Attitude Elite Wrestling?
The world of professional wrestling received a huge shot in the arm this past weekend thanks to Cody Rhodes and the official debut of All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The Jacksonville-based wrestling promotion held their Double or Nothing pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 25th in front of a sold-out crowd of 12,000. The main theme of the event, at least according to Cody’s promos, was the death of the Attitude Era.
The Attitude Era is a stretch of time from approximately 1997 – 2002 where professional wrestling (and WWE in particular) was at the height of mainstream popularity. Although the era featured some of the biggest names in WWE history (Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind), it is often more known for its edgier content, including Hardcore matches (characterized by the use of weapons and fighting outside of the ring) and Bra and Panties matches, where the goal is for the female competitors to strip each other’s clothes off, instead of actually wrestling.
But for as much talking and sledgehammer swinging that Cody has done to deride this time in wrestling history, Double or Nothing featured some key players of the Attitude Era in prominent spots. Here’s five of them:
Dean Malenko
Although he is mostly known for his run in the WCW Cruiserweight division, Malenko was part of a significant moment that occurred during the Attitude Era: the debut of The Radicalz. Along with fellow disgruntled WCW talent Perry Saturn, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero, Malenko showed up in the front row of an episode of Raw, where they were goaded into a fight by The New Age Outlaws.
Malenko transitioned to a backstage role after his retirement in 2001 and has spent the past 18 years as a road agent. However, he left WWE in April and signed with AEW on May 24th, the day before Double or Nothing.
Billy Gunn
Speaking of The New Age Outlaws, WWE Hall of Famer “Badd Ass” Billy Gunn was one of the first signees for the fledgling promotion, working as a coach and producer. Gunn was a multiple time Tag Team champion as part of Degeneration X, as well as Chuck Palumbo, whom he almost married on an episode of Smackdown.
Jim Ross
Good Ol’ JR was the voice of the Attitude Era on-screen and the head of Talent Relations off-screen. Alongside Jerry “The King” Lawler, Ross anchored Monday Night Raw and monthly WWE pay-per-views, providing us with some of the most iconic calls in wrestling history.
At Double or Nothing, he brought his 35+ years of experience to the announcer’s booth, giving the first official AEW show instant credibility.
Dustin Rhodes
Better known as Goldust during the Attitude Era, Rhodes is the older brother of AEW Executive Vice President (and his opponent) Cody. The two sons of the legendary Dusty Rhodes had the opportunity to team together in WWE, but never really had the chance to have a proper brother vs brother feud.
At Double or Nothing, Cody and Dustin gave it their all (including multiple pints of blood) and stole the show. They had the match of the night, earning 5 stars from celebrated wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer.
Chris Jericho
This Attitude Era mainstay was the first ever Undisputed WWE champion, defeating both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night. A man known for continually being able to reinvent himself and not getting stale, Jericho has spent most of this decade alternating between touring with his heavy metal band Fozzy and appearing for short runs in WWE, often to put over newer talent.
In 2017, Chris was offered the chance to fight Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom, the biggest annual show for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since then he has worked more shows for New Japan, appeared at All In (the precursor to AEW), and even held a wrestling cruise, featuring much of the talent that appeared at Double or Nothing.
In the end, Jericho was not only part of the Double or Nothing main event, but he defeated Omega to earn an opportunity to become the first All Elite Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
For the record, I am extremely excited for AEW and the idea of an alternative to WWE on this large of a scale. Any promotion where you can see the amazing work of talents like The Lucha Bros, Aja Kong, and even Orange Cassidy all on one show deserves all of the praise it can get. But I think it’s important to note that the Attitude Era helped pave the road that AEW is now driving down, potholes and all.
What are your thoughts on AEW Double or Nothing? The Attitude Era? Please let me know in the comments below.
