AJ Styles does not sound convinced that WWE is heading back to the Attitude Era style anytime soon.
During his The Phenomenally Retro Podcast, Styles was asked whether WWE could ever return to a more violent, risqué, or harder-edged product, and he made it clear that the company’s current direction makes sense for where WWE is today.
The topic came up while Styles and his co-host were discussing how WWE has changed from the Attitude Era and early 2000s. The co-host brought up the idea of blood, violence, and a more adult presentation, while also saying some of the old content took time away from better wrestling matches. Styles said blood can still work in the right situation, but he does not know that WWE needs to jump from PG into something closer to PG-13.
“I think there’s a time and a place for a story line that has, you know, some blood in it. I get it. Uh but to say that we’ll go back from, you know, from PG to, you know, PG even a PG-13 or, you know, whatever it is that the next step is, I I don’t know that we do that.”
Styles then explained why WWE staying PG makes sense from his point of view. He pointed to younger fans and the fact that WWE now runs on a global scale. He continued by saying that WWE has to consider what different countries and audiences are willing to accept.
“Uh, I think the the young is our foundation. So, I can’t and and listen, we got to be able to put shows in other countries as well.”
“And they may not like all that stuff. They that thing that they want to see over there and WWE is worldwide. So, I think we got to do with the constraints of having the world involved now to have more people watching.”
Because of that, Styles said he does not see WWE moving away from PG. The conversation then shifted to the Attitude Era itself. Styles agreed that the product was different at the time, but said some of it does not hold up the same way now.
“And so, I just don’t see a time that we come out of the PG era.”
“Because it was different from what you had seen over the past few years. It was just different. But now I agree. You look back and go that’s kind of stupid. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Styles also said modern wrestling fans understand more about logic and psychology now, which makes certain old-school angles harder to accept.
“You know, because now we understand a little bit more than we used to. And and and we’ve tell told you stories that actually made sense when it comes to psychology, like, ‘Hey, yeah, if the guy pulls a gun out you, he’d go to jail. How about we just do that?’ You know?”
Styles did not bury the Attitude Era, but he made it clear that WWE is a different company now. With younger fans, international events, and a worldwide audience to consider, he does not see the company abandoning the PG lane anytime soon.
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