WWE THE ATTITUDE ERA (FSM 88; Dec 12)

Information: - Blu Ray Region: B2 - Distributor: WWE Studios - Price: £29.99 - Other info: 540 mins - Release: Out now - Weblink: www.WWEDVD.co.uk

Fifteen years have passed since WWE decided to move to a product geared towards men aged 18-34. With such a swing in the normal order, what was later christened The Attitude Era is looked upon by many fans as the creative peak of WWE. This two-disc BluRay set is the story of this time-period.
The documentary begins with the decline in the WWF's popularity following the steroid trial in 1992 that was covered in depth by FSM in Issue 79. Vince McMahon's address on the December 15, 1997 Raw, where he proclaimed that the company "will be opening the creative envelope in order to entertain in a more contemporary manner" is dubbed the official dawn of the promotion's new day.
The additional freedom the WWF was giving to its talent is noted as being a major part of Raw's resurgence over Nitro in the Monday Night Wars. Road Dogg makes the point that first impressions are so important in capturing the audience's attention, and on that theme, The Brood's spectacular entrance is fondly recalled by Christian. A video package offering the story behind wrestlers such as The Undertaker, Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq gives an insight into the men behind them - something groundbreaking in 1997. DX's lewd behaviour makes them hugely popular, and Steve Austin's anti-authority character leads to a connection with the audience that few believed possible. Mick Foley's hardcore wrestling style turns him into one of the Attitude Era's biggest stars, and the evolution of such risk-taking leads to The Hardy Boys, Edge and Christian, and The Dudleys pushing the boundaries between impressive stunts and outright danger.
With young men now the target audience, introducing scantily-clad women was always going to make sense, and Sunny, Sable, Trish Stratus, and Lita are all given as examples of performers who added much to the show. Comedy angles are discussed as being integral, although for every hilarious skit, such as DX's imitation of The Nation, there is Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson fighting in drag. Mick Foley sums it up best by saying it was a time where a lot of top quality talent all hit their peak together.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
With all of the above covered in the documentary, it will be no surprise to learn that at 60 minutes in duration, it's all very rushed. Several key moments, such as the rise of Steve Austin and The Rock, are shockingly glossed over. Getting controversial head writer Vince Russo to do a new interview seems pointless, as he only appears briefly. ECW, from which WWE borrowed heavily, isn't mentioned at all. Above all else, a greater number of first-hand accounts of the period would have given the documentary far more credibility.
As for the extras, there's a lot to choose from. Steve Austin and The Rock's verbal jousting before Austin throws the Intercontinental title into a Detroit river is a fantastic moment in their legendary feud. A segment in which The APA battle The New Age Outlaws in a bar shows how popular the characters of Bradshaw and Faarooq were at the time. Edge and Christian, who had been silent as The Brood, provide plenty of comedy alongside Kurt Angle. A four-corners tag match featuring The Rock and Owen Hart, The New Age Outlaws, Steve Austin and The Undertaker, and Kane and Mankind from August 1998 is must-see for the thunderous crowd reaction alone.
Of course, with such an abundance of extra footage, not all of it passes the test of time. An Oddities versus Headbangers bout would have been better off remaining locked in the WWE vault. An angle between The Big Boss Man and Big Show is so vile that one actually wonders why all those involved agreed to it. The Godfather, D-Lo Brown and Too Cool may have all been popular during this era, but a match between them from January 2000 is a total dud. The revelation that Mark Henry had been intimate with a transvestite is in slightly less bad taste than his then-septuagenarian girlfriend Mae Young giving birth to a prosthetic hand.
But still, that was The Attitude Era...