Tag: Attitude Era

Steve Austin critiques Vince McMahon’s WWE in-ring ability

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

While speaking with The Takedown on SI for a 3:16 Day interview, Steve Austin looked back at his WWE feud with Vince McMahon while offering insight into what made their on-screen dynamic so effective.

The Austin-McMahon rivalry helped define the Attitude Era. It extended into the ring with them facing off against each other multiple times. While McMahon was inexperienced in that aspect of the business, Austin feels like he was able to adapt quickly despite his limitations.

“Vince started at the ground level and went all the way up. And so he’s seen a lot of pro wrestling matches and been a part of them and just as far as, you know, some input creatively or maybe from booking, but he didn’t have reps in the ring,” Austin said. “So, he’s green as hell. But for some reason that guy just had an innate ability to perform and he thrived on the reactions of the people and because he had such a vast knowledge of seeing some of the greatest heels, greatest babyfaces or workers in the business perform, I think he drew from that.”

Austin, while admitting that McMahon was “clumsy” and “not graceful” in the ring, said the chemistry between the two was so strong that it made up for any other issues.

“And certainly I think he put in some reps behind the scenes maybe with somebody there in Stamford, I don’t know,” Austin said. “But he was, he’s clumsy, you know, he’s not graceful. But you know me, I’m not necessarily the most graceful human being in the world either.

“But for some reason the chemistry between us was so strong that whatever obstacles were there — his greenness or whatever — he really spun up and learned the patience process, letting moments build, work the crowd, not pandering to the crowd. There’s a fine line there, but for some reason for or for a lot of reasons, that guy picked onto the business really quickly. And there was never any nervousness about working with him.”

McMahon has been out of WWE since resigning in January 2024 in the wake of the sexual abuse lawsuit filed against him by former company employee Janel Grant. That lawsuit remains ongoing.

‘Attitude Era’ edition of WWE 2K26 announced

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Attitude Era is returning to the WWE 2K games.

The first commercial for the latest entry in the long-running series aired during Friday’s SmackDown. The trailer focused on clips from stars during that era including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, Undertaker, Triple H, Chyna, Trish Stratus, and Lita, among others. Pre-orders start on January 30.

Friday’s commercial was the first to officially confirm WWE 2K26 for this year, though no release date was mentioned. Earlier this month amid reports and speculation that there may not be a 2K release, Bryan Alvarez noted that WWE had taped a commercial for the game last month that will air over the next few weeks.

It was also reported earlier this month by Insider Gaming that CM Punk will be the focus of this year’s Showcase Mode. The mode will reportedly feature a number of ‘what if’ matches that could have happened if Punk didn’t choose to leave the company in 2014, as well as matches featuring talent that Punk has yet to face for whatever reason.

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The end of the 1990s

Posted on by Karl Stern

Karl Stern returns this week with a new podcast looking back at the 1990s.

Recently, he took a look at the first pro wrestling newsletters of that era to get a feeling for where it began which was in a very low place. Today, he looks at the last newsletters from 1999 to discover that WWF/WWE was flying high and WCW was trying to regroup, yet again, from a failed reset.

Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, Vince Russo, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and many others are discussed through the pages of the insider newsletters of 1999.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The late 1990s were wild

Posted on by Karl Stern

Today on a new DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show with Karl Stern, he wants to look back at the late 1990s in pro wrestling history.

The decade was a wild time with the latter part seeing the rise of the NWO, WCW passing WWE in popularity only to implode, and the hard-hitting Japanese scene making the era one of the most interesting times in pro wrestling — one of The Rock, Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, the NWO, ECW, and so much more.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Triple H: WWE is in another era like the Attitude Era

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Paul “Triple H” Levesque believes WWE is currently in the midst of a defining era in company history.

Ahead of WrestleMania 40, WWE’s Chief Content Officer participated in a Sneaker Shopping video for Complex. Levesque told Complex that, while this era doesn’t have a tagline yet, WWE is in another white-hot period like the Attitude Era. He pointed to WWE’s business success, celebrities wanting to be involved, and The Rock returning as proof of how hot the company is right now.

Levesque responded when asked about his excitement for WrestleMania 40 and what fans can expect:

As we roll into this, the business is probably – I can look at it different now like where I just said a minute ago we didn’t know it was the Attitude Era at the time. Having lived through that, I can look at it right now and say we’re in another era like that.

People won’t put a tag on it. Like, we didn’t call it the Attitude Era in the Attitude Era. They’ll put a tag on it later or whatever it is. But if we can maintain, we’re in that same white-hot level of, you know, everything sold out. Everything we’re doing is just clicking.

And you see it – Travis Scott wanting to come in, you see it [with] Bad Bunny wrestling with us, you see it [with] The Rock coming back. Rock’s got a busy schedule. If wrestling’s on the down, he ain’t coming in. So you see that, you see that excitement. WrestleMania 40 will be massive and we’re going to do everything we can to make it the biggest WrestleMania in history.

WrestleMania 40 is taking place from Philadelphia this Saturday (April 6) and Sunday (April 7). It’s the first WrestleMania where Vince McMahon has had no involvement with WWE. McMahon resigned from WWE and its parent company TKO Group Holdings this January after being accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant.