Wrestling in the Past, Present, and Past?

The Attitude Era. The NWO era. Both one in the same and we and we can just call it the Monday Night Wars. It was when wrestling was golden. Every Monday night you could tune into Raw or Nitro and see amazing wrestling with some of the biggest stars to ever enter the sport. These men and women are now all part of a group that we would classify as legends. The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, Sting, Kane, The Hardy Boys, Edge and Christian. These are all major players of the Monday Night Wars. However it all changed when WCW went out of business and was purchased by Vince McMahon. Wrestling changed very quickly. Fast forward to the present and the WWE is unrecognizable compared to it's past self. Lets just call it what it is, its PG. You won't see a Stone Cold come out and throw around middle fingers like we used to. It's toned down and that's not neccarily a bad thing because if there's one thing I'm sick of its the pining for the return of The Attitude Era.

Now don't get me wrong. I LOVED the Attitude Era. Some of my favorite matches to revisit are from that period of the 90s. A good amount of my wrestling DVD collection covers this time period, but that's just what it is at this point. It's a period in time and a period that's over. We are in a new era and whether you call it the Universe Era or the Modern Era, WWE is whole new beast from what it once was. One thing, however, has never changed. We seem to be doomed to forever suffer through the return and push of old superstars. A one night return or a few month stretch its consistent year by year. Sometimes it works for the best and feels fresh, like Goldust's current return, and other times it just feels forced, like The Rock for the last few years. I will admit it can be nice to see some old faces again, or for the first time when it comes to the younger generations, but its hardy ever worth it and just doesn't have the same spark. I love ECW, but I don't need to see an ECW reunion show every year. Tommy Dreamer has the right idea with House of Hardcore. Keep it fresh and don't exist solely to give these older guys a job.

Wrestling is full of nostalgia and that's not a bad thing. It becomes a problem when the younger worthy stars lose a push over an older star. WWE and TNA both have a lot of young great talent that gets pushed aside for the sake of focusing on the older talent that has already had their day. As much as I love Sting and The Rock I'd much rather watch Austin Aries or Wade Barrett get a bigger push. Things have gotten better in the last year. Aries was a successful heavyweight champion, Daniel Bryan had a great feud that was eventually squandered, CM Punk had his amazing title run, but he lost to the Rock, Bryan lost to Orton, Aries lost to Hardy, all people who have had extensive runs and multiple chances. Not that they don't deserve a good story either but it starts to feel tired. TNA is being forced into a position where they have to bring in more unknowns for monetary reasons and maybe that will be best for them. Its time someone took a risk as brought in some fresh talent. Bring back Christian York and Crimson, give Sam Shaw more TV time, hire Brian Cage over Jay Bradley (still bitter about that), and just maybe let Sabin hold the title longer than a week. The only thing worse than not looking at great talent is already having it in your roster and not utilizing it. Maybe Zack Ryder could be the most entertaining wrestler in the world and he just needs TV time! We may never know.

The WWE has been notorious for not listening to the people. I understand that they are a billion dollar company and try obviously know what they are doing, but I just feel like they may be a little old fashioned. Triple H taking the reigns may be the best thing for the company because he seems more likely to look at some deserving talent, and William Regal has sure picked some great superstars in his scouting, maybe just a younger mind is all that's needed. Too often the WWE is giving a newer star a great run and letting them shine, only to hit the stop button and start over. Not every star is going to blow up over night and you need to let things play out for a bit. Maybe one match in a feud is a dud but what if their next match is amazing and you don't let it happen because Pay Per View buys were down? So instead of letting someone like Bryan keep feuding with Orton instead he gets attacked by Shawn Michaels and he's no longer in the title picture. What?! Still don't understand that one. You just need to let things play out sometimes and see where it goes. When an entire crowd is cheering YES, in a way I haven't seen since *clears throat* the Attitude Era, maybe what you're doing is working! Instead we get another Cena and Orton feud. Oh yippee! Like we haven't seen this a million times.

The Attitude Era was magical. Older superstars always have a place in our hearts. A lot of them are still amazing too! Do I want to see Ryback face Goldburg? Sure, about right years ago. Do I war to see that at Wrestlemania 30? God no. I want something new. Give me something fresh! Even Ryback vs Lesnar would be better because at least Lesnar is still wrestling and proved he can still put on a five star match. Seriously, Summerslam was awesome guys! The bottom line (because Stone Cold says so!) is that if the WWE wants to honor the Attitude Era then give us a good documentary and keep pumping out those compilation DVDs. Personally love The Most Electrifying Man Rock DVD myself. Otherwise it's time to push some of these younger guys! Wrestling needs to be innovative and not keep dipping back into the same well. So what do you think? Where do you stand? Do you want to keep seeing the stars of old dragged back every year or would you rather see a flood of new talent? Be sure to sound off in the comments. Also you can follow me on Twitter @advent_crash.