Gewirtz said, “It’s not that the women in the Attitude Era … couldn’t do the things that the women today are doing … but the mindset at the time was the audience does not want to see the women in a cage match or … a ladder match … And that mindset has been a complete 180 now.”

When reminded of the fact that WWE did higher TV ratings during the Attitude Era, Gewirtz was quick to point to multiple ways that modern fans consume the WWE product, which obviously aren’t reflected in the television statistics. Furthermore, Gewirtz felt that the Attitude Era benefitted from the previous era — of the mid-1990s — producing subpar programming, giving fans a reason to tune into something new and exciting. 

Gewirtz argued that “[Current] WWE’s progression has been very gradual, … whereas [the differences between] Attitude Era vs. [the] Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Doink the Clown, [and] TL Hopper era that preceded it, … was astronomical … And it’s the fact that you had between ‘Nitro’ and ‘Raw,’ an average, whatever it is, [of] 10 million people not only watching, but all watching at the same time … I don’t think [that mindset] can be replicated.”

Another reason for Gewirtz to pick the current WWE product over the Attitude Era is the “patience” and “care” shown by WWE creative toward some storylines, specifically the acclaimed Bloodline saga. In contrast, Gewirtz says storylines ended abruptly in his years with the company in the interest of creating shock value for the viewers. “There seems to be a lot more long-term planning, … and being able to be like, ‘Maybe this might not work, but we’re sticking to it.'”