15 Reasons why the Ruthless Aggression was better than the Attitude Era

If a random person is quizzed about which was the best time to be a wrestling fan, the most probable answer that would come out of his mouth would be the Attitude Era.One of the main reasons for this would’ve been the amount of options that were available during that period as a fan who didn’t like one promotion’s show could’ve easily switched to another to see a better offering.However, if we look from a wider angle, the ruthless aggression era which followed the attitude Era deserves more credit than it requires.It is one of the periods in the timeline that is often overlooked by many but here is a look at the reasons why the Ruthless Aggression Era was far better than a heavily overrated Attitude Era.

#15 Divas were better than ever

Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Maria, Trish Stratus, Lita, Melina, Ashley Massaro, Mickie James, Christy Hemme, and Stacy Kiebler, do we need any more reasons to tune into the divas division that RA Era had to offer?.

While the Attitude Era was more about showing off the skin, RA Era divas had the ability to captivate WWE fans with their in ring action along with their beauty.

It was arguably one of the best female roster that any promotion could’ve had and who can forget the feud that Trish and Lita had which set the bar for every diva. The two hall of famers blew off the roof whenever they had the chance to which is something that everyone would love to see again.

#14 Birth of Elimination Chamber

Elimination Chamber is one of the concepts that took birth in the RA era. This is a gimmick which would’ve suited the Attitude Era more but the company didn’t have the brain of Eric Bischoff back then. In fact, they were trying to put Bischoff out of business.

Once Bischoff joined WWE, it was supposed to be the last nail on the already died out WCW. He came into McMahon’s promotions and started making the product better.

And as part of this procedure, Bischoff gave us the Elimination Chamber. The idea was so revolutionary that the company stuck with the match even in PG era and also gave a pay-per-view named after it.

#13 Shawn Michaels returned

Shawn Michaels is a superstar without whom the WWE history wouldn’t be complete. He however didn’t have a big say during the Attitude Era due to his retirement.

The Heart break kid was a mainstay before the Attitude Era alongside where he had epic matches with Bret Hart and had the D Generation X with Triple H. WWE weren’t given the opportunity to utilize DX to the core in Attitude Era due to Michael’s absence.

However when he returned, Michaels looked fresh and rearing to go. He kicked off his return with a feud with Triple H. Anyone who witnesses at least one match in that feud would understand that there is no need of any extra adjectives for that.

#12 The factions

Attitude Era had some of the biggest factions, period. However, most of the factions were not made up for the purpose of building new stars or make up some good wrestling action. The sole purpose was to spill in some controversy and make the fans think on a shorter period.

And then we had the Evolution in RA era. The team consisted of names from past, present and the potential future of the company.

The idea was to build up new superstars and also ensured some great in ring action. It was a faction that had so much though in the background and almost all the stables that came out of the era was similar which made them stand out.

#11 Better Theme songs

This part of the wrestling business is not often given any importance when comparisons are made however it would be unfair to avoid the theme songs here.

Right now, the WWE gives no attention whatsoever to the theme songs and the ones given to Rybaxel is the biggest example out there. The same went with Attitude Era. There were superstars like Steve Austin, Rock and some handful who had legendary music but the rest was forgettable.

Even a jobber in the RA era could’ve come out to good music as WWE needed to had them build up for the in ring action to come. Some of the songs are still a nostalgic for the WWE Universe and would not be replaced anytime soon.

If there is any arguments about the theme songs category, just tune into the Raw theme song back in 2003 and compare it with the one in Attitude Era.

#10 Authority which was distributed

Some can say that the WWE will not be complete without Authority figures. In the Attitude Era, it was Vince McMahon’s similar character that kept the company afloat while the same is done by Triple H in the present.

The similarity between then and now is that the power is more centralized. Back then it was vested at the hand of McMahon himself while now it is with Hunter and his wife.

RA era didn’t follow this pattern. Due to the brand split it was more about general managers than the actual chairman. We had names like Eric Bischoff, Paul Heyman and Steve Austin playing the general managers making this era have some of the most exciting authority figures.

#9 The Brand Split

After WCW went out of business, a plethora of talent flooded into the WWE forcing them to have a full scale brand split. There was Raw and SmackDown with talented names and both brands told entirely different stories.

Unlike the current product or the one in Attitude Era, it was just like two different promotions that were fighting it out to find which the better show was.

And to make matter more interesting the WWE even had Paul Heyman as the creative head of SmackDown. WWE used to have only a handful of common pay-per-views for the brands and it made the fans eagerly wait as well.

Superstars from each brand crossing paths were also another interesting prospect of this while this wait and satisfaction wasn’t there to be seen in the Attitude Era.

#8 Draft lottery

Fans of European football would know how exciting the Transfer window is. It’s that part of the year where they get to see players jump ships and make a team strong or weak.

WWE fans were also given the luxury of the same when they had the brand split. Every year, the SmackDown and Raw could choose superstars from the other brand to having some more star power in their roster.

The moment when a surprise name made his debut in the other brand was always an exciting time and neither the PG era nor the Attitude Era fans didn’t have something unique like this.

#7 Then Jericho introduced the Money in the Bank

It would be unfair to say that the Attitude Era didn’t have any new inventions; however, the master himself came with a ground breaking idea in the RA era when he introduced the Money in the Bank.

A contract was hung over the ring with the only way to snatch it being a ladder. The first MITB match that happened at WrestleMania turned out to be a great success and WWE had a good prospect in their hands for the years to come.

A match like this would’ve almost never happened back in the Attitude Era for one reason or the other. There were some memorable matches with Ladder but the MITB had a different aura.

#6 Less controversial

Attitude Era might’ve been more mainstream considering how WCW and WWE were locking horns for survival in the rapid waves of change.

To take out the competition, both promotions often went to such low levels that the image of professional wrestling itself was projected badly to the people who rarely tuned into the programming.

A lot of eye candy, violence and foul mouthed language were promoted by Vince McMahon as he simply went by the rule that sex and violence always sells. At the same time, the only notable controversy that WWE had to face during the RA era was Benoit’s death.

This however changed the business for good while Attitude Era will always be known for the depths in which the promoters could go to take the competition out.

#5 It honored the underdogs

Attitude Era had many glorified midcarders and underdogs but the company wasn’t ready to take risk with them as any false move would’ve given the advantage to WCW.

This made the company to be kept the main event names like Steve Austin, Vince McMahon and Rock steal the entire show while the midcarders were confined to showing off their skills in between the ropes rather than winning the championship.

RA on the other hand witnessed some of the biggest underdog moments in the history of WWE. One in particular was at WrestleMania when lifelong friends Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit stood tall holding gold in their hand.

#4 Realistic angles

One of the things that are sure to draw crowds into an arena is realistic storylines. If the fans are able to connect easily with the kayfabe, it would in turn morph into a success story.

Back in the Attitude Era however, WWE relied mostly on cartoonish characters that were out there only for the purpose of short term entertainment. All McMahon wanted was to win the ratings at a particular night rather than plot the path for a longer run.

RA meanwhile was having more realistic gimmicks. The superstars had fewer decorations around their real life personas which made it easy to depict.

It looked more natural when all the flashiness and cartoonish traits were taken away making the fans feel that the wrestlers are humans after all.

#3 Star power in the roster

WCW folding meant that WWE was left with a lot superstar to choose from as most of them had no other place to find a job.

Apart from names like Steve Austin, Triple H, Rock and some more, the Attitude Era suffered from a depleted roster as many big names had a place in WCW. Most of the midcarders during this time failed to make it big while it was a different story with RA era.

Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, John Cena along with some mainstays from WCW and Attitude Era made the roster spilling over with star power.

WWE hasn’t been able to replicate that magic till now making RA an era which had the most exciting roster.

#2 Undertaker established a legacy

Undertaker has been a mainstay in the WWE programming right back from the 90s; however, it was the ruthless aggression era where he became the dead man as we know him today.

WWE tried an American bad ass gimmick with the Phenom in the RA era and he was seen regularly appearing in weekly shows. Taker even had a memorable ladder match against Jeff Hardy, ladder match in case you didn’t read that right.

He had feuds with Rock, Kurt Angle and laid the foundation which was needed to establish the WrestleMania legacy which turned out to be WWE’s biggest draw for the years to come.

#1 It was more about wrestling

When there is a competitive surrounding, the basics of the business are often forgotten by the WWE. This was the situation with Attitude Era. They had vocal angles and controversial storylines which stole the show while in ring action failed to provide epic encounters.

It was more like running an action film in a wrestling set instead of making the superstars wrestler. For the fans who loved the drama, this might’ve been a treat but for the ones who enjoyed the action in between the ropes, RA was an easy pick.

The lack of competition that WWE had let them invest in the in ring action and tone down the candy coating.

All the talent they had at their disposal was allowed to pull off some classic matches which made WWE look more like a wrestling promotion than a controversy train.