Bruce Prichard Questions Whether the Attitude Era Really Holds Up Today

Bruce Prichard is offering a sobering take on one of wrestling’s most celebrated eras—and he isn’t sugarcoating it.

Speaking on Something to Wrestle, the longtime WWE executive reflected on the Attitude Era, acknowledging its impact on the business while questioning how well it stands up to modern scrutiny. According to Prichard, fans have been looking back on the era through nostalgia instead of critical perspective.

“People look at the Attitude Era with rose-colored glasses,” he said. “Go back and watch the Attitude Era today. Does not hold up. Wasn’t good s**t. It was great in the moment.”

For Prichard, the Attitude Era worked because of the era it existed in—late ’90s cultural chaos, Monday Night War urgency, and a wildly engaged TV audience. But he emphasized that professional wrestling isn’t necessarily designed to age gracefully, and fans today might see the flaws more clearly.

“It was absolutely awesome… Doesn’t hold up, okay?”

He also opened up about the creative risks taken during that period. While the wild storytelling helped the company explode in popularity, Prichard admitted some of it came at a cost.

“Attitude Era – I look back on it fondly. It was fun to do… And, in some ways, it exploded the business beyond, and in some ways hurt the business.”

He pointed to certain writers and booking philosophies that followed the Attitude Era into other promotions, often with mixed or damaging results.

What makes this take matter is that the Attitude Era is frequently held up as a formula WWE should return to—a golden age defined by high ratings, edgy characters, and real-life tension. But Prichard pushed back on that thinking, framing the era as a product of its time that can’t—and shouldn’t—be copied.

He said the boom was essential to WWE’s long-term growth, helping the company go public and shatter financial records. Still, he made it clear that replicating the Attitude Era in today’s climate would miss the point entirely.

Looking ahead, Prichard believes the current WWE product will one day be picked apart just as fiercely. For him, the bigger message is that every era, no matter how beloved, is built on its own strengths and weaknesses—and the real key is evolving with the audience instead of chasing ghosts.