From 2008, WWE made the decision to move away from edgier storylines involving brutal attacks, blood, an assortment of different weapons and various other aspects of the company which made it less of a family friendly show, instead focusing on storylines which would bring back youngsters as well as adults, along with a host of sponsors which would never allow their products to be associated with something so violent.
Vince and Stephanie McMahon / Credit: WWE
It's something that's impacted WWE television to this day. In 2014, Triple H mentioned that we were moving into a new era - The Reality Era - in which fans and viewers were more aware than ever before about the goings on both inside and outside the ring, in front of the cameras and behind-the-scenes. Despite that, the company never really moved away from The PG Era.
Wrestlers who dared to plan a bleed in matches were punished by Vince McMahon, with one story coming from Chris Jericho in his most recent memoirs citing the fact that Batista was fined $100,000 for blading in-ring during his match against Jericho. Despite Jericho not knowing that his opponent had this planned, he was also fined so as to set an example. Fans went wild for the blood, but the boss didn't see it as a good thing.
Now, going back to the Raw following WrestleMania 31. Brock Lesnar had been, in many people's opinion, cheated out of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Seth Rollins finally cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, taking home the title from a match he wasn't even booked to perform in. Brock tore up the arena the next day, attacking security officials and even delivering an F5 to commentary team veteran Michael Cole. It earned him a kayfabe suspension but the respect of fans across the globe. It was brutal, aggressive and definitely non-PG. It was also one of the few moments in the past 24 months which earned actual shock and goosebumps from those watching.
Fast-forward to Monday Night Raw earlier this week and the return of Shane McMahon. Another goosebumps-inducing moment followed by the announcement that Shane-O-Mac would be going head-to-head with The Undertaker in a Hell In A Cell match at WrestleMania 32. If Shane wins, he gains control of Monday Night Raw. Here is WWE's golden goose. It's their opportunity to bring about a new brand extension and allow a new era to really fully develop.
It may be something that the company are already teasing, as WWE Champion Triple H ambused Roman Reigns at the end of the show - complete in Attitude Era gear - smashing his head into the announce table multiple times and forcing Reigns to bleed.
Reigns has since been pulled out of live events due to an injury which many aren't sure is real or fake. As fans we're starting to feel what we felt back in 'the good old days', but getting our hopes up now could always lead to disaster, as it has done so many times before.
Hopefully, WWE have discovered that it's time to drop the PG antics and bring back some of the brutality which allowed it to make so many headlines. Undertaker versus Shane could be incredible - the pair have no issue in taking major bumps if their back catalogue of work is anything to go by, so it's their chance to reignite the passion that still burns, just a little less brighter than it used to, in the bellies of so many fans.
WWE: Late Night - SmackDown returns to screens tonight in the UK at 10pm on Sky Sports 3, with Monday Night Raw returning Tuesdays, 1am on Sky Sports 5 and WrestleMania 32 coming to pay-per-view and the WWE Network on April 3.
Tagged in WWE