Think back to your favorite time in professional wrestling, the rivalries, the promos and of course, the hard-hitting action.
That match that had you going crazy after sick moves were being executed, and the feeling of your hands on your head after a near-fall. Here's what you probably thought of.
The legendary Stone Cold Steve Austin - The Rock rivalry was the height of sports entertainment in the WWE back in the late 90s and early 2000s, in an era where many legendary rivalries would form along that time span. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, The Rock and Triple H, The Hardy Boyz vs Edge and Christian vs The Dudley Boyz in tag-team duels. It was the era known as "The Attitude Era", the greatest era in the history of professional wrestling, something that'll never be seen on live television again.
Nowadays, it seems as if all that excitement and anticipation that once had you giddy just passed away, especially if you didn't like the "PG Era". But not so fast my friend as the great Lee Corso says, here are five reasons to get your eyes back to the squared-circle and "The New Era" of professional wrestling.
1. The Indy Stars Have Made It To The Big Time
Back in the 2000s to early 2010s, WWE had well-established stars such as the aforementioned Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Edge and of course, John Cena.
In that same time period, there were lesser-known wrestlers who were amazingly talented, wrestling for another promotion called ROH, Ring Of Honor. The likes of Kevin Steen, El Generico, Austin Aries, Tyler Black among others were stars putting on fantastic performances on a consistent basis on the independent scene. Hardcore fans were wondering when WWE would make the call to reach out in the hopes of signing them to a contract.
It's now 2016, and Kevin Steen (known as Kevin Owens in the WWE), El Generico (Sami Zayn), Austin Aries and Tyler Black (Seth Rollins) are all wrestling under the WWE banner. The possibilities are endless with them, and with those possibilities comes...
2. Dream Matches On The WWE Stage
The May 30, 2016 edition of Monday Night Raw -- a weekly-episodic television show on the USA Network at 8pm -- was a memorable one for many fans for one single segment.
John Cena had just returned to the ring after injury forced him away for a while. And as he gave his promo to the audience, one man welcomed him back, "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles.
Styles, quite simply, is one of the best wrestlers of his generation. Fans all over the wrestling world were salivating at the chance to see two of the best finally go head-to-head. And when they did during their feud stemming from this past June to August, the years of waiting were well worth it.
A year before all this, John Cena fought Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins, it was absolutely fascinating. There are more fantasy matches coming, which will make us wrestling fans wanting more, that's a good thing.
3. NXT! NXT! NXT!
If all else in WWE fails, head to NXT, because that program is amazing.
Initially used to promote talent to the WWE's main rosters in either Raw or Smackdown, the theme continues to this day and has been very successful. Wrestlers such as Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Enzo and Cass, Kevin Owens have been promoted to the main roster and have enjoyed success in the big leagues. Even female wrestlers have been promoted, such as Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bayley, Becky Lynch, etc. And we all have Triple H to thank, the "King of Kings" definitely knows what's best for business.
Current superstars such as Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Hideo Itami and others are plying in their craft under the NXT banner, which will make for a very entertaining watch.
And if that doesn't convince you yet, their NXT: Takeover shows have been well worth the watch. A legitimate argument can be made that their last Takeover show, Back to Brooklyn 2, in August was better than WWE's last major show, Summerslam. The future is getting brighter and brighter with each passing show.
4. The Women's Evolution
At the turn of the new millennium, female wrestlers were mainly used for eye-candy, Bra and Panties matches and silly storylines (aka love triangles) between male wrestlers. Matches that were shorter than five minutes between the women gave fans a thorn on their side that they couldn't pull out for many years, myself included.
And even though the Trish Stratus vs Lita rivalry elevated Women's wrestling to new heights, those heights wouldn't be reached after their retirements in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Women's wrestling seemingly became an afterthought from that point forward.
Luckily, through the power of social media, fans' voices were heard loud and clear. NXT began promoting women such as Sasha, Charlotte, Bayley, Becky Lynch among others to the main roster. With that, came more on-air time for the women to cut their promos and deliver quality matches. The latter certainly proved that female wrestlers can steal the show and leave fans wanting more.
In short, Women's wrestling has never been better right now.
5. They're Listening To Its Fans
Kevin Owens is the current WWE Universal Champion, around this current time last year, he was the Intercontinental Champion working in the mid-card of pay-per-views. He's now a main event star in WWE's eyes, something that fans have wanted ever since he signed with the company. He is the latest example of a big push made by both WWE management/ creative and the fans.
Also around this current time last year, Shinsuke Nakamura wasn't a part of the WWE roster, as he was plying his craft in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since his signing, he has been in dream matches against Sami Zayn (arguably the 2016 Match of the Year), Austin Aries, and Samoa Joe.
To top it all off, Shinsuke is the current NXT Champion. Fans are getting the matches they want, seeing their favorite superstars on the big stage, making the WWE product look as good as it has in quite some time
