[doinktheclowns]

When a new era begins it is usually the result of a series of events that In turn trigger momentous attitude shifts.

For me it was;

- CM Punk pipe bomb
- WWE taking Punk and Bryan seriously
- Fans finally getting fed up of Cena
- The rise of Daniel Bryan
- WWEs investment in NXT and the development system
- CM Punk walking out

 

[MEMS]

Honestly I think the final straw was the embarrassing Royal Rumble crowd. Between the Cena-Orton reaction, followed by the Rumble reaction, that HAD to open every eye in Stamford.

 

[gothmog 3rd]

I think it was HHH leaving the ring and entering the office. It was after HHH got creative control that stuff started happening.

 

[FPT]

The booing for Batista and Cena. These are "top guys" but we boo because we're bored of the "same old shit." I do anyway.

I want to be entertained and see new and more vibrant wins, and just handing Batista a title shot was everything wrong with the WWE.

Hopefully, the Yes Movement can go onto bred more stars, like Cesaro, like Reigns, like Rollins, like Wyatt and like Ziggler. We made Daniel Bryan champion, and now the WWE knows what we want, but we need to keep on preaching.

 

[Chloe]

CM Punk pushed it to the edge, Daniel Bryan pushed it off.

 

[KingLobos]

Batista

 

[Ham and Egger]

The pipebomb started it all.

 

[doinktheclowns]

CM Punk pushed it to the edge, Daniel Bryan pushed it off.

Nice way of putting it.

The pipebomb started it all.

I hope this will be acknowledged in years time. For example when you look at video packages that explain the attitude era. I hope video packages would start with such moment.

 

[leeblue]

Just has to be the royal rumble crowd reaction that moved things along. ...the obvious popularity of new talent coming through....wait till the shield splits and they start wrestling each other...also NXT has to be acknowledged

 

[Crasp]

Just HHH being smart.

 

[doinktheclowns]

Just has to be the royal rumble crowd reaction that moved things along. ...the obvious popularity of new talent coming through....wait till the shield splits and they start wrestling each other...also NXT has to be acknowledged

I think these are major contributing factors but these are more the final straws than the actual catalyst. I believe a new era happens over a period of years and is not at first apparent that it has sparked a change until a few years down the line.

 

[Crozer]

Pipebomb lighted a spark, but NXT wrestlers, Bryan and the fans took us to the new era.

 

[★Th0t Patr0L★]

Everyone seems to want to credit Punk and don't get me wrong, his pipebomb probably stirred a lot of ideas of change, but it means nothing if you leave without trying to solidify the changes you want to see. I think the crowd being more vocal, the WWE Network, and changes in who makes decisions has spurred on a new "Era".

 

[FlyingBurrito]

The focus on launching the WWE Network.

 

[JohnnyC55]

The pipebomb didn't change anything. If your reasoning behind it is that it "blurred lines", then you should credit the Nexus debut since that blurred the lines far more than the pipebomb. You should even give R-Truth and Miz credit since their "release" and later invasion of Hell in a Cell was far more realistic than anything Punk ever did.


I consider this (if anything) more of transitional period than a full fledged new era, it depends on what directions the company goes in from here.

 

[doinktheclowns]

The pipebomb didn't change anything. If your reasoning behind it is that it "blurred lines", then you should credit the Nexus debut since that blurred the lines far more than the pipebomb. You should even give R-Truth and Miz credit since their "release" and later invasion of Hell in a Cell was far more real than anything Punk ever did.

It was pointing out the flaws of HHH and Vince which transitioned HHH into an authority figure, it was the beginning of a more reality based product, it was when indie guys like Punk and Bryan got taken seriously (admittedly Ryder was a failed project), it was the beginning of a new guy at the top of the card and an alternative to Cena and had Punk not become a star the complexion of WWE would be much different and the walk out after Rumble would not have caused the massive reshuffle of the Wrestlemania card.

I am not saying Punk is the only reason it is happening but he seems to be the catalyst at the very beginning.


If you think the pipe bomb didn't change a thing then you are delusional.

All relevant. 8mins onwards ever more

 

[x78]

The Rock returning in 2011, challenging John Cena's status and bringing back an older audience who had drifted away from pro wrestling in general. Then Punk's pipebomb showed how good the product could be if the company put their minds to it and approached things in a different way, but it took them a couple of years to fully pull the trigger.

 

[Casual Fan #52]

In addition to all of the above, I think the mere passage of time needs to be acknowledged. The old guys gold old.... new guys were needed. They tried desperately and repeatedly to cling to the past, but eventually they had no choice but to move forward. Undertaker's last match is a good example of that. He's done. He should have been done years ago, but finally they can't deny it. He's done.