WWE - The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again

Take back creative control with Storyblocks' unlimited royalty-free stock library and tools today: storyblocks.com/companyman
Video Description: Despite being the biggest promotion in professional wrestling, the WWE has had some trouble over the years. This highlights the different eras of the organization while detailing the corresponding rises and falls.
To submit ideas and vote on future topics:
companymanideas.com
Patreon: / companyman
Twitter: / mikecompany17
A very special thanks to this wonderful group of Patrons:
Adamant, Ahmad, Amy Westacott, Andrew Jeeves, Astra, Atsumari, Audria Richmond, aziz alfozan, Ballard Ingram, Blake Anderson, Brett Walton, Brian Dover, Brian Smith, Brooks Sparling, Chris Lion-Transler, Christian & Penny Gray, Cocacolabear12, Dandaley, Dominic Berlingeri, Dylan Kinnard, Emerald Computers - Jason Dragon, Evil Andy, John &Becki Johnston, John Briscoe, John Sterling, Jon, Ken, Kevin Sullivan, Kib Bibens-LeFebvre, Laura Floyd, Logan Brown, Meow Wolf, milkshake, Moriah Krewec, MyNameIsKir, Peter Wesselius, ReignsRevenge, Robert T Kirton, Ron G, Ronnie Cheng, Sam Bennett, Sirpoptart, Sondre Grimsmo Sinnes, Tyrone Cowan.
Company Declines:
Kmart: • The Decline of Kmart.....
Blockbuster: • The Decline of Blockbu...
RadioShack: • The Decline of RadioSh...
Solo Cups: • The Decline of Solo......
Toys "R" Us: • The Decline of Toys R ...
hhgregg: • The Decline of hhgregg...
Pan Am: • The Decline of Pan Am....
ESPN: • The Decline of ESPN......
Gibson: • The Decline of Gibson....
iHeartMedia: • The Decline of iHeartM...
Bon-Ton: • The Decline of Bon-Ton...
Kodak: • The Decline of Kodak.....
General Electric: • The Decline of General...
Woolworth: • The Decline of Woolwor...
Dell: • The Decline of Dell......
Sears: • The Decline of Sears.....
Payless: • The Decline of Payless...
Hostess: • The Decline of Hostess...
Redbox: • The Decline of Redbox....
Nokia: • The Decline of Nokia.....
JCPenney: • The Decline of JCPenne...
Quiznos: • The Decline of Quiznos...
GameStop: • The Decline of GameSto...
NASCAR: • The Decline of NASCAR....
Shopko: • The Decline of Shopko....
MoviePass: • The Decline of MoviePa...
Reebok: • The Decline of Reebok....
The Gap: • The Decline of The Gap...
Pier 1 Imports: • The Decline of Pier 1 ...
Sbarro: • The Decline of Sbarro....
AOL: • The Decline of AOL...W...
Long John Silver's: • The Decline of Long Jo...
Chuck E. Cheese's: • The Decline of Chuck E...
GNC: • The Decline of GNC...W...
Hertz: • The Decline of Hertz.....
Steak 'n Shake: • The Decline of Steak '...
CiCi's Pizza: • The Decline of CiCi's ...
Boston Market: • The Decline of Boston ...
Yahoo: • The Decline of Yahoo!....
Montgomery Ward: • The Decline of Montgom...
Fry's Electronics: • The Decline of Fry's E...
Souplantation: • The Decline of Souplan...
Gateway: • The Decline of Gateway...
BlackBerry: • The Decline of BlackBe...
Sports Authority: • The Decline of Sports ...
Atari: • The Decline of Atari.....
KB Toys: • The Decline of KB Toys...
Pizza Hut: • The Decline of Pizza H...
MGM: • The Decline of MGM...W...
FYE: • The Decline of FYE...W...
HP: • The Decline of HP...Wh...
Forever 21: • The Decline of Forever...
Guitar Center: • The Decline of Guitar ...
WCW: • The Decline of WCW...W...
Sega: • The Decline of Sega......
KFC: • The Decline of KFC...W...
______________________________
Website created by - fullertonmedia.com

[@JK-gm6kk]

WWF attitude Era is one of the only things I ever bonded over with my dad. We never missed an episode, and he took me to a local raw, and it was indescribable. Especially when the glass broke. Just thinking about it is giving me chills, as i type this. Will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@dragonrana88]

That was me and my brothers, we watched Raw and Nitro, and would argue about when to flip back and forth. We went to a Raw show and Wrestlemania X-Seven. They were amazing memories.

[@eatmuffinsallday]

@@dragonrana88 wow how was Wrestlemania X Seven? I remember my mom bought it for my on PPV when I was a kid

[@dragonrana88]

@@eatmuffinsallday It was the best!

[@TriforceElder08]

Stone Cold! Stone Cold!

[@gokusondbz]

Saw Raw Live back in 2001 Great Show in Lexington KY When the Right To Censor was around.

[@jonahwhitney5455]

Company Man and wrestling?! I love when two unrelated things that I like collide like this.

[@Xavster]

He's made quite a lot of wrestling references over the years, including a couple of videos on WWF's name change and WCW

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

@@Xavster and that Stone Cold mention. LoL 😅

[@jonahwhitney5455]

@@Xavster Oh yeah, I catch a lot of them. Just saying it makes me happy when it happens.

[@314jrock]

What do you mean by “unrelated”? The WWE is a company and Company Man makes videos about companies.

[@DrinkYourNailPolish]

Same

[@LunaticFringeReviews]

The Golden Age & The Attitude Era were lightning in a bottle. The most significant and most memorable eras of wrestling were ripe with some of the most incredible talent ever. A big reason why WWF was so good and maintained a high level of quality programming was because they had viable competition. Once WCW shut down, it was over, people tuned out in droves (even more so in the late 2000's/early 10s). The ratings have gotten lower every year, yet WWE is as profitable as it's ever been. It's pretty impressive.

[@Angel-qu9wo]

Financially wwe is killing it no doubt in terms of booking new stars creativity and storytelling they're lacking it big time

[@antoniokastrocarlisledemel6617]

Yea man i always looked at WCW as the Rc cola to WWFs Pepsi and Coke but for a min there in the late 90s they were starting to overtake the WWF as far which one i loved more but yea man every great company needs another company to compete with to keep things from getting stale and once WWF bought WCW it wasn't the same anymore...91-2001 will always be my favorite era and it'll always be the WWF to me

[@miguelvazquez2239]

@@Angel-qu9wo the product is changing since HHH took over the creative side of the business

[@Angel-qu9wo]

@@miguelvazquez2239 but how is the company getting any better tho tell me that but without saying he brought back johnny gargano the O.C being TV-14 again have long drawout boring matches every week is making wrestling great again.

[@miguelvazquez2239]

@@Angel-qu9wo Bro, these are small changes that needed to be done. There is better wrestling in the ring and the storylines are coming together. You can’t change everything a thousand miles an hour, this has to be slow so it makes impact. You don’t want to have just a flash in the pan.

[@joshuaford9714]

The smartest thing WWE ever did was add their old episodes as an archive in WWE network. Well worth the subscription cost. I loved the attitude era and even through to the early 2000s. I just like being able to watch that era.

[@chriskay1449]

They were actually ahead of all the other pro sports leagues on that. While they had their deals with cable satellite services to broadcast their content, they didn't have their own streaming service.

[@100Stratusfiedx]

@@chriskay1449yeah people bitched about the 9.99 skits, but it’s the subscription I get the most use out of. Not to mention the integration with peacock just makes it better.

[@JSmithRecords]

That revenue chart was shocking. The whole time me (and everybody online) was saying how much the show sucked, they kept raking in the dough all the way to a billion. Vince knew what he was doing the whole time.

[@MsAlexisPiazza]

He was the higher power! It was him Austin! It was him the whole time!

[@stevonwhite8933]

Destroying the business, but making his money.

[@FamousDave2186]

@@stevonwhite8933 a business is suppose to make money so really he didn't destroy his business and generally the same fans like vince's son in law running things

[@stevonwhite8933]

@@FamousDave2186 He destroyed the industry, the same way Disney destroyed the entertainment industry by buying everything. It’s criminal.

[@redred222]

@@stevonwhite8933 pro wrestling would not have very many fans now if it would have been the way it was before vinces ideas, many of those companies where struggling, the 80s where not a good time for most smaller businesses because of how bad the economy was, in fact he was able to buy some of those for pennies on the dollar, and his idea made pro wrestling bigger then ever, now hes gone, and i think thats good he lost he touch now hunter is in charge and the wrestling, stories, the image of the company are all on the up swing, go watch raw or smackdown they are really good now once again, i had left watching wwe for aew, this company had the chance to be bigger then the wwe but blew it, this last year has not be so good for them

[@jhilumdas5228]

'97 - '07 was the best decade to me. '16-'19 was also very good, I think the pandemic killed alot of that momentum tho

[@GrumpyWolfTech]

16-19 was trash, that Rollins vs Wyatt cage match, all I need to say.

[@TJMorrison.]

2016/2017 was really good

[@reesecat1823]

@@GrumpyWolfTech smackdown live in 2016/ early 17

[@redred222]

but since hunter has taken over both shows are doing way better, and he brought back wrestlers that vince wasted and the wrestlers actually seem to like working for him, thats a big change from vince yelling and threatening them all the time

[@skoaldipper125]

@@GrumpyWolfTech we won’t touch on that match. It killed the Hell in a Cell stipulation for me.

[@Pauldjreadman]

Interesting choice of subject. The best in my opinion is the Attitude Era. They be making more money by going PG but that doesn't mean it's good.

[@jeremiahmorin1867]

Anyone whose watched the AE Recently can tell you that TV 14 has never meant quality. There was some real dogshit in the undercard at times. And Raw in 2002 and 2003 were both TV 14 and both sucked ass

[@BGLEE001]

As epic as the AE was, there was a lot of crap you had to filter through lol

[@Pauldjreadman]

@@jeremiahmorin1867 It was a nice balance of many characters over some dodgy ideas. You had at least 6 characters on top unlike no where they only have one Barbie doll and going into panic mode when people get injured.. It's still their best time.

[@stevonwhite8933]

@@jeremiahmorin1867 Smackdown was GOATED

[@onesaucynougat7471]

@@jeremiahmorin1867 2002 was only good after the first half of the year, 2003 was ok.

[@rrahuerta07]

The Company Man putting out “Banger,after banger,after banger…” 👏🏼

[@jonahwhitney5455]

Sheamus is a Company Man fan.

[@El_Gallo_De_Oro]

I understood that reference

[@johnaustin209]

Sounding gayer every time....

[@mycodingchannel9690]

He also makes a lot of burger company videos. Burger after burger after burger after burger...

[@Markimark151]

As much I’m not a big fan of WWE like I was in the attitude era. But I’m glad seeing WWE making a resurgence with Smackdown on Fox. The storylines have gotten better with new wrestlers!

[@gokusondbz]

And Hunter is in Charge now over Talent and Creative 👊.

[@Markimark151]

@@gokusondbz I just don’t want to see WWE being a Hollywood breeding ground for lame actors like the Rock and Bautista, who are mostly terrible actors in action movies!

[@gokusondbz]

@@Markimark151 personally I enjoy Batista in Guardians of the Galaxy and 007 specter.

[@jdoggivjc]

@@gokusondbz agree. The Rock is fine when he stays in his lane (not great, mind you, but entertaining in the right circumstances), so to speak, but Dave Bautista is surprisingly actually a really good actor.

[@Markimark151]

@@gokusondbz the characters Bautista plays are just mediocre at best. He’s a C-list actor in those movies.

[@dansanfrisco]

The Attitude Era was born out of competition against WCW. I remember my dad laughing constantly during RAW at the craziness of it all. WCW hit gold by turning Hogan heel for the first time that most of his fans at the time could remember (his first face to heel turn technically). Both companies caught lightning in a bottle. I doubt we will see anything like it again.

[@cgasucks]

Man I miss those days.

[@pete123]

I"m 34 years old. Who else grew up on the Attitude Era? Give me a hell yeah! 🍻 🔥

[@JustJulyo]

Hell yeah! 🍻

[@TrainerJamesMTG]

Hell yeah!

[@raybaca7387]

I spit in the face of people who dont want to be cool 03 to 08 was a good time for me

[@marcusjones9160]

Hell yeah

[@ThatOneDude219]

Hell yeah! I'm 35. Right there with ya

[@RoseCityRebel]

As a wrestling fan and supporter of your channel, I appreciate it when you let those two worlds collide.

[@edalder2000]

If you want to learn more, there are two great books that I would recommend. The first is "Death of The Territories." It examines how Vince McMahon took The WWF nationally. For example, The WWF was so highly leveraged, if the first WrestleMania had flopped, The WWF would have been history. The second book is "Nitro." An oral history of WCW from 1995 to its end in 2001. "Nitro" really digs into the business end of WCW. Fantastic all around.

[@theitaIianstallion]

Wouldn't be going to see The Rock in Black Adam this weekend or in this existence if this dire fate had occured to the WWF... Or maybe even close to ever seeing a Fast&Furious 10. Wild to think.

[@uploadvidz4490]

I personally enjoy Controversy Creates Cash

[@ToM2CoOL]

Read these books this year, both highly entertaining, interesting and worth people's time.

[@kryzethx]

So sad that the Ruthless Aggression era was considered a "fall" in this WWE timeline; that was my childhood, and some of my favorite wrestlers rose to prominence during that time, like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Edge, Batista, Booker T... wasn't until the PG era that things began to "fall", at least in my opinion. Glad that it's at least the second most popular time in the polls lol

[@xkeante1]

even though the ratings were falling the shows were still close to the same caliber as it was in the attitude era and me personally it was still rising to become the PG era

[@duckmercy11]

Most of those guys were already stars before the RA era. I grew up watching Eddie, Rey, Edge and Booker in the mid-late 90s.

[@Edgehead991]

@@duckmercy11 yea but they arguably hit their peaks during the ruthless aggression era, especially Edge.

[@marcoparada6652]

RUTHLESS AGRESSION Era was just awful.

[@marcoparada6652]

​@@Edgehead991 , except they really hadn't. You can say they made their big financial gains in the Ruthless Aggression Era, but it never is memorably everlasting as ATTITUDE ERA.

[@JustJulyo]

Anytime this channel mentions wrestling brings a smile to my face More wrestling promotions please like ECW, TNA, AEW or even the WWEECW/ other television programs

[@mrlaidback83]

I'm addition to those, I would like to see Company Man cover Japanese and Mexican promotions like NJPW, Stardom, CMLL and AAA respectively.

[@cepho8349]

​@@mrlaidback83 NJPW and Stardom for sure.

[@JustJulyo]

@@mrlaidback83 fingers crossed!

[@NintendoPsycho]

All petite.

[@williefaulker]

He did WCW

[@AeneasGemini]

Whatever else you think of Vince Mcmahon, you cannot deny his unique and overwhelming contribution to the art, not to mention give him props for being even more evil than his ringside persona

[@platinumpagoda3079]

As a longtime wrestling fan, I have to say you executed this video perfectly, hitting every necessary topic! Should be interesting to see the post-Vince era.

[@Breanna_monique]

It's so refreshing to finally hear WWE be referred to as "Wrestling" again and not "sports entertainment"

[@colewrld901]

Can be attributed to Vince's old ass having to step down and triple h finally getting his chance to be in charge

[@Angel-qu9wo]

@@colewrld901 I miss vince

[@colewrld901]

@@Angel-qu9wo why

[@Angel-qu9wo]

@@colewrld901 it's just the not same without the man who made wrestling a world wide phenomenal yes sure in his old age he was not great at booking anymore and made bad decisions but back in the day (Golden era/Attitude Era/early ruthless aggression era (2002/2005) he was king of the wrestling world and made many people lot's money and gave them fame not to mention most people wouldn't even care about wrestle had it not been for vince mcmahon and his captivating mind.

[@NintendoPsycho]

Wwekids was always sports entertainment.

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

Thank you for making this. Didn’t learn a whole lot since I’ve been a fan since Hulkamania, and a wrestling fan before the expansion as well. Only thing I’d say was you didn’t cover the history, like you do with most videos. Would’ve been nice to at least hear a little about Vince’s father and grandfather, when it was Capitol Wrestling and WWWF, and how they split from NWA.

[@NintendoPsycho]

He left out The history of JCP and WCW's early years as well.

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

@@NintendoPsycho true. Maybe he's not a wrestling fan

[@NintendoPsycho]

@@ianfeuerhake1859 Most people who watch modern wrestling aren't wrestling fans either.

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

@@NintendoPsycho which is why the history should be covered on here if he's going to do it. And there are plenty of die hard wrestling fans who know almost everything, and will just pick whatever he says apart, so it's probably just not even worth discussing

[@duckmercy11]

No reason to cover every minute detail, he covered the jist which are the parts that matter.

[@adam-yk6yd]

The other thing about their newer and more family friendly content is that it is allowing them to market the product to global family audiences whose tastes may be safer and more conservative than the US young male adult market. They are growing massively and are getting bigger in Asia and India, and still have headroom for further growth

[@danieldowney7621]

I've never been a wrestling fan, haven't even sat down to watch a whole show, and as such I learned a lot from this video!

[@PAPITOFLOW6969]

watch wwe raw & smackdown mondays and fridays you'll be hooked

[@jgv6323]

Stop being lazy and watch it

[@willissudweeks1050]

If you view it the right way it’s awesome haha I’ve never been a fan either but it is kind of awesome.

[@duckmercy11]

Watch Supereyepatch Wolf's wrestling documentaries on KZbin. He breaks it down for non-fans.

[@valrandazzo103]

This video is strangely timely, as a WWE fan from 2011-2014 I recently "got back into it" with my 11 year old brother these past few weeks, myself because I missed the excitement, and my brother because of Logan Paul. Looking forward to experiencing this new era with him.

[@christahphur]

Same happen with my siblings and me this year. Right before Wrestlemania I was interested in seeing Cody come back since I had remembered him in the 2010s, and my younger sisters tagged along to watch and experience it for the first time. Now we are full blown back in it and loving it, even went to Summerslam!!

[@PAPITOFLOW6969]

@@christahphur awesome

[@PAPITOFLOW6969]

awesome

[@BadrAlrawi]

I got into wrestling with my younger brother again too! Mind you I'm 16, so I was primarily a fan in the PG era, but now that its the HHH era, I've gotten really into it and brought my younger brother with me.

[@Acedegenerate07]

Tuff 2011-14 was so bad💀 well 2014 wasn’t but 11-13 was so trash

[@qkomodo9098]

Safe to say that this video is going to be a Slobberknocker

[@Breanna_monique]

It's going to be a Pier Six Brawl of a video

[@Gazpacho834]

BAH GAWD ALL MIGHTY! THE VIEWER SUBSCRIBED TO COMPANY MAN!

[@j.thompson9345]

As a kid, I can remember watching the WWF with acts such as Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, etc. Good times. The Attitude Era was definitely 🔥🔥🔥

[@PeterKoebel]

Great video. I've been a WWE fan for over 30 years. Also with the PG era, I believe it allowed them to get better deals on toy licensing. Plus switching away from edgy TV made sense at the time. Because most edgy elements of the attitude era, violence, sex, swearing, etc could be found on HBO with the rise of the Sopranos, with edgier content.

[@chriskay1449]

It got them better advertisers on the whole, not just toys. Yes, Mattel was a big one, but look at who was advertising them during the attitude era and now. The advertisers now are far more mainstream than the ones they had in the Attitude Era.

[@Acedegenerate07]

Business side yes quality side hell no

[@chriskay1449]

@@Acedegenerate07 Quality is purely subjective. People like some things and hate others. VIce versa as well. Financial is not subjective. That is quantifiable.

[@AnthonySkatz]

WWE's 10-year deal to run shows in Saudi Arabia should be noted, which stated in 2018. They make approximately $50m per show there and they usually run two shows a year. They're now, by far, the most profitable shows WWE does every year.

[@NintendoPsycho]

A dirty deal with a dirty country.

[@austinhernandez2716]

You failed to mention WHY the PG era started and its a significant part of the history of the WWE. It was due to lawsuits and possibly Mr McMahon's wife's policial campaign Edit: Also Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, along with claims of sexual assault. So many scandals

[@bilalc4415]

@@TimezOfInfamy I think the jump the shark moment was Triple H fucking a corpse as well. Lol

[@jamiemason2003]

He explained at the end of the video that he only wanted to focus on the company.

[@chriskay1449]

Wrong. That had nothing to do with going PG. They went PG long before she decided to run for office. They went PG because it was more profitable.

[@Odreazy]

@@chriskay1449 im pretty sure the Choice to go PG came after Linda was DESTROYED by her opponent in that congress run with her past on WWE. there was a huge difference in the show from Before she ran for that seat and then after that first eye opening attempt. she tried again iirc and lost again After the PG switch.

[@chriskay1449]

@@Odreazy No it wasn't. They changed their rating from TV-14 to PG well before that. It came around the time they became WWE. Just because they went closer to the G end of the PG spectrum then where they were does not change the fact that the switch to TV-PG from TV-14 came years before her campaign.

[@clashwithkeen]

I'm in my 30's and I got into wrestling during the attitude era. (1998 - 2001) I remember having a lot of fun pretending to be wrestlers with my friends on trampoline matches back then. I was only into it for a few years but had a great time. I used to work in entertainment lighting and when I got to work the shows it made me feel like a kid again. The Undertaker, Kane, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold were my favorites with Sting probably being my #1.

[@ThatOneDude219]

I miss being in backyard wrestling with my friends. My cousin and I held the tag titles for over a year. We were the CIA. Stood for The Cool Italian Assassins

[@mattyian1208]

The WWE’s Pg era was more of a fall in my opinion, but the Attitude Era was the best time for the WWF back then personally.

[@danielsass4134]

I am not a fan of the "PG Era," but I also don't think it's the biggest problem with WWE. You can do a lot these days and still get away with PG. Some of the "Tribal Chief" storylines with Roman and Paul have been great. AEW is TV-14 and isn't always more entertaining than the WWE (sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't). I think one of the largest issues with wrestling today is that the internet takes away any surprise. One example is when the Hardyz returned to WWE from Impact Wrestling in 2017. It could have been surprising if everyone didn't know it was happening. Just imagine a couple of the major Attitude Era events in 2022. Diesel and Razor left WWE to go to WCW. They showed up on Nitro like they were still WWE wrestlers. In 2022, that would probably go like, "Diesel and Razor Ramon contracts with WWE due to end soon." Later, "Diesel and Razor Ramon contracts have not been renewed." Later, "D & RR seen talking with Eric Bischoff." Later, "D & RR allegedly sign deal with WCW." Day of the show, "D & RR spotted in [whatever city Nitro was in that night], expected to appear on show." Similarily, when Shane McMahon "bought" Nitro it would have been the same thing. There really isn't much surprise anymore since everything is leaked. The Attitude Era was so chaotic and shocking that it was must watch TV. (Another issue with today is that there is also more competiting content)

[@DrinkYourNailPolish]

I'll never foeget seeing Rick Rude on RAW and Nitro the same night. My bro had his TV tuned to WWF while my TV was WCW (I was a wcw gal!) And simce our bedrooms were right next to eachother we would often pop out to check what was going on on the other channel. Well we were both confused how Rick Rude could be at both companies on the same night. If Twitter was a thing back then we would've been like "oh this is taped, whatver blah" plus back then there was no 90 day no compete clause so ppl could show up seemingly randomly.

[@danielsass4134]

@@DrinkYourNailPolish Yeah, I don't see how WWE can make a show exciting anymore with social media spoiling everything. They're in a tough spot. Nothing seems organic anymore and so that kind of thing like we saw in the 90s probably will not happen again. Sadly. To me, the PG rating didn't kill wrestling (albeit I did prefer the TV-14). Social media did.

[@KoolioJosh]

great video, I just got back into WWE with some friends again after 10 years when HHH started taking over

[@badjokecoke]

Prepare for its second fall. I hear Vince is wanting to come back 🙄

[@Jim90117]

The attitude era for me and so many others IS the golden era. For everyone who was around 10 during that time like me, we are so so lucky. So much drama, so much personality and brutality. For a kid during that time it was amazing and I’m sad we’ve gone back to the sort of tame, PC type wrestling entertainment we see today.

[@geezburgers]

The era I remember the most growing up was the PG era, and I do agree that it made me more susceptible to advertising. I had several John Cena shirts and hats and ate a lot of Slim Jims.

[@vampman87]

I think the PG era ended when Vince McMahon retired. With HHH in charge of creative now, the general consensus is that the WWE became good again, given that HHH brought back a lot of wrestlers Vince MacMahon released such as Bray Wyatt and Karrion Kross and is giving pushes to wrestlers Vince dismissed as having no talent, such as Finn Balor, who is currently the head of Raw's #1 heel stable, The Judgement Day. HHH's main challenge story-wise is The Bloodline, a heel stable led by Roman Reigns, who unified the twi big belts of both brands and is basically the Final Boss of WWE. Roman's been Universal Champion for over two years and Undisputed Champion for 6 months, and WWE in general don't seem to have any plans for who could dethrone the guy. USA network, which airs Raw, has shown displeasure that Roman is rarely on Raw (The Bloodline is a Smackdown stable) and has asked that one of the belts be removed off of him, but Vince said "no way" and HHH, though he TEASED Roman getting beat by Drew McEntyre a couple months ago, seems to share Vince's sentiment. Another thing to mention is that WWE now has real competition in AEW. During the last few years of Vince's tenure, AEW looked like a wrestler's paradise because wrestlers were given a lot more freedom (and that they could actually call themselves WRESTLERS, though heel wrestler Chris Jericho has been poking fun at his previous employer by referring to himself as a "sports entertainer") and the acquisition of CM Punk, who was hyper critical of WWE during his employment and was fired at the most inopportune time (his WEDDING DAY) gave AEW a lot of credibility. When Vince was doing mass releases, AEW owner Tony Khan was quick to snatch free wrestlers up, but then Vince retired and CM Punk gave a horrendous media scrum interview where he bashed his new co-workers, leading to a giant fight and the illusion that AEW was a wrestling paradise was dispelled. AEW seems to be course correcting, but it still has a giant problem of having way too many talents and not enough screentime, made worse since Tony bought Ring of Honor, an independent wrestling company that filed for bankruptcy last year. That almost DOUBLED the AEW roster. HHH has gotten a lot of ex-WWE wrestlers back into the fold, but at least he has multiple shows to put his talent onto, whereas Tony has only three hours in between two TV shows. Right now, I believe the HHH era is at a "Rise" again.

[@skyatollah2skyharder276]

What's with people thinking "PG" is anything more than a TV rating?

[@chriskay1449]

WWe is still PG. It has not changed in that regard.

[@flyingjew2994]

Aew isn't major competition to Wwe and all the wrestlers are talented, but not all can draw in money.

[@Shad0wPh0enixXx]

Just want to let you know man. Your channel has really helped me with learning so much about different companies etc. Thanks for that. I recommend you to lots of people IRL cause you really know how to find your stuff and I commend you for that

[@obscure_alternatives]

80s and 90s wrestling was the absolute best.The characters,storylines,fighting,all of it was amazing

[@adomingo2]

Great video. There is just one small error the huge wrestling fan in me can't help but point out. Hulk Hogan didn't win the title from Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3. He retained it against Andre.

[@MrTim2031]

I think that the company eras and the actual wrestling eras are distinct. As stated you tried to focus in on the company; it’s the focus of your channel. I do think a couple of details fell through the crack or weren’t covered completely. The WWE network and now peacock also shows the near entire library of WWE shows. So the popularity and the revenue generated today, is in part due to the older shows, to include the attitude era and peak WCW. This makes it a bit hard to compare todays era to the attitude era, when the attitude era is still making the company money today.

[@RoachOverlord]

New Generation is underrated. I mean, yeah, there were times when they clearly didn't know what direction they wanted to go in, but there were a ton of great wrestlers in the company from 1990-1997. Bret vs Davey Boy at Summerslam 92 is an all time classic.

[@brennanmason1973]

All Im going to say is Bastion Booger

[@promisnwekenta9703]

@@brennanmason1973 I remember his main event on WrestleMania, against Shawn Michaels....it was a amazing 60 minutes iron man match, and the Sebastian deserved the win

[@duckmercy11]

@@brennanmason1973 lmao.

[@j.r.765]

Monday Night Raw in 96 felt different

[@mizrahiwithattitude2733]

mid 90s wwe was trashhhhh

[@Nazrat84]

People aren't going to be upset with you for saying anything positive about the PG-Era, it's the WILD inaccuracy in attributing ALL of those accolades and profits to the PG-Era when they all happened *after* it was already fully complete.

[@chriskay1449]

But it isn't inaccurate. They got their largest TV deals ever because of the PG era. They are on a major broadcast network because of the PG Era.

[@Nazrat84]

@@chriskay1449 Because of, not during or saw the benefits of. Big difference. They set the foundations to take advantage of it in the next era after the PG Era, which would be more accurate than saying the PG era itself is the direct cause of it.

[@chriskay1449]

@@Nazrat84 The PG era is the direct ccause because that is what brought the main stream advertisers in which made them more attractive on Wall Street.

[@Txur_Itan]

I really liked wrestling when I was younger! I was raise by my grand-parents and it helped me bond with my grand-father. I'm not nearly as much into it as I once where but I'll still watch some classic fight from time to time

[@jgv6323]

Stop being lazy and watch it again

[@gollaviswanathkrishna399]

The roster of attitude era is peak. The rock, Austin, Original Kane, Undertake, HHH, Bighosw, Edge, Y2J, Hardy Boyz, Dudley Boyz, Shawn, eddie etc. Later, Goldberg, Brock, Cena, Orton, Batista, 619. these kind of personalities are hard to get.

[@ashleyr6809]

Now all the new wrestlers are just crap.

[@SNARC15]

When Vince Sr was in charge, it was actually called the WWWF, and formerly the Capital Wrestling Federation.

[@28kingofkings]

Vince stepping down and Triple H taking over creative was a saving grace. Had Vince remained, a lot of talent would be trying to get released or outright rejecting offers

[@NintendoPsycho]

It is still shit.

[@Shawn6751]

WWE is dying faster underneath Triple Dunce.

[@flyingjew2994]

Vince and Triple H are literally the same. Once the honeymoon phase is over with Triple H you'll see it

[@syndicategrim3452]

@@flyingjew2994 we'll see in 3 years

[@flyingjew2994]

@@syndicategrim3452 It'll take less than 3 years

[@alexanderazzi]

Oh this one will be fun!

[@KingShade1]

I have been watching wrestling religiously since the 90's and Company Man, you've really nailed this down. Typing this comment in mid 2024 and it's odd seeing just how much things have changed in just under a year. WWE got bought by Endevour, Vince got ousted from the company (something that most people thought would never, ever happen) and now the WWE has entered their 'newest era' under Triple H, the 'Paul Levesque Era'. I think this latest era is definitely a 'rise again' for the company. There is a lot more positive feedback for the product, which includes me, a long time fan for the last 30+ years. Nothing will ever beat the shock and excitement of the Attitude Era though, that was lightning in a bottle... but well, as people say in wrestling "never say never!"

[@ramiromarquez5501]

HHH has improved the company since taking on this new role

[@colewrld901]

If only it happened in like 2014, before millions of us gave up on watching

[@NintendoPsycho]

Lol it still sucks.

[@NintendoPsycho]

@@colewrld901 millions gave up before 14. Lol

[@colewrld901]

@@NintendoPsycho true lol but 2014 could've been a great turning point

[@joshblack4291]

Agreed

[@YoshMaster]

I have absolutely zero interest and knowledge on wrestling but I watch everything you do. You managed to make this interesting to me anyway so, good job haha!

[@lonewolf6884]

I coudldnt said it better myself because 100% agree I also have zero interest and knowledge on wrestling

[@JuanRodriguez-sb1ml]

No, wrestling died the day of the Benoit murders. Kinda disappointed to not hear a mention about that

[@chriskay1449]

Utterly wrong.

[@JuanRodriguez-sb1ml]

@@chriskay1449 how?

[@chriskay1449]

@@JuanRodriguez-sb1ml Because wrestling still exists in the form of AEW, Impact and yes, even WWE. The only thing that happened with Benoit is that the business finally cleaned up it's act for good.

[@JuanRodriguez-sb1ml]

@@chriskay1449 obviously missed my point but ok

[@hishamdahud]

Company man... you're a fellow mark. I love it. :)

[@R0H1TPATHAK]

Probably 1998-2012 were the best wrestling era. We saw some big stars during that period rock, jhon cena, Austin, brock, triple h, big show many more

[@bruceflashback3877]

There aren`t many like me left , but I go back to 1965 as a wrestling fan. The wrestling I got into was the Dick The Bruiser/Wilber Snider WWA territory in Indianapolis . So my fandom goes back before Vince Jr even was an announcer for his dad . It bugs me when people act like wrestling began with the WWF AND WCW , but that is a side thing. I got into the WWF in its golden Age like many others and watched it out of habit till around 2017 . I also watched as much other wrestling promotions on cable shows that popped up as well. What I didn`t like was Vince Jr killing the territories . I think wrestling would have been better if the territory system was still strong , In that sense Vince Jr did a disservice to wrestling. A side effect is his near monopolization of wrestling led to watered down product once you got into the PG era and Vince Jrs refusal to call it wrestling , to call his wrestlers wrestlers , the writers writing every word the wrestlers ........I`m sorry , * start sarcastic voice * superstars * end sarcastic voice * and too much time getting away from the wrestling element and being more concerned with the entertanment element. Its like Vince Jr hates wrestling .The business his father and grandfather worked so hard for . All that wouldn`t be so bad if there was decent competition to go to. I don`t have cable so the AEW may be thsat good wrestling ,but I have no way of seeing it. Ok , rant over .

[@OhSoNasty]

Always that one dude

[@jonerikson5925]

Wrestling promoters had a term for what the attitude Era was, it's called hot shotting, where you throw a bunch of crazy stuff at the audience in order to get their attention, Memphis was really well known for it back in the day, the problem becomes if you keep it going, eventually the fans will get tired of it and you kill your drawing power(ticket sales) because the fans have seen pretty much everything already and you have no way to get the interest back.

[@prettypic444]

I think they missed a major opportunity by not partnering with the WWF- imagine if each wrestler got an endangered animal mascot, and they more they win, the more money would be donated to conservation for that animal (heck, that'd make me watch wrestling!)

[@SirJoelsuf1]

Well that was in 2002 when WWE still wanted to win over estranged WCW and ECW fans. If the World Wildlife Fund thing happened a decade later in 2012, something like what you described might have happened. Because for the last decade or so WWE has been doing nothing BUT partnering with what I call "charity sponsors" and to me it's killing the business. Fortunately we're nearly on the cusp of having everything go back to the territory days, when wrestling WAS wrestling. It was pretty much like that during 2020-2021 when WWE and AEW couldn't travel cuz of c19 restrictions. Kinda wish that didn't stop tbh.

[@Kevinofrepublic]

I actively watched wrestling with my brother in highschool and college during 2006 to 2010 and then with some friends from 2012 to about 2014. I enjoyed it. I have no real love for the attitude era or the other great eras because I didn't watch during those times. But I liked the stuff I saw and have feel good emotions about those times watching with my brother.

[@christianhunt7382]

Vince McMahon is a legend in his own, for what he put into his company and spawned through such eccentric story driven sports entertainment. How does one fill shoes like that

[@forgottensailor2006]

Triple H running the WWE now ensures they will continue to thrive and be successful for many years to come. He knows the company better than Vince himself almost (I'd say) and all of his current choices reflect it in the results.

[@mukundvats4434]

You are right I will say vince lost his interest in wrestling and made it a business and forgot that the business will not thrive but entertainment and fun will triple H is a wonderful person and he is doing amazing I hope for the best in wwe A fan of wrestling not sports entertainment

[@chriskay1449]

THey grossed over a billion last year and are getting ready to signe even more lucrative TV deals soon and that was in motion before HHH took over. So, they were already doing that before he took over.

[@Landmaster2911]

KZbin knows I love Company Man. KZbin knows I love wrestling. Company Man makes a wrestling video? KZbin shoots it to the top of my recommendations.

[@nfugitt89]

This reminds me of how people say vinyl is back, but when you look at a chart of vinyl sales today vs. the 70s, it's a small fraction

[@pirajacinto4]

Now THIS is a video I never expected you to do! Being a huge wrestling fan, I really wonder what you got to say about it.

[@moltenriches]

Really? He already did a wcw one

[@xJC2x]

You did a rise & fall of WCW now WWE you have to do a video on ECW now or the world bodybuilding federation. The attitude Era was definitely the greatest era in wrestling I remember when the game WWE 13 came out at that point the WWE games were not what they used to be but once the WWE 13 promo said it would focus on the attitude Era I know tons of people who haven't played a WWE game in years go out & buy that game just because of that mode

[@EinhanderPilotSantos]

I should of realized the hint when Company Man was talking about Stone Cold in the Cold Stone video lol

[@osamabagdadi5789]

I grew up on ruthless aggression era. It was fantastic.

[@ronin7997]

I wasn't a fan of the wrestling creative after the Ruthless Aggression Era, but it's hard to knock the success looking at the revenue brought in through the PG Era partnerships and sponsors. I'm hoping that Paul Levesque (aka Triple H) can bring back some of the edgier content now that he's in charge of WWE creative.

[@redred222]

already has watch raw or smackdown, you can also tell the wrestlers are having way more fun with not being yelled at or there job threatened if they didnt do what the old man said

[@flyingjew2994]

Not really. They have sponsors so there's a limit to what they can do

[@billbadson7598]

I think the concerns about things "becoming repetitive" are more to do with there really not being that many things you can do with wrestling to begin with, and long-time fans just having sort of seen it all. It makes sense to me to take kind of a cyclical route, where you make it family-friendly to pull in a new generation of kids, then get more extreme again as the years go on to keep their interest as they become teenagers and young adults, before going back to family-friendly to get THEIR kids involved as they start to get a little bored with it.

[@griffon129]

If that’s even the plan.

[@barabusband]

Great work! I’ve been a fan since the mid 80s.

[@troytheguilty]

I used to love WWE and watched religiously from the attitude Era to around 2005 and was over it

[@KCDWolf]

Nothing will ever be as big as The ATTITUDE ERA !!!

[@TopFix]

I was never a fan of wrestling, but it's one of those things that people bond over and I can always get behind that aspect of it. Also, this is the only time I ever believed a KZbinr in regards to endorsing a sponsorship.

[@jgv6323]

No one asked if you're a fan of wrestling or not

[@feynstein1004]

I've never watched or cared for wrestling. I'm just here for Company Man 😂

[@TwistedRing]

I would love to see a rise and fall of ECW! I never expected you to ever cover wrestling topics when you started with the WCW video.

[@ryanvannice7878]

I haven't watched a full show in a long time. Once in a while I'll flip and catch 5 or 10 minutes and remember why I don't watch it anymore. Networks need original programming and WWE can supply several hours a week, 52 weeks a year. It seems that quantity is faovered over quality.

[@omardawkins3178]

Best comment I've seen so far, I have the same experience with WWE currently as I'm a long time fan as well for over 25 years

[@JoseFlores-xh5cj]

I believe the criticism with the PG Era was from the old fans, company was losing revenue and the PG Era was meant to draw younger fans, once those kids became teens, WWE started getting away from the PG and went more PG-14 with some cursing and violence.

[@universallove7741]

Thank you for this !! I’m a die hard life long fan and a huge fan of your channel. So the two worlds colliding I’m loving it !!

[@colewrld901]

If Vince would've retired and given triple H the reigns to the company. The WWE probably would have like 6 million viewers these days and be making even more money than they are now

[@dougvanminnen7537]

I was a wrestling fan from the days of Hulkamania, but I stopped watching it several years ago because the storylines were getting stupid, and they weren't building very many superstars. I would tune in periodically but that was about it. Now that Triple H and Stephanie took over, I heard that things improved a little bit, but I still have no desire to get back into watching the WWE like I used to. My favorite era was actually the Ruthless Aggression era, and I didn't mind the PG era because I understood why the WWE was doing it. But at the reality era I was not watching as much, because in reality it wasn't looking very good. and the new era just made things worse, than I stopped watching all together. Now they need to usher in a new era soon and maybe I'll start watching again.

[@wckt450]

I grew up on the ruthless aggression era so that one will forever hold a special place in my heart

[@robroy6374]

agreed. ruthless aggression era better than attitude era.

[@FreddPhucks]

2023: The Triple HHH Era. Paul Levesque is already putting in that work. This era is gonna be amazing.

[@JoeyJoJoJuniorShabadoo]

I'm a big wrestling fan so I thought this was just another wrestling video from one of my regular channels. Awesome to see a channel that doesn't do wrestling content talk about it.

[@OliveMule]

DO A.E.W!!!!

[@TheMarc388]

A little early for an AEW rise and fall unless even more of their guys get hurt lol

[@Badar2310]

Even though they’re making the most money they’ve ever made, fewer people are watching than ever.

[@chrishmiller4534]

I grew up in CT in the 80’s, close to WWF hq in Stamford. I remember the rubbery action figures, ads for PPV wrestlemanias on cable, and renting VHS’s at the pre-blockbuster video store I worked at. I got turned off by the edgier era, felt like the color, liveliness and bonkers clashes of style got replaced my menacing violent creeps all wearing black. Now though, I watch with my 10 year old, and we both understand it’s a spectacle, tough but also hilarious and fun.

[@arami187]

As far as the quality of WWE goes: Golden Era: Rise New Gen Era: Fall Attitude Era: Rise Ruthless Aggression: Magnum Opus PG Era: Fall Reality Era: Fall even further New Era: Rock Bottom Stephanie McMahon/HHH Era: To be Announced.

[@ecmproductions11]

The Rock doesn't care what you think! Haha love this channel bro.

[@LatinaCreamQueen]

Wish you went more into Hunter's current rise. He's a central part of the company and its new found growth, ESPECIALLY in the PG era.

[@chriskay1449]

IT's not a rise since, as the graphs show, they have been massively growing financially for the last 5 years.

[@Acedegenerate07]

@@chriskay1449 think he meant quality wise

[@hotwheels_1993]

I've attempted to watch new wwe but it's not the same I grew up watching all things WWE and going to live events

[@MinusMOD98]

I haven't watched WWE since the mid-2000s when it was on some TV channel that was included in the channel package of the cable provider my parents were subscribed to at the time. Don't remember which channel it was...

[@ashleyr6809]

I have Dish network and Raw used to come on the USA network and Smackdown use to come on Sci-Fi along with ECW. But now they got rid of ECW.

[@gokusondbz]

Welcome to The HHH Era of WWE 👊

[@yahwehkno]

The attitude era was the best era of wrestling if you missed it you definitely missed out

[@zwebackshyper9307]

i've recently gotten back into wwe after i stopped watching in 2014 i don't watch it regularly mainly just the pay per views because i already have peacock and they're on there at no extra cost its not too bad honestly pretty good

[@Maeno34]

Never forget that The Company man has kids and is his 30s

[@lofi5951]

What a coincidence, I've slowly been getting back into WWE and since Triple H took over it has been pretty good!

[@valrandazzo103]

Literally same! Been watching with my little brother, I started watching it when I was his age and wanted to introduce it to him…it’s been surprisingly good!

[@SaulAguilar.]

@@valrandazzo103 August 2022 is where everyone should start watching. Lots of good stuff for everyone

[@chrisguardiano6143]

Since you did a video on WWE, you should do a video on the rise & potential fall of AEW which is the 2nd biggest promotion in professional wrestling. Many people during AEW's rise viewed it as WWE's biggest competitor since the days of WCW. However in the past few months, AEW has gone through some major issues such as multiple backstage fights behind the scenes which has resulted in the World Champion of the company at the time CM Punk likely leaving & other stars such as Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks being suspended as a result. In addition AEW has had issues with declining ratings for its Friday night Rampage program on TNT & trying to revive ROH a rival company AEW owner Tony Khan bought earlier this year.

[@chelseaandtyler2916]

Isn't AEW where all the washed up WWE wrestlers go?

[@PAPITOFLOW6969]

@@chelseaandtyler2916 yes

[@PAPITOFLOW6969]

aew sucks

[@duckmercy11]

Company is way too young for a video.

[@sblack53]

I have held shares of WWE since the start of the PG Era, and they have paid a dividend every single quarter without fail. That tells me they’ve been stable the entire time.

[@CEOofBerserk]

Never thought Company Man would talk about WWE but here we are

[@Polymathically]

I haven't watched WWE consistently since the Invasion arc, and that was literally 20 years ago. I actually remember talking about it with friends in high school. The last episode I watched was the Benoit memorial. I can't believe that the shows are still going.

[@americansmark]

Its come back in the last few months. Paul Levesque has really turned it around since Vince left.

[@mae2759]

Stopped watching about 5 or so years ago. Everything is so scripted, especially the promos. I want to like it again, but I can't get over how cookie cutter and McDonalds-like everything is. With the performance center, everyone trains the same way, everybody wrestles the same way, and everyone talks the same way. Nothing is organic and it's very noticeable. AEW is a little more gritty, but even then the wrestling matches in both companies have too many "spots". It's like "ok, you do the flips, now I do the flips, now you do the flips...etc". There's no psychology to it anymore. I wish it was more organic and gritty like during the 90's and early 2000's.

[@sharpie7325]

I just got back into wwe lately and it’s low key been good

[@MisterAnemeros]

Of course like many I was a kid during the attitude era and that's what hooked me on wrestling. However, I think the past 10 years has been the best decade of pro wrestling to me (aside from the pandemic period without fans which was hard to watch at times). And now with Vince no longer involved with the company, the future is very bright and the quality of the show has already elevated in his absence.