4 Reasons Why WWE Is Hotter Than It Was During the Attitude Era
WWE is hotter now than it has ever been before and, yes, that includes the Attitude Era of the late 1990s.
While the company may not be the pop culture phenomenon that it was during that period when Austin 3:16 and New World Order t-shirts were as prominent as Fubu and Calvin Klein, WWE is experiencing record numbers in television ratings, live event attendance, and merchandise sales.
Dave Meltzer discussed as much on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingNews.co for the transcription):
"Attendance is way way up….It's been big on cable…even in the Attitude Era, when it was big on cable, it wasn't beating the top network shows. It wasn't even close. But now, I mean, it is. It's crazy, and people wanna say that somehow this isn't hot. It is so hot. It's the hottest wrestling has been since 2001, that's 22 years, and people may look back and go, 'Oh, they were doing three million viewers not that many years ago,' although TV's changed. They certainly weren't doing these crowds on a regular basis like they are now. The crowds for the quarter would be some of the highest in many years, and so many other things when you look at them. Merchandise has never been higher, ever. Not in the Attitude Era, not in the Hulk Hogan era. Never as high as it is now. Roman is the catalyst. Cody Rhodes is doing great on Raw, no doubt about it. Roman….he's been great since he went heel, and it's been building and everything like that, but even when you look back six months ago, it's gone way up since six months ago."
Why is the company hotter now than ever before, leading to increased revenue in all major categories and helping to make WWE a juggernaut in professional wrestling in 2023?
The answer lies in its efforts to tell emotionally investing stories that elevate everyone involved, incorporating recognizable stars, the return of an industry influencer, and a knack for spectacle.
Masters of the Spectacle
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WWE moving a handful of its premium live events into a stadium setting has not only helped elevate the shows in terms of significance but also made each one feel like a bigger deal.
There are the core four (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) but the implementation of Money in the Bank, Clash at the Castle and the maligned Saudi Arabia shows have created a must-see feeling surrounding them.
The cards are stacked, the crowds are bigger and the heat for the show is off the charts. Each non-WrestleMania event takes on that feel because of the enormity of the stadium shows, drawing the attention of fans who otherwise may have been inclined to skip over what had traditionally been a missable September event.
The company has expertly taken half to three-quarters of its major event slate and made must-see programming, driving interest and social media interaction as a result.
The spectacle of a major stadium packed to the gills with raucous fans, ready to scream, chant and emotionally invest in what is about to unfold has been a massively important change to the company's approach.
Young Celebrity and the Cool Factor
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In years past, celebrity involvement in pro wrestling was relegated to a cameo or a handful of appearances that result in a one-off match or refereeing gig before said celebrity disappeared.
In the 2010s, celebrity involvement came in the form of combat athletes either returning to the ring after extended absences (Brock Lesnar) or a UFC Hall of Famer living out her dream of stepping in the ring (Ronda Rousey).
Today's celebrity involvement in WWE is different.
Not only are those entering the company genuine mainstream stars, but they are not relegated simply to promo segments and one big-time match. They are physical, take risks and show out on the grandest stages the company has to offer.
They drive social media interaction by way of fan excitement and awe over their performances while delivering impressions the company can then put together in a press release touting the overall success of an extravaganza.
Logan Paul and Bad Bunny have been massively important in leading the way for this new wave of celebrity participation in the company, though Johnny Knoxville and his admitted love for the industry gave way to one of the more memorable matches in modern WrestleMania history against Sami Zayn.
Considering Vince McMahon is notoriously behind the times in terms of pop culture, it is a testament to those around him that there has been an uptick in socially relevant stars on WWE television.
WrestleMania 39 featured an appearance by Lil Uzi Vert, an admitted wrestling fan whose Pink Tape just became the first rap album to top the Billboard charts in 2023. One of the songs from that album is appropriately titled "Nakamura" and samples former NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance theme.
It is further proof of the influence wrestling has on mainstream celebrity and vice versa.
Even going back a few years, LeBron James and Damian Lillard expressed their fandom of pro wrestling, rocking an Undertaker t-shirt and rolling up to the arena in a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin costume, respectively.
The celebrities of today grew up watching the larger-than-life stars excel at the highest level during the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras of WWE, and are excited about exhibiting that fandom, with some taking the opportunity to do so in the ring itself and the result has been added fan fervor.
In turn, that fan interest in WWE's use of celebrities has driven merchandise sales and ticket revenue.
Bad Bunny was the company's biggest merch seller the week of its Backlash premium live event, per WrestleNomics' Brandon Thurston, and both the event and the SmackDown that preceded it were consecutive million-dollar gates for WWE, proving the influence that young celebrity has on the current product.
The Prodigal Son Returns and Other Emotional Stories to Invest In
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The return of Cody Rhodes to WWE, from an All Elite Wrestling promotion that he helped create, cannot be understated.
No, this is not some tribalistic rant that touts one promotion over the other, but simply the recognition of The American Nightmare's effect on the product since returning to the company that introduced him to wrestling fans.
Rhodes immediately attracted attention and numbers, with his WrestleMania 38 return generating 500,000 engagements on social media, a record for the company. Those numbers helped fuel the 2022 incarnation of the Showcase of the Immortals past the NFL's Super Bowl in terms of social media impressions, a massive accomplishment for the WWE's digital team.
Rhodes has been at or near the top of WWE merchandise sales, per Thurston, and is the star around whom the company has built the Raw brand.
Beyond social media impressions and merch sales, though, is the fans' investment in Rhodes and his story.
The second-generation star has one goal: to capture the WWE Championship that eluded his legendary father, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, during his Hall of Fame career. It is a simple, emotional tale that fans can understand and follow along with.
They genuinely want to see Rhodes win the title and his pursuit of the gold captured both the WWE faithful and the AEW fans who watched him build his own star over the course of an independent run that saw him compete for Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and other top, unaffiliated promotions before forming the second-largest company in the business with his friends.
He is the one wrestler that has managed to bridge the gap between fans of the two promotions and, in doing so, has created greater interest for the WWE product.
Rhodes means a whole lot to a wide audience of wrestling fans and the company's commitment to him, his story, and presenting him as a top guy has benefited all involved.
It is his WrestleMania 39 opponent, and the all-encompassing story that he is at the center of, that has had the greatest influence on the company, though.
Roman Reigns: "High Tides Raise All Ships"
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There was a time when wrestling fans, analysts and industry insiders questioned whether Roman Reigns was ever going to be the top guy that WWE officials so desperately wanted him to be.
Those questions have been silenced with one of the greatest runs by any Superstar in company history. A tour de force that has driven renewed interest in the company, higher merch sales, ticket sales and some of the best creative WWE has ever produced.
It has been accomplished through attention to detail, patience and Reigns' commitment to elevating everyone possible through the overarching saga of The Bloodline.
As the central figure, The Tribal Chief has been instrumental in enhancing the stars of The Usos, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman, Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes and anyone else who has shared the spotlight with him since 2020.
All are bigger stars, with greater fan following an interest than they were prior to their involvement in the story and it has made WWE a better, more engaging product as a result.
He has become the centerpiece of the WWE Universe, every bit the undisputed top star in professional wrestling and its most virtuoso storyteller.
What Reigns has accomplished between the ropes has been accentuated by an understanding of his character and its place in the bigger story that is rivaled by few. He does everything right, from the way he carries himself to the interactions with his cousin Jey Uso, title contenders or on-screen authority figures.
The Bloodline saga is a family feud soap opera storyline transplanted in a wrestling ring. It is Dallas for wrestling fans and the audience is eating it up, including a monster number for the July 7 episode of SmackDown that saw over three million fans tune in to watch Reigns go on Tribal Trial for his actions.
Rather than simply being a top star for whom opponents are cycled in and out, some benefitting and others not, he has mostly benefited everyone he has worked with and the result is a better product.
In an industry where nothing is ever as good as it was when older fans were growing up, The Bloodline storyline has come as close to the long, detail-oriented stories that captivated audiences in years past, even if the presentation of it has evolved.
Reigns has been the company's greatest attribute for the last three years and has WWE at a place where it is achieving numbers and financial success it has never before enjoyed. History will one day look back favorably upon what he, Heyman, his family and peers have created and, perhaps, recognize it as the greatest story in pro wrestling history.
At least one that had a greater effect on the industry and its top company than any before it.
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