5 Attitude Era characters that wouldn't work in WWE today
WWE's Attitude Era is the most beloved period in sports entertainment and pro wrestling history. The era officially spanned from 1997 till early 2002. It traces a specific time during WWE's Monday Night Wars with its competitor WCW.
WWE managed to win the ratings wars, thanks to the birth of a new attitude in sports entertainment, after which the company never had to look back in terms of its popularity.
This era was in demand for its adult-oriented content. It focused on an increased level of violent action, profanity, and mature content. The era also boasts of the rise of some of the top superstars in the company's history, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Triple H, The Undertaker, and Kane, among others.
The female wrestlers of that time were divided broadly into two categories. Some were marketed as eye candy in an overly provocative fashion, while the rest were catering to the legitimate side of propagating female wrestling.
It is hard to comprehend such a diverse form of an era where there was little to no censorship involved. As cool as that time might have been, a few of the top superstars with their gimmicks would not have earned their share of popularity if they were in the WWE today.
Let us look at five such wrestlers and their gimmicks that got them over, but which could never work today.
#5 Mark Henry's gimmick that got him over in WWE
To this day, Mark Henry is fondly remembered for his Attitude Era gimmick, The Sexual Chocolate. After the end of his run with the Nation of Domination, Mark Henry adopted a ladies man character.
Under this new persona, Henry would attempt to woo Chyna. But she would set him up only to humiliate him publicly. Henry's character would controversially come up with some of the most bizarre things that would be beyond the scope of appropriation.
Even after all of this, the character got over with the fans. Being a fan favorite, Henry started romancing the veteran Mae Young. The characterization was not very thoughtful from the creative. Mae would later be pregnant and give birth to a hand on WWE Television!
To Henry, it did not matter what he was doing at the time, but what truly meant most to him was for the WWE Universe to enjoy the character's silliness. It doesn't hurt to know that even he was having a ball of a time with that whacky gimmick. Despite all this, it's safe to say this gimmick would fall flat in a questionable state, plummeting in modern times.