Just recently Cena did an interview and revealed why WWE wrestling promotion pretty much decided to turn back to the Attitude Era, and some stars that dominated it, like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. If you recall, some 20 years ago, the Attitude Era made wrestling the most popular product ever, and the faces behind it were Johnson and Austin. Back then nothing was taboo and off limits which is why that era brought a lot of blood and swearing which was welcomed by the hardcore fans of the sport.
If you want to go worldwide, you have to do some corrections, and that is exactly what the WWE did. They pretty much cut loose of-of the “old sins” in order to move to more age-appropriate content, and nevertheless, how much the fans wished the good old days back, WWE sticks to the story that worldwide reach outweighs any and all complaints people have. In his interview for the UK publication The Independent, Cena pretty much explained that the Attitude Era days are over, mainly because WWE is now a PG-rated product.
Cena stated “What I can tell you is that we’re a PG program and if you look at the Attitude Era it was TV-14 or TV-MA. We’re a PG program, there’s nothing else I can tell you. There will be no cussing, there will be no blood, there will be no headshots, there will be no inappropriate clothing, and those aren’t our laws — those are the laws of the rating system. I totally understand someone saying, ‘I miss mature content in sports entertainment.’ We are not the place for that. We are not. And that’s our business model. And until it changes I am merely a carpenter building with the tools that are given to me.”
Cena also said that he does not have problems with the new WWE business model, especially if it will get him in front of eyes of people in new frontiers like South America and Japan. Cena is actually ecstatic and wants to perform in front of as many people as possible all the time. If the new business decisions that the company makes gets him there it’s fine by him. Main star continued “You want to take your product and get it out to as many people as you can — my WWE mission statement isn’t to be a 17-time champion or whatever, it’s to get as many eyeballs on the ring as I possibly can, because I love the WWE so much, I think we have the best gig in town, so I want everybody to watch it. So my success or failure in the ring in a win or loss perspective is irrelevant. If winning more will help me get more eyeballs, fine. If being PG will help me get more eyeballs, fine.”
Cena is actually very determined to bring this sport to as many eyes as possible, and he confirmed that by stating “I wanna do stadiums every show, I don’t want to just do it for WrestleMania — do stadiums every show and have a show on the moon and a show on Mars. That’s how dedicated I am to expanding the audience. But until we get the go ahead to make TV-MA stuff, it’s gonna be PG. So I think everyone who’s involved in the Attitude Era appreciates all the respect and I know us who aren’t in the Attitude Era — and I’ve seen both sides of the spectrum because I came in on the tail end of it and was a primary reason for the transition — I don’t feel slighted at all because that fact that you watch and complain at least means you’re watching.”
