WWE News: Attitude Era to Bail out the WWE at Yet Another WrestleMania

The Attitude Era is back once again! Well, kinda. Another calendar year has gone by and the WWE once again has to take an axe to its emergency glass case to salvage what looks to be a trio of WrestleMania main events.

All three projected main events are completely devoid of stars from its hit-or-miss youth movement. 

Those creepy, cryptic videos you see each week during RAW all seem to point to the return of Chris Jericho, which would mean a swing-and-a-miss for yours truly in the prediction department. Reports have since surfaced that Jericho and Punk would be on the books come April 1st, 2012 for the WWE Championship. 

Meanwhile, Triple H channeled his inner Shawn Michaels as he accepted a Slammy for a match with The Undertaker, only to tease a possible WrestleMania rematch with the Deadman that now seems imminent.

And we all know about that Rock-Cena date planned one year in advance. 

Make no mistake, the top of the card for next year's Mania looks amazing with a small handful of venerable WWE Superstars primed to make this the biggest WrestleMania ever. 

Yet therein lies the problem. The WWE, particularly during WrestleMania season, seems to only be able to create stimulation via nostalgia. 

Should the projected threesome of main events hold up, four of the six participants at the top of the card would have been active during the attitude era, all of whom competed at WrestleMania X8 10 years ago. 

A victim of resting on its laurels for several years following the ascendancy of John Cena and Batista, the WWE has failed to make a new top superstar. The company's struggles never seemed more evident than at the conclusion of a WrestleMania XXV pay-per-view that featured a been-there-done-that main event between Randy Orton and Triple H. 

During a subsequent youth movement born out of necessity following the silver anniversary of its biggest pay-per-view event, the WWE once again became its worst enemy as it habitually started and stopped the pushes of potential breakout superstars in 2010, demonstrating an indecisiveness that only proved poisonous to the company's better business. 

WrestleMania XXVI saw the unlikely return of Bret Hart after 13 years, who, alongside Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Vince McMahon, headlined the over-hyped showcase from Phoenix.

The Miz seemed to be building steam as that guy, and still has potential, but any possible changing of the guard at WrestleMania XXVII was overshadowed by the very lucrative return of The Rock necessitated by familiar problems of the WWE failing to generate in-house intrigue. 

Despite the Miz going over top star John Cena in last year's WrestleMania main event, the victory was rendered meaningless by The Rock attacking both men to close the show, then showing up on RAW the following night to accept a challenge from John Cena for WrestleMania XXVIII. 

And so here we are today. 

Another year, another brand of desperately needed imported star power designed to stick a needle in the buyrate's butt. There were even longstanding rumors of a Steve Austin return match to whet the Mania whistle. 

The WWE cannot simply rely on what has become a scary trend forever. The Rock's career as a Hollywood actor is only accelerating and while Dwayne will always have a place in his heart for wrestling, even his luster will wear off should the WWE hastily continue to turn his way for a major pay-per-view payday.   

The shortsightedness of Vince McMahon and co. to feature main events drenched in nostalgia will only hurt the company long-term if fans become accustomed to the biggest show of the year featuring part-time talent. This will create a dangerous sense amongst fans that they only need to commit to the WWE product one month out of the year come WrestleMania season when the 'real' stars show up.

The WWE would be better off if those real stars were its own home-grown talent, which was once the case years ago when The Rock originally main-evented pay-per-views. 

Star power that is sustainable on a full-time basis will trickle down and translate to long-term revenue in terms of live events, pay-per-view buys and television ratings. Unfortunately, the WWE seems to be recklessly avoiding the inevitable—a rebuilding WrestleMania.

One sure to do a low buyrate and not nearly as much business as we've come to expect from the signature franchise, but one that accomplishes the all-important task of getting the WWE Universe accustomed to seeing new stars at the top of the card who will continue to carry the company into its next era, which at the moment is inexplicably ambiguous. 

When it comes to the future of the WWE, something's got to give. In order for the company to evolve properly, a concerted effort towards rebuilding a wounded brand is mandatory.

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