The 10 best Superstars from the Attitude Era

#8 Goldust

Breaking taboos.

For anyone who has only recently got themselves into pro-wrestling, it might be difficult to comprehend just how important a star Goldust was for the WWF back in the Attitude Era years. While today he is seen as little more than an ageing jobber, the unhinged son of Dusty Rhodes almost personified the very change of direction the WWF took around the 1997/98 period.

Goldust was originally introduced to the WWF in 1996 as a Hollywood obsessed, sexually ambivalent creep flanked by his manager Marlena. Various Superstars have spoken over the years about their reluctance to work with Goldust due to the way he would conduct himself during matches. Just go back and watch his mini-feud with Razor Ramon over the IC title to understand why.

During the Attitude Era, as WWF's content became more and more x-rated, the Goldust character would become even more bizarre and difficult to watch. After walking out on his wife, he was next placed in a mixed-gender tag team with the legendary Luna Vachon. Goldust informed the WWF audience that this was due to the fact that Luna understood him as a man and allowed him to explore his demented psyche as he saw fit.

In one memorable segment during Jerry Lawler's King's Court, Luna led Goldust to the ring on a leash wearing bondage gear. As the weeks went on, his costumes would continue to push the boundaries of acceptability; he even wrestled a match against Austin dressed as a giant baby.

The fact that Goldust never really touched the main event scene is an indication of how stacked the roster used to be back in those days. Any WWF fan could easily pick Goldust out of a lineup and consider him one of the signature personas within the company, despite never main eventing a signature PPV.