Former WWE Star Matt Morgan: Wrestling Not As 'Hot & Popular' As It Was, Despite Boom

The Attitude Era is often seen as the peak of professional wrestling, with fans still harkening back to this time. With the Monday Night Wars creating huge ratings for both WWE and WCW, the industry was thriving and was being viewed by millions of people on a weekly basis. Despite critics such as Dave Meltzer, claiming that professional wrestling is currently undergoing another boom period, Matt Morgan still doesn't think the sport is as popular as it was during the Attitude Era.

"People talk about the boom of wrestling now, and it is, it's doing great," he admitted to "Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw." "WWE is doing amazing, obviously, but not the pop culture portion of it if you will, that it was then back then in the Attitude Era." 

During the 1990s boom t-shirts for the likes of Steve Austin and the NWO were incredibly popular, to the point that they'd be worn in any setting. Meanwhile, students getting detentions for hitting a DX crotch chop also wasn't out of the ordinary, with professional wrestling being must-watch television at that time. While WWE and AEW still get plenty of attention to this day, the boom that wrestling enjoyed in the 90s has so far proven impossible to replicate.

"I'm not joking, all the different athletes that were in the same dorm together, the dance team, our cheerleaders, girls, guys of all different makes and models all would pack together and would go back and forth between the two channels of watching the Monday Night Wars with a keg," he said. "They'd make a party out of it, it was that popular and it was that hot back in those late 90s there."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.