The Attitude Era was dumb, crass and immature, and no one exemplified those qualities with as much by-god pride as D-Generation X. DX may have gotten less and less funny as the men slipped further and further into dadhood, but their 90s run had some moments that made even the most high-minded of us go, ‘ok you got me’.
None of them were as good as the DX State of the Union address from 2nd February 1998 where Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chyna responded to WWE’s network superiors telling them to sanitise their output by politely indicating their genitals. They list off all the words they’re not allowed to say with WWE even showing the rare maturity of understanding that well-timed censorship is funnier than the swearing itself.
Also, it becomes very clear that one of the reasons that DX deteriorated massively is the fact that they lost Chyna, who played the vital role of straight man and did it better than anyone else at the time.
7. Shawn Stasiak Runs Into Things (Raw – August 13, 2001 & SummerSlam 2001)
It’s not a main event gimmick, but goddamn if Shawn Stasiak didn’t live it. So when the Alliance invaded, Shawn Stasiak came with them, reappearing in WWE years after his previous gimmick of Meat in Pretty Mean Sisters which, spoilers, has not made this list.
The gimmick this time? Stasiak would try and impress Stone Cold Steve Austin by attacking members of the WWF roster, which normally ended with him interrupting a backstage promo, missing his target, knocking himself out and this is what elevated every segment to absolute genius…the segment would then continue as if nothing had happened.
The pinnacle of this happened with The Rock and WIlliam Regal, himself one of the WWE’s low-key greatest comedians of all time, talking at SummerSlam. Rock asks Regal what he smells when Stasiak shoots past them, smashed into the shutter behind them and the two men move back into frame for the final ‘if you smell what the Rock is cooking.’ It’s an absolute burial, but dammit if he didn’t sell it beautifully, and proof that Planet Stasiak is governed by Looney Tunes physics.
6. Steve Austin Is CEO of WWF (June 14, 1999)
Steve Austin is rightfully known as one of the toughest SOBs in the wrestling business, but an oft-overlooked part of his character is that he’s also one of the funniest. His anti-WCW promos during his stay in ECW are proof enough alone of that.
Some of his best work took place during one of the weirdest angles he was ever part of, when he briefly took over as WWF CEO in June 99. What followed were several amazing segments of Austin deadpanning his way around Titan Towers and making some changes around here.
There are many highlights, including Austin having a briefcase full of beer, firing a guy for looking stupid, teaching the receptionist to answer the phone with ‘who the hell is this’, and when someone tells him that they’re responsible to bringing Vince his Chateaubriand, he responds “I like a good wine from time to time myself”.
However, the best is Austin taking ‘several zeros from Vince’s salary to Mick Foley’s because he needs help with his medical bills.’ Surprisingly understated comedy chops from the rattlesnake in a year when everything was shouting all the time, and while we’re talking about Mick Foley
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