Chris Jericho names ‘biggest difference’ between Attitude Era and today
Chris Jericho believes there’s one big difference that sets the Attitude Era apart from today’s pro wrestling.
During an interview with The Sportster, Jericho was asked why he thinks the late 1990s/early 2000s period is so fondly remembered by wrestling fans. He responded by pointing to the main event talent that existed at the time. Every era has great wrestlers, but Jericho believes WWE had up to a dozen stars during this period who were legitimate difference makers.
“I think the biggest difference between this era and that era, and I think if you throw in the 86 expansion, those are probably your three biggest eras for pro wrestling in North America,” Jericho said. “I think what made — let’s say we want to call it the Attitude Era, although it was kind of a little bit maybe the Ruthless Aggression, whatever you want to call it — when I got to the WWE, there were legit, I’d say, 12 legit top-drawing main event stars. Not just guys who worked in the main event, top draws. [The] Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Mankind, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and that’s just off the top of [my head]. Kane, there’s nine right there off the top of my head without even really thinking too much about it, and there’s probably three or four others that I could throw in there. Big Show — there’s 10 right there.
“There’s a lot of great talent in wrestling today, but main event stars, main event draws, main event, like, almost iconic characters that are still super popular today because of that timeframe — we don’t have that now. You have a lot more eyeballs on it, maybe, because of platforms and streaming. But if you look at the main event names then, they can’t be touched. So that’s probably why that era is so critically acclaimed and so positively remembered, because of just the name value of those stars that were all there at the same time.”
Jericho has been on a media tour to promote the “Vietslam” documentary he produced, which looks at the emerging pro wrestling scene in Vietnam that’s being led by the Vietnam Pro Wrestling promotion he made a surprise appearance for in 2023.
Chris Jericho set for AEW TNT title challenge —
Coming off a trip to Mexico City last week for Grand Slam Mexico, Jericho will challenge Kevin Knight for the TNT Championship on Dynamite in Las Vegas this Wednesday. The show is happening on the road to All In 2026, which is now less than three weeks away. If Knight retains against Jericho, he’ll defend the TNT Championship against Darby Allin in a falls count anywhere match at the August 30 pay-per-view.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.