Aggression Beats Attitude
In the WWE Universe there has been much debate over the years as to which era is the pinnacle period of in-ring action whether that be the characters, the matches, or the wrestling itself, for some reason we are all drawn to one era over another. Yet, here we are 16 years after the end of the Attitude Era and millions of fans still claim it to be the greatest time in wrestling history, however, there are others, like myself, that believe the era that followed was even greater, that being the Ruthless Aggression Era. Here is why I believe that Aggression is better than Attitude when it comes to the quality of the WWE product.
The Ruthless Aggression Era kick-started on March 25th 2002 with the initial WWE draft, and ended after the Great American Bash 2008, an event that became a main stay during the era and a year-on-year highlight. Prior to the Draft Triple H, The Rock, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker had been main eventing more or less every show for the past 4 years, with the addition of a few extra talents, and the Draft allowed for a new sense of freshness to shake things up a little and allow different wrestlers to get an opportunity to shine on either Raw or Smackdown. The likes of John Morrison, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, and even Kane would have been held down continuously if not for the Draft, and let's not forget that the brand vs brand matches back in the day got us as riled as any sports match would.
When thinking of the Attitude Era we tend to forget how much scrapping actually took place instead of wrestling, something which took a turn for the better during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Instead of having Steve Austin punching and brawling with The Rock we instead had the likes of Chris Jericho taking on Shawn Michaels in classic Mania action, Rey Mysterio face off with Eddie Guerrero in a Cruiserwieght instant, and Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison adding much needed youthfulness and in-ring ability to their respective brand.
The rivalries which took place during the Ruthless Aggression era were not based around corny antics but rather squared-circle showdowns and competitiveness. During 2007 the rivalry between Batista and The Undertaker was based around the two tough guys of Smackdown going head-to-head for the World Heavyweight Title, compare this to Mich Foley vs The Rock and you'll see how stupid the latter really was. The final note is that during this Era the Champions were built to be genuine Champions who were believable and earned every opportunity they got. Triple H dominated Raw and WAS Raw for 3 years, John Cena proved why he was the definition of Ruthless Aggression, and Batista became a threat to anyone who stood in his path.
My point here is that millions of fans have the view that the Attitude Era is the Star Wars Original Trilogy and can't do anything wrong, and that the Ruthless Aggression Era is the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy which will never be as good as the older films, when in actual fact we all know that is not true. What are your thoughts on the Ruthless Aggression Era? Please comment below and come pack soon, if I haven't upset you too much.
The Ruthless Aggression Era kick-started on March 25th 2002 with the initial WWE draft, and ended after the Great American Bash 2008, an event that became a main stay during the era and a year-on-year highlight. Prior to the Draft Triple H, The Rock, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker had been main eventing more or less every show for the past 4 years, with the addition of a few extra talents, and the Draft allowed for a new sense of freshness to shake things up a little and allow different wrestlers to get an opportunity to shine on either Raw or Smackdown. The likes of John Morrison, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, and even Kane would have been held down continuously if not for the Draft, and let's not forget that the brand vs brand matches back in the day got us as riled as any sports match would.
When thinking of the Attitude Era we tend to forget how much scrapping actually took place instead of wrestling, something which took a turn for the better during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Instead of having Steve Austin punching and brawling with The Rock we instead had the likes of Chris Jericho taking on Shawn Michaels in classic Mania action, Rey Mysterio face off with Eddie Guerrero in a Cruiserwieght instant, and Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison adding much needed youthfulness and in-ring ability to their respective brand.
The rivalries which took place during the Ruthless Aggression era were not based around corny antics but rather squared-circle showdowns and competitiveness. During 2007 the rivalry between Batista and The Undertaker was based around the two tough guys of Smackdown going head-to-head for the World Heavyweight Title, compare this to Mich Foley vs The Rock and you'll see how stupid the latter really was. The final note is that during this Era the Champions were built to be genuine Champions who were believable and earned every opportunity they got. Triple H dominated Raw and WAS Raw for 3 years, John Cena proved why he was the definition of Ruthless Aggression, and Batista became a threat to anyone who stood in his path.
My point here is that millions of fans have the view that the Attitude Era is the Star Wars Original Trilogy and can't do anything wrong, and that the Ruthless Aggression Era is the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy which will never be as good as the older films, when in actual fact we all know that is not true. What are your thoughts on the Ruthless Aggression Era? Please comment below and come pack soon, if I haven't upset you too much.
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