at TLC II, and the Iron Sheik wins a "Gimmick Battle Royal" consisting of many outlandish WWF favorites from previous years. Within two weeks leading up to this event, WCW had been purchased by the WWF while Paul Heyman became a broadcaster after the fall of ECW just weeks before and both defunct entities were part of WrestleMania for the first time ever. WrestleMania X-Seven is considered the last day of the Attitude Era and one of the best WrestleMania events of all time.
  • By the end of 2001 the remnants of the Attitude Era ended such as Raw is War been renamed Raw. In May 2002 the WWF was renamed WWE due to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature court-battle over the initials and the use of the Attitude Era WWF logo became prohibited.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wwechampionship/30445413
  2. ^ http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm14/mainevent/
  3. ^ http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/5997/
  4. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts". Wrestling's Historical Cards. p. 100.
  5. ^ Raw is War - June 7, 1999
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