gingears

It was also when SmackDown moved to myNetwork TV which was a big step down from the CW. I am not sure it is fair to define the "end of an era" just as when it stopped working. WWE were still trying to use "attitude era" concepts up until 2008. I am not sure I would classify the 2001-2008 period as "attitude" either but I think there needs to be something more than a mindset going stale to recognize it as a change in the overall presentation. "Hulkamania" was not successful in 1993 but it is what the company tried to be and I think it still counts as part of the same "era" as 1984. I could see an argument for the year that Ultimate Warrior was promoted as champion though. I find it really interesting how different people classify these things differently. For myself, it always comes back to how WWF dictated its own theme. 1984-1994: "Hulkamania" 1994-1997: "The New Generation" 1997-2002: "Attitude" 2002-2008: "The Brand Extension/Raw vs. SmackDown" 2008-2016: "WWE PG" I do not think there has been an appreciable difference in the promotion since 2008. "Reality Era" to me is something akin to "Running On Diesel Power" or "The Age Of Orton" where it is something WWE likes to say is a new twist on the existing product but does not make a commitment to that. I define the actual milestone markers as: - Hogan's title win - Hogan's departure/signing with WCW - Vince's promo after Montreal - The first draft - Chris Benoit's death and its aftermath

Do you mean the match at Summerslam? If not, they did one for the match at Summerslam that I really enjoyed. Mark Henry did a great retirement promo that felt like something out of a different era.

I really enjoyed the state-by-state discussion. That could be its own podcast or perhaps even a series.

I would think it would have been when he and Batista were respectively switched onto Raw and Smackdown.

This series is marvelous. There has yet to be a disappointing episode. I look forward to the next installment.

These exercises are always interesting. Sometimes they can be challenging to follow in audio form though. Is there a text version available for these?

Most of those posters say "3 pricing options" but I cannot find any pricing information on the website at all. Does anyone know what the pricing options are?

Thank you very much for writing this.

Maybe Savio Vega for 1996?

It is more "they need to get more dates on Brock Lesnar" talk.

He said it was video game related on this morning's podcast.

This series has made for some great listening. I listened to part three a few days ago so I cannot recall exact quotes or which speaker said them, but the most important thing to me that was mentioned was the worrying trend of all the characters on the show being afraid of losing their job. I know so many people who live in this kind of headspace, or worse live in fear of being unable to even make it to that point, and I can't imagine any of them wanting such a theme to exist when watching a television show for escapism. It must be even worse for children who have no frame of reference to relate to that sort of thing at all. I think with the shift towards integrating social media, WWE's focus has been on humanizing pro wrestlers and I'm not sure that is what fans really want. Even things that "reality era" fans respond to, such as C.M. Punk's "pipe bomb", are heavily rooted in fantasy, such as him defending the championship in other promotions. I think far too often, as was the case of The Big Show somehow losing all his money last year, WWE portrays its people as smaller than life rather than larger.

What are you refering to ? Bret Hart refers to it in his 1992 Timeline video. There was a former WWF employee that accused Vince McMahon of rape and Bret went off on a tangent about Tiger Woods when discussing it. He seemed to sort of disbelieve how powerful and wealthy celebrity types who could presumably get anyone they want are get caught up in trysts with unattractive women.

I don't subscribe to the network but I found this entire discussion to be completely fascinating. The Liquid Television idea was especially compelling as the idea of a hodge-podge of random or loosely-connected wrestling clips sort of mirrors my own viewing patterns on youtube. The analysis of where this venture has fallen short and the ideas to remedy it all make for top-notch listening though. I'm looking forward to future installments and hope you guys keep this series going. Thanks!

I think the updated WWE Network subscriber total is coming this week.

I'm not sure this qualifies, but there were reports of Batista vetoing a match with Daniel Bryan. I think that is how the stars handle this sort of thing today. It's not so much that they get somebody else bumped down the card and more that they don't lend their own star power to it. It has been so long since a true main-event superstar has been created that it seems all of them have now made enough money that they can take or leave the position.

The first thing that came to mind was the ECWA Super 8 tournament. I have never really heard about it in any other context than PWI. Even in shoot interviews with former participants where the hosts have to really reach for topics to discuss, it never comes up, but the magazines always treated it as wrestling's most prestigious tournament.

I streamed CMLL's show on Friday night and Jindrak got a really big reaction, especially from the women in the crowd. I was very surprised by it. Granted, his work still is what it is, but there was certainly more to his appeal than either of the big American federations ever exploited.

I loved this podcast. I've always enjoyed the classic elimination matches and found the actual version of this event sorely lacking without them. Your card was much better I thought. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical when hearing about Ric Flair palling around with The Beverly Brothers, but The Genius/Bobby Heenan alliance makes sense and I loved the name you came up with. Money Inc. financing Nailz' legal defense was a great idea too and even a nice call-back to DiBiase's role in Big Boss Man's initial babyface turn with Slick and Jake The Snake. I'll definitely be checking future episodes.

I think the strategy WWE is using, or at least attempting, is pretty sound: hook 'em when they're young. It could be all the young Cena fans are future captains of industry. Of course, given that the program they're being raised on is reinforcing the idea that only bad guys wear suits to work, maybe not. I think the show is way too geared around the idea that a mean boss is lording over everyone, holding down the heroes, for people enjoying successful careers to really relate to, so eliminating the whole "evil corporation" element would probably be a step in the right direction. In reality, these guys are all millionaires or at least close to it, and the curtain has been pulled back enough for everybody to know that. There's really no reason for such an emphasis on class warfare in the storylines. "Or you're fired" shouldn't be factored into the character motivations so much.

A vengeful Daniel Bryan breaking into Kane's house could make for an interesting segment.

Alvarez actually brought that up and Dave stuck to his guns on the matter. I guess he just really, really didn't like that rental car.

Mr. Perfect said that, but Vince McMahon issued a pretty prompt "will you stop" style denial. What a weird direction to try to take the curse story.

I found the talk at the start of the show really, really interesting. Everybody seems to have adopted a rather uniform definition for WWF's various eras up until "attitude" and then it gets a bit murky after the WCW invasion. I have always figured this would clear up in time with the benefit of hindsight, but this is the first time I've heard of a "nostalgia era" and, as you guys described it, it made a lot of sense to classify it that way, especially when the impact of 9/11 and other non-wrestling happenings were cited. I look forward to following along as you continue to explore this era and how things beyond that are defined.

I enjoyed this show a great deal, particularly the rookie discussion. I wonder if WWE reducing its number of annual releases has contributed to there being fewer call-ups. I'm not really up to speed on WWE anymore, but every time I tune in it seems like I see somebody that I'm amazed they still have kicking around. I'm looking very much forward to the WCW discussion and future installments as the television rights story continues to develop. Keep it up!