[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Noid Would rather watch this card than the shit today, and I don't know if that's a compliment to that card or not. Like, The Outlaws were a hollow act, Jeff Jarrett and Val Venis were bland to the point they lost viewers and Mero was dead at this point, but only The Oddities really offend me. I do agree with your point that the Attitude era was built off the back of Austin, however. I think one of the biggest myths about the era is that the whole show was strong. Well, it was strong when it was built around Austin and what Austin was going to do next. The Russo gimmicks were fucking turgid to the point that Sable was legitimately the second biggest draw they had for a while there. Bret, to me, is the perfect performative star. What he does in the ring is the story, and when you're in the know that becomes the story. It's probably not the best idea to build around a guy like Bret Hart when you are trying to appeal to a national audience. He seems like the perfect Intercontinental Champion for that sort of era (and I don't mean that as an insult). I blast all the guys today because they are all geeks and don't draw any money and bore me to fucking tears with their cookie-cutter personalities. Would it be hypocritical of me to see Dale's point about the WWF fucking sucking at this period, because it was contaminated by the rotten philosophy of Vince McMahon? If Vince had not had WCW breathing down his neck, does he ever go with Austin in the first place? I truly think that if Vince has his own way, it's fuck Stone Cold, let's go with Billy Gunn, and there's nothing you can do about it. Vince went with what was hot because he was on the back foot, which rarely happens. And for that reason, I don't know how pure the "Austin did it" argument is. Austin is proof of what a star can do. But when you get the push and you don't deliver? Gosh, it's hard. I blame Seth Rollins as much as the office for how much he sucked as World Champion. But how is anybody supposed to stand out there? Ultimately, I do think that somebody with genuine charisma could do it. Goldberg came in and proved what happens when you have a man in the house. The New Day found a way to get their own stuff in and are still reaping in the merchandise. I don't really know whether or not to call Bret a failure or not, because I've always taken this period for granted according to the broad strokes of general knowledge. Was Bret in a position to draw? It seems like it, but I can also see the point that the booking around him a lot of the time was shit. I honestly think it's that shared responsibility thing.

This is not a very well-constructed representation of my views, and was more of a meandering ramble. Basically, I've grown to really appreciate Bret Hart's work, but I also understand that he was hardly in the same league of stardom as Sammartino, Hogan, Austin, etc.

Something to throw into the mix: John Cena fucking tanked ratings as WWE Champion. He moved merchandise and the company has stretched itself out into different revenue streams under him, but I think amongst the general respect for the individual and the length of time he has been consistently featured at the top, it's often forgotten that people did not want to see him in the main event either.