Ruthless Aggression Era

by bluethunder25

This documentary covers the years of WWE from 2001-2008. Featuring the first WWE Draft; the rise of stars such as Randy Orton and John Cena, the introduction of the Cruiserweight Division, GM's, the Elimination Chamber, and more.

In the 1990's WWE and WCW batted heads with each other in the Monday Night Wars as WWE Monday Night RAW went head-to-head with WCW Monday Nitro. As WCW acquired the top stars that brought WWE to the height of stardom in the 1980's, WWE's survival was in question. Seeing that its competition was getting the upper hand, WWE ushered in a new era. The era of superheroes who urged fans to 'say their prayers and take their vitamins' was done and a new era in WWE had begun; The Attitude Era.

Pioneered by the Showstopper, Shawn Michaels, and the Game, Triple H of D-Generation-X, the Attitude Era provided the WWE Universe with some the most awe inspiring and breath taking moments in the history of the WWE. From the feud between an everyday common man from Victoria, Texas, and the boss; to the emergence the charismatic, electrifying People's Champion, the Rock; to the beginning of one of the greatest feuds in sports entertainment history between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin; the catchphrases, such as, 'If ya smell what the Rock is cookin?' to 'And that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so,' this one-in-a-lifetime era helped keep the WWE afloat in the Monday Night Wars in the late 90's.

It seemed as though WWE and WCW were unable to get the upper hand on one another, that is until that fateful day on January 4th, 1999, when a chubby son from Long Island New York defeated The Rock to win the WWE Championship.

Cole- Mankind has achieved his dream and the dream of everyone else who's been told, 'you can't do it!'

With Mankind's victory over The Rock, WWE gained a more than pleasurable amount of momentum in the Monday Night Wars and they never lost again. And with inclusion of shows like Sunday Night Heat and Smackdown, WWE was firmly in the driver's seat and WCW was now the one who's future looked bleak.

Then, on March 26th, 2001, the inevitable happened. On the first ever simulcast of RAW and Nitro, Vincent Kennedy McMahon announced to the world that with his own money, he had purchased World Championship Wrestling. At the time, it seemed like WCW's future was in jeopardy, but as the Boss himself proclaimed, its future was in his hands.

Or so he thought...

Later that night, Vince was in the midst of gloating over his purchase of the industry down south, saying that he would finalize the deal at WrestleMania 17, but then, to his shock, Vince McMahon's son, Shane McMahon, revealed that he had already finalized the contract and now the Boy Wonder was the owner of WCW. With the prodigal son now at the reigns of WCW, a whole new set of ammunition had been passed out and the war was only just beginning.

Soon, WCW stars started making appearances on WWE RAW and Smackdown. Most notably was WCW star, Diamond Dallas Page who, wanting to make a name for himself, stalked the Undertaker's then wife, Sara.

DDP- I'm beggin' you, Taker, make me famous!

In order to insure that the WWE knew they weren't playing around, WCW declared civil war and fired the first shot when WCW owner, Shane McMahon, cost then WWE Superstar, Kurt Angle, his opportunity to become a 2-time King of the Ring. Later on, more shots were fired when Shane and Kurt engaged in a hellacious street fight. Next came a confrontation between DDP and the Deadman. And to add more fuel to the fire, Booker T invaded the main event between WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, by driving the Texas Rattlesnake through the announce table.

What had started out as a weekly battle for TV ratings turned into a full scale war for supremacy and one that threatened to close the doors of World Wrestling Entertainment forever.

WWE's chance for survival were made even more slim as the former ECW stars who had made their home in WWE formed an extreme reunion under the leadership of the Father of Extreme himself, Paul Heyman, and new owner, Stephanie McMahon, and joined forces with Shane McMahon's WCW to form The Alliance.

On July 22nd, 2001, WWE and WCW waged war at the aptly named InVasion pay-per-view. Victories between the two were traded back and forth, all leading up to the Inaugural Brawl between Team WWE and Team Alliance where a shocking betrayal tipped the scales in favor of the alliance; the defection of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

With the WWE Champion not only in their camp, but as their new leader, The Alliance had things going their way, but a certain red, white, and blue Olympic gold medalist by the name of Kurt Angle was determined to bring the championship back home. The first meeting between the two at Summerslam saw Kurt Angle kick out of a unprecedented 3 Stone Cold Stunners. Fearing the loss of his title, Stone Cold attacked multiple referees, leaving WCW referee, Nick Patrick, no choice but to disqualify him.

But Kurt Angle was not out of the hunt yet. At Unforgiven, the two would fight again for title and the outcome was much different as Kurt Angle made the Rattlesnake tap out, winning the gold for the WWE.

However, after a short absence, Stone Cold, with the help of new Alliance member, William Regal, regained the championship.

After nearly three months of war, Vince proposed a winner-take-all match at Survivor Series. This would be the final battle between the three biggest companies in sports entertainment where the winner would come out on top and the loser would go out of business.

The field was set; Survivor Series; and the teams were made. A 10-man elimination tag team match with everything on the line. In the end, it came down to the two biggest superstars in WWE history, the two greatest stars of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. this was the moment, the moment when it would all come to an end. The war between WCW and WWE was to ultimately be decided here and how appropriate that the two stars who made the Attitude Era what it was would be the ones to end it, the ones to decided which company would reign supreme.

As always, The Rock and Stone Cold put on a wrestling clinic. Nothing less was expected from the two. Near the end, it appeared the Rattlesnake would come out with the victory for WCW, but the ultimate swerve, by Kurt Angle, who was actually a mole on the inside for the WWE hit Austin with the WWE Championship belt, allowing Rock to get the pin.

And with the 1, 2, 3, the war that had gone on since 1995, had finally come to an end. The WWE had won. WCW was out of business and with no more competition, the Attitude Era was officially over.

With its victory at Survivor Series, WWE was now the only wrestling company in town and for nearly a year, it enjoyed it reign at the top. Fans were pouring in left and right to see RAW, Smackdown, and Heat. With no the place to go, a large number of former WCW and ECW stars made a new home in WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment was now the top dog in sports entertainment.

But new competition soon arose...

On May 20th, 2002, former WWE alumni, Jeff Jarrett founded Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. On June 19th of the same year, the first episode of TNA premiered and feature some of the biggest names in sports entertainment along with a good number of former WWE, WCW, and ECW superstars, as well as rising stars of tomorrow.

It was now apparent WWE faced a new challenge, possibly even far greater than anything WCW could've mustered up.

With a new competitor on the horizon, WWE knew it was time to once again raise the bar. With a plethora of superstars at their disposal, it was time to create a new frontier for World Wrestling Entertainment. The rambunctious rebellion of the previous Attitude Era would not be enough to combat the innovation that TNA presented. It was time for WWE to create a new era, the likes of which nobody had ever seen before. An era defined by two simple words:

RUTHLESS AGGRESSION!

In this documentary, we will tell the story of a group of superstars who established themselves by following their lives based on two words and two words alone:

RUTHLESS AGGRESSION!

We will explore the innovation, the shock, the emotion, the passion, and most importantly, the:

RUTHLESS AGGRESSION!

This is the story of two shows that battled neck and neck in a war for supremacy and bragging rights. Two shows that saw the debut and eventual launch to stardom of a group of young and talented superstars. Two shows that never dared to take it soft or play it safe because day in and day out, they both lived by two words that defined them and the era:

Ruthless Aggression.