AEW's Taz Explains That Without ECW, There Is No Attitude Era In WWE

The Attitude Era of the late '90s has become a thing of legend among wrestling fans, the high-water mark where the great wave of mainstream wrestling popularity broke and rolled back. The influence of ECW on that edgy era of television cannot be understated, as former ECW World Champion Taz made clear on social media recently. "Wasn't just the attitude era ... That was just a name," the AEW broadcaster began. "Hate to break it to some people ... Without ECW there is no attitude era. None of that happens. ECW completely inspired that whole narrative during that time of the industry ... that's a fact. Point is, the biz was hot. Not just WWF."

Wasn't just the attitude era... That was just a name. Hate to break it to some people... Without ECW there is no attitude era. None of that happens. ECW completely inspired that whole narrative during that time of the industry ...that's a fact. Point is, the BIZ was hot. Not just... https://t.co/51VasbvwRF

— taz (@OfficialTAZ) November 11, 2024

The era was known for the immense popularity of WWE and WCW, which battled on Monday nights in primetime while ECW grew grassroots support on smaller cable networks, eventually ending up on TNN, future home of "WWE Raw."

WWE recently paid homage to ECW, as the post-election night edition of "WWE NXT" took place in the historic 2300 Arena where ECW got its start and held some of its most historic events. The show featured stars from ECW's past such as Bubba Ray Dudley, Dawn Marie, Rhyno, and former ECW World Television Champion Rob Van Dam, mixing it up with WWE's stars of tomorrow. AEW also paid homage to ECW for a time, recognizing the FTW Championship that Taz initially introduced there. The title was retired by Taz's son Hook after a lengthy feud over it with Chris Jericho.