From 1982 till the present how many WWE eras are there and which one was the best WWE era of all time? Most WWE fans still had no idea about these eras. So here are 8 all WWE eras in detail with time periods that every WWE fan should know. What are these eras about ? What are the meanings of these WWE eras?
WWE eras represent a particular part or portion of the WWE time period of that time. The WWE era begins in 1950 like the Capitol Wrestling era, Madison Square Garden era and Rock n Roll wrestling era but all these are of such early ages that no one took notice of it.
WWE eras with date
The Golden Age era (1982 – 1993)
This was the time when professional wrestling was also being recognized as a sports event and it started gaining the attention of mainstream media. The main two reasons for wrestling’s popularity in those days were, firstly Vince McMahon who introduced WrestleMania One in 1985 which was one of the biggest successes of the wrestling world. And second, was Hulk Hogan, Hulkamania was at its peak during 1983. Hulk Hogan was treated as the wrestling world superhero that every sports fan audience likes to see. Hulk Hogan single-handedly carried WWF existence on his shoulder.
Did you Know : Randy Orton is not only the youngest Champion
New Generation Era (1993 – 1997)
In 1993 Hulk Hogan left WWF and joined WCW. This gave rise to a new era in WWE, the new generation era. This was the dark time for WWE earlier known as WWF. In 1991 WWF was charged with the allegation that WWE was injecting steroids into their superstar’s bodies to enhance their look. And in 1994 Vince Mcmahon got a clean chit from this case.
Now, Hulk Hogan had already left the company and WWE was also left with no choice but to drop these steroid-based superstars. Now WWE started recruiting natural-looking superstars like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. But none of the new superstars was as popular as Hulk Hogan. This was the time when WWE was getting tough competition from WCW. WCW Nitro continuously for 84 weeks beat Monday night Raw in ratings. This was considered to be the worst time for WWE and Vince McMahon.
Attitude Era (1997 – 2002)
This was WWE’s most cherished era. WWE was so popular during this era that it never gained that much popularity ever again. During 1999 the average television viewership of WWE shows used to cross 6 million viewers.
In this era, WWE had given the fans some of the greatest feuds like the feud between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince Mcmahon and some of the greatest memories like falling of legendary Mike Foley’s fall from the top of Hell in a cell by the hands of Undertaker. This era had also given WWE the most electrifying superstar The Rock. The Attitude era is considered to be the greatest era in WWE history.
Did you know : Rey Mysterio loves to wear amine costume & wants to dress as Dragon ball character.
Ruthless Aggression Era (2002 – 2008)
Again this was another successful era for the WWE. Although this era was not as popular as the attitude era, this era was creatively one of the best eras in WWE history. In this era, Smackdown was gaining more popularity than Raw, as the writer of Smackdown was Paul Heyman.
The superstars who were carrying smackdown to the top on their shoulders were Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero. Some of the greatest feuds came through this era like the feud between Triple H with Shawn Michaels, and the feud between Rock with Stone Cold. This era improved WWE shows very much product-wise.
Did you know : Roman Reigns had a turtle tattoo that no one can notice
PG Era (2008- 2011)
This was the time WWE decided to go with the family-friendly content and also got the PG rating. WWE decided to drop violence and sexual content. Now the main focus of WWE was to make some more profit and with the PG rating, the number of advertisers also increases.
In this era, John Cena was the leader of the WWE locker room. WWE built John Cena’s character so strong that it seems to be impossible to defeat him. Week after week Cena used to give phenomenal matches. Some of the great feuds during this era were the feud between The Undertaker with Shawn Michaels and John Cena with Edge.
Did you know : John Cena had done hair transplant surgery
Also Read : 5 WWE Wrestlers Who had done Hair Transplant Surgery [WITH PHOTOS]
Reality Era (2011 – 2016)
This was the time when fans wanted to see more than just wrestling. Fans were more interested in the storyline than in wrestling. This era also came up to be good for the WWE.
It was the era where fans could easily relate themselves to WWE superstars. Independent superstars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan became so popular that it motivated other independent wrestlers who wanted to be part of WWE without any background support in WWE.
The storyline of Daniel Bryan toward the World heavyweight championship at WrestleMania 30 was considered to be the greatest storyline over the decades. The most shocking moment of The Undertaker’s streak getting conquered by the beast Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30 also took place during this era. John Cena’s US open challenge raises the level of WWE weekly shows. And at last the debut of one of the most dominating factions, The Shield, which came to be a great success.
WWE not only gave fans new products in the storyline but also in online media.WWE launched its digital video streaming service WWE Network. This was the revolution in the wrestling world. No other wrestling promotions had initiated such digital television network services.
Did you know : Most of Charlotte Flair’s Tattoo is dedicated to her brother
The New Era (2016 -Till date)
This is the era where more importance was given to wrestling talent. WWE now started focusing on talented wrestlers so the product could seem more professional with fewer botches.
The WWE roster was packed with highly talented superstars like AJ Styles, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Kevin Owen, Seth Rollins, and many more. The women’s division was getting recognition and they started main eventing the WWE pay-per-view. The brand split between Raw and Smackdown which surprisingly increases the quality of smackdown shows very much, as they were never before. Triple H had also uncovered so much young talent through NXT.
Though the era started with John Cena and Brock Lesnar, now it was Roman Reigns, AJ Styles and Seth Rollins who had carried the torch forward of this era.
Did you know – Undertaker had done three marriages
TV-14 Era
Back in July 2022 US network sent a memo to WWE to change their show from PG 13 to TV 14 from 18th July 2022 to increase their product ratings. After this news broke outside, fans jumped for joy and the Attitude Era started trending over the internet. Fans were excited they are gonna get more blood, more cursing and more sexual content as used to be in the Attitude Era.
But after the retirement of Vince McMahon, former WWE Champion Triple H was announced the creative head of WWE. After this everyone including WWE has been praising Triple H for how much he had improved WWE shows in a short period of time. And seeing improved rating and viewership Triple H also debunked the news and denied the fact that they are not gonna drop PG 13 and will continue producing family-friendly content with better storylines and better wrestling matches.
Conclusion
Fans who like to see hardcore wrestling were disappointed with this decision of Triple H. But dropping PG 13 would not be a profitable outcome for WWE money-wise. More the family-friendly content, the more the advertiser could approach WWE and the more would be profit for WWE.