Vince McMahon Says WWE Won't Go Back to 'Gory Crap' to Help Ratings

WWE CEO Vince McMahon said Thursday during a conference call with investors that there are no plans for WWE to revert to the risque and extreme type of programming that dominated the product during the Attitude Era.

According to CBS New York, McMahon acknowledged that while the product will evolve to some degree, it will continue to target a younger and family-oriented audience:

"We're going to be a bit edgier, but remain in the PG environment. At the same time, we're not going to go back to the Attitude Era. We're not going to do blood and guts and things of that nature such [as] is being done on, perhaps, a new competitor. We're just not going to go back to that gory crap that we've graduated from. It's a more sophisticated product."

The Attitude Era was arguably the zenith of WWE's success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Weekly television ratings were through the roof, and legendary stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker ruled the roost.

During the Attitude Era, the product was sexually charged and featured no shortage of profanity and bloody in-ring battles.

McMahon mentioned a "new competitor" on the call and was likely referencing All Elite Wrestling. AEW's weekly television show is set to debut Oct. 2 on TNT.

At AEW's Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May, brothers Cody and Dustin Rhodes waged war in a bloody battle. Then, at Fyter Fest, Shawn Spears hit Cody in the head with a steel chair, which busted the AEW executive vice president open.

There may be some pressure on WWE to mimic those tactics now that there is seemingly a legitimate contender entering the landscape, especially since Raw and SmackDown Live ratings have suffered this year.

WWE also has to worry about the impact an Attitude Era-esque product would have on advertisers, which are largely interested in younger audiences.

When WCW emerged as a legitimate contender in 1996 by going the edgy route, WWE countered and eventually beat it at its own game. If AEW does something similar, perhaps McMahon's sentiment will change down the line.

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