John Cena Reflects On Post-Attitude Era Challenge, Credits WWE's Revival To This Man

NDTV

5 days ago

John Cena is arguably the most recognized name in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). However, before the rise of Cena, WWE had undergone challenging times in terms of its growth and popularity, particularly after the end of the Attitude Era. Then a part of WWF (World Wrestling Federation), the era, which existed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, featured stunning adult-oriented storylines, spearheaded by stars like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock and Triple H. However, after the departures of Steve Austina and The Rock, WWE's popularity suffered a dip, before being resurrected by the likes of Cena and late wrestler Eddie Guerrero.
Cena paid tribute to Guerrero in a recent fan interaction, highlighting the latter's role in bringing WWE back to the top.
"WWE went through a boom in the Attitude Era and then all those guys, we fired Stone Cold. The Rock left, The Undertaker got hurt, we changed the name, the XFL failed. There was a lot of upside down stuff. We started SmackDown and it had Kurt Angle as its anchor, but we brought Eddie Guerrero and a bunch of (new guys) like Edge and me and a bunch of other new guys and people trying to find their way," John Cena said, speaking during the FAN EXPO in Denver.
"Eddie was our champion for for a certain period of time. And he used to tell me that it is the night when the fewest people show up that you have to work 10 times as hard because the presence in that area isn't as strong," Cena further said, hailing Guerrero.
The Attitude Era was followed by the toned-down Ruthless Aggression Era, where the likes of Eddie Guerrero played a leading role. Eventually, John Cena rose to popularity, taking advantage of the platform built by Guerrero and co.