An Oral History of WWE's Old Era Criticizing the Current Era

Rarely does change come about quietly, especially in pro wrestling. In a social media generation where statements and reactions exist in a rapid-fire format, today's culture is more opinionated than ever before.

In a matter of days, both Ric Flair and Road Warrior Animal made headlines for their apparent criticisms of Finn Balor and Sasha Banks, respectively (see quotes below). The resulting nerd rage backlash demonstrates the generation gap WWE has created as it looks to build new stars.

After launching two brand-exclusive shows, while still introducing a fresh crop of talent dubbed The New Era, WWE is in a transitional period as it seeks to differentiate itself from eras past. With a more corporate, family friendly product where each show is staffed with a team of writers and smaller wrestlers are ascending, WWE has never looked so different.   

These sharp contrasts with The Golden Age, The Attitude Era and other generations have drawn criticisms, complaints and, in some cases, downright ire from prominent names of WWE's past.

This oral history consists of quotes from 15 former WWE superstars, Hall of Famers and key front-office personnel who have been vocal about WWE's current product. Each area of criticism, and accompanying quotes, will have a verdict as to how valid the complaint is and what can be done to address it.

WWE Superstars from the Old Era Criticizing WWE's Writing

WWE has always been the ultimate form of capitalism. WWE Superstars must do anything they can to get noticed and connect with fans. Only a select few who stand out from others as special will be backed by the machine, where merchandise sales and main event appearances lead to higher incomes.

WWE's do-it-yourself mission statement once consumed those hungry and opportunistic enough to become top stars. "I think I went 10 years without listening to my wife because I was cutting promos in my head," WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley told Sam Roberts about the less-scripted environment in WWE during The Attitude Era.

Barry Brecheisen/Associated Press/Associated Press

But the do-it-yourself aspect of WWE has somewhat been beaten out of talent with the promotion moving toward scripted promos which are often recited line for line. Many former top stars have been vocal about how they feel WWE's writing process has made WWE Superstars, as well as the current product, stagnant.

Batista, Six-Time WWE World Heavyweight Champion (per ESPN, h/t WrestlingInc): "I didn’t agree with the direction the company was going in. It was geared more toward the PG rating. I fell in love with wrestling again in the late ’90s with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson … It was edgy, and that was the kind of wrestling I knew and loved. It wasn’t like that anymore, and my passion for it died a little bit."

Steve Austin, Six-Time WWE Champion (per The Steve Austin Show, h/t WrestlingInc): "There [are] just no interwoven storylines, which carries through the course of a Monday Night RAW where something, a seed is planted at the beginning of a Monday Night RAW and threaded through the entire show. It's just match after match, segment, or in-ring segment, skit, whatever you want to call it, backstage promo."

Superstar Billy Graham, former WWE Champion (per Facebook): "These WWE writers really need to turn the page on what the are handing the talent to read, I say read because I didn't hear any promos, just reciting of boring scripts." 

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press/Associated Press

Cody Rhodes, Two-Time Intercontinental Champion (per Twitter, @PrinceCGR): "I realized that I don't need to sell myself to these two writers captaining a broken unrecognizable system."

Mick Foley, Three-Time WWE Champion (per Facebook): "There’s a difference between playing to win, and playing not to lose: one breeds confidence, the other breeds fear. It’s the difference between cutting the type of promos Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne The Rock Johnson gave, and the cookie-cutter approach all too often employed these days by WWE creative."

Jim Cornette, Former WWE Manager (per Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, h/t WrestlingInc): "Nobody believes any of this s--t anymore because of the 'Corporate America' and all of the writers, (the comedy writers) the jock sniffers as I call them that if they were caught in a men's locker room would be whistling 'Stranger in Paradise'. They get in and say, 'well I can do this so much better' and come up with these fantasy concepts and I can write lines for these wrestlers to recite. It's horse-s--t and unfortunately that's where we are at these days."

Bret Hart, Five-Time WWE Champion (per Forbes): "These writers, and these guys that think they know so much about wrestling. What does Stephanie McMahon know about wrestling? I don't know. I never saw her in the dressing room, I never saw her on the road." 

Verdict—More Bullet Points, Less Scripts: The most tried-and-true formula for creating a WWE Superstar is finding out what makes the talent tick and exploiting it. Allowing talent to speak from the heart often captures their motivation and unique point of view, thereby making it easier for them to connect with fans. 

Cesaro recently conducted what was supposed to be an impassioned shoot promo (per @davemeltzerWON h/t WrestlingInc) on the recent WWE Draft. But much like his uncomfortable "four ropes" promo from 2014, his delivery was scattershot as he struggled to put words together.

Not all WWE Superstars are created equally. Some need to be closely supervised when it comes to promos; some don't; some probably should keep their speaking roles to a minimum.

WWE Superstars from the Old Era Criticizing Current WWE Superstars

Ric Flair, 16-Time World Champion (per The Ric Flair Show, h/t WrestlingInc.): "If I'm looking at what's going to draw money, what I would pay to see, I would pay to see Dolph against Ambrose before I'd pay to see Finn Bálor against Seth Rollins."

Vince Russo, Former WWE Head Writer (per Fightful): "When Finn Balor was booked to defeat the likes of Rusev and Roman Reigns in the same night—on his first night—this was the nail in the coffin for me. I never believed that I would ever see a powerhouse like the WWE cater to the smallest audience, with the loudest voice—the IWC." 

Batista (per the Daily Star, h/t WrestlingInc): "Love me or hate me, when I was there everyone took one look at me and knew I could beat someone up. I don't think they look at Miz that way."

Bret Hart (per SI.com): "That knee in the face that [Seth Rollins] gave to John Cena was unprofessional, at best. It’s really strange that a guy like Rollins, who I have a lot of respect for, would be that reckless with that knee in the face. If someone kneed me in the face like that, I would have met him in the back dressing room with a baseball bat. There’s just no excuse for it."

Superstar Billy Graham (per Facebook, h/t WrestlingInc): "Last night when I saw Bo Dallas running around the ring acting like an idiot and hugging his opponent Xavier Woods when the match was over I wanted to vomit."

John Morrison, Three-Time Intercontinental Champion (per The World According to Wrestling, h/t WrestlingInc): "Roman Reigns, I'd love to wrestle him in like 10 years if he's still wrestling, because by then hopefully he'd figure out how to work."

Road Warrior Animal, Three-Time WWE Tag Team Champion (per Facebook): "How much does WWE pay Muscle and Fitness to put there own on the cover. Common [sic] Sasha Banks another attempt to shove someone down people's throats. Let them get over themselves how bout that. Get real."

Verdict—It's Simply a Matter of Taste, but the Old Era Might Have a Point: Being a legend, let alone a WWE Superstar, comes with a lot of ego. Ask any wrestler who competed in a given era and most will swear that their era was superior, and while wrestling continues to evolve, they'll claim that nothing compares to the memories they helped create.

They're right. But, in due time, Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns and a host of other stars from the New Era will likely be criticizing the next era as to why it was inferior. It's all a matter of personal taste. In order to build a new generation of fans, change is necessary. Many old-timers viscerally despise change that is too drastic because it serves as a harsh reminder that their time has passed.

But as WWE continues to champion smaller wrestlers as top stars in the New Era, WWE's casual audience seems to be shrinking as well. Despite SmackDown's heavily promoted season premiere, the show's ratings were almost identical to that of Raw per James Caldwell of PWTorch, indicating WWE's viewership may have been reduced to a predominately hardcore audience.

WWE needs to monitor Nielsen ratings, Twitter ratings, YouTube views and other indicators of interest to gauge just how connected it is to more casual viewers. If WWE falls into a pattern of writing for Reddit, the next round of TV rights negotiations won't be pretty.

WWE Superstars from the Old Era on Why Roman Reigns Should Turn Heel

Steve Austin (per The Steve Austin Show): "I predicted this all along. [Roman Reigns] has got to have a heel run before he’s going to be universally loved because that’s just the way that I see it. I’ve always said that I think the guy needs to be a heel first, but, nonetheless, that’s not my call."

Rikishi, Former Intercontinental Champion (per Fox Sports): "To me, what works is to go with the flow. If you hate [Reigns] so much like that, had it been me, I'd tell Vince, switch me heel right now. Let's give it to these people. I'd be the baddest frickin' heel that they'd ever see."

Jim Ross, Former WWE Commentator (per JR's BBQ, h/t WrestlingInc): "BTW....what happens if Lesnar faces Reigns for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania Texas and Reigns turns, aligns with the Authority and cheats to beat Lesnar in AT&T Stadium? Just saying..."

Tommy Dreamer, Former ECW Champion (per TSN): "Wait until Seth Rollins comes back. That can be (Reigns') big heel turn."

Hulk Hogan, Six-Time WWE Champion (per SI.com): "If I was Roman Reigns, I would just listen to what the people want. If they want to boo me, then it's like Razor Ramon would say–'I'll be the 'Bad Guy' for you.' Roman Reigns should be as evil as he wants. If they're booing him, then that's what they want to see." 

Superstar Billy Graham (per Facebook, h/t WrestlingInc): "With no interest by the WWE to have me or anyone else help Roman Reigns with his verbal skills, I suggest after his matches with Triple H they turn him heel and find a mouthpiece for him."

Verdict—Roman Reigns Should Remain a Babyface: Even if Reigns will be knocked down a peg for his recent suspension, why turn him heel at this point? It hasn't happened yet, so it likely won't happen anytime soon. With so much information mixed with defiance, WWE fans are a volatile bunch. Pleasing them is often a fool's errand, and by the same token, angry fans tend to be more active and engaged on social media.

Reigns could potentially make a great heel, but who's to say he hasn't done that already? No WWE Superstar gets a more organic response than Reigns. The entire energy of every building skyrockets each time he saunters to the ring. Reigns is whatever fans believe he is, and in pro wrestling, there is something beautifully progressive about that.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.