“That’s What It’s Missing”- The Undertaker Reveals Why WWE Product Changed Drastically After the Attitude Era

The Undertaker is one of the greatest competitors in WWE history and has had a career longer and more consistent than any other wrestler in the company. 

He is the only person who can say that he went through 5 different eras in WWE history. Being a crucial part of the Attitude Era as the American Badass, The Undertaker can’t help but feel that there is a stark difference between wrestlers then and now. 

In a recent interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, ‘The Deadman’ explained why Superstars today never picked up where the Attitude Era left off.

“What I think one of the big things that happened is that the generation before, we all got old at the same time, like, and so there weren’t enough guys to work with the young guys. You know, I mean, we can sit and talk and, I can give you my theories on what you should do, or, you should do this, or maybe you should try this. But until you actually can get in the ring and actually do it, it doesn’t really translate a lot of times,” explained Taker. 

“Like when we had Stone Cold and Rock and Triple H, Shawn, all these guys, you know, we were all working together. And everybody, we were making money, and we were, we were drawing, and then we all just kind of we aged out,” Taker said.

The Attitude Era was the peak of content and popularity for WWE

The Attitude Era came like a shot in the arm for the wrestling industry and was WWE’s key to winning the Monday Night Wars against WCW. Men like The Rock, Mick Foley, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, Chyna, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker dominated the time.

The spontaneity of entertainment and quality of storylines is something that WWE badly lacks today. The Undertaker considers it tragic that none of that generation could stick around long enough to help the younger stars. 

“I hung in there for a long time, but we kind of aged out. And then it just left all these young guys to learn with more young guys. And the product, you know, the product changed,” admitted Taker. 

Also Read: Reason Why The Undertaker Abandoned His ‘Deadman’ Gimmick in 2000

The Undertaker is positive about the future of WWE

‘The Phenom’ is, however, optimistic that something big is brewing in NXT at the moment. He credits Triple H for his efforts in infusing some of that lost touch of the Attitude Era into the new generation.

“We have, you know, the PC, the training centers helping we got Triple H, great wrestler, he heads that whole thing. And he’s trying to get some of the toothpaste back in the tube, you know, trying to you know, move it back to kind of a, you know, take a step back to move forward, to give the product a little more edge. And I think that’s what it’s missing,” explained Taker.

We are seeing some pretty good work in NXT so far, and what was once the developmental brand is now the third part of the main roster. With the help of men like The Undertaker, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels, we may see the traces of the good old days appearing in WWE in the years to come.