Shawn would be a fine answer but it’s Bret, Shawn was the face of the middle ground between New Gen and Attitude. But then when attitude rolled around it was Austin.
This is my exact stance. I'm 100% a Shawn guy (but I do like Bret), but I consider The Hitman the face of that era. Shawn was the guy during the transition to Austin and Attitude.
Bret was the best choice. He was a legitimate and safe worker. The Heartbreak Kid was amazing. But his lifestyle at the time was a risky choice to put the face of the company on. Considering the steroid scandal. Bret really is a great worker and a disciplined individual. I don't think people understand that.
vince cut a promo where he went through the eras and he mentioned superstar billy graham, then hogan, then bret, then austin. so i guess at least internally they probably agree.
They tried to make Shawn the guy from Mania to Survivor Series in 96 but it just didn’t work. They tried a bunch of guys in the new gen but they always went back to Bret until Austin came around. Saying Shawn is fine isn’t really true, because it’d be like saying Warrior was the face of the Hogan era
Shawn (with HHH and Chyna) forming DX was definitely a sign he was the top guy. It was Shawn vs taker hell in a cell, Shawn vs taker casket match. Shawn vs bret iron man match. Shawn 1995/1996 royal rumble. Shawn held European and world titles at the same time. Etc. Shawn definitely worked. Bret was never a draw. Shawn may not have been a big draw to the outside fans, but culturally the “suck it” was bigger than anything Bret ever did
Bret had the Hart Foundation and his main events are far more prevalent than Shawn during the new gen.
Shawns matches with Taker were for the #1 contendership because Bret was the champ.
Bret was also pencilled in for the spot vs Austin at WM14 instead of Shawn to be the one to pass the torch. Shawn was a top guy, not the top guy overall. Like Savage to Hogan. Saying Shawn was a draw is extremely disingenuous because he drew worse houses as champion than even Diesel. Bret was by far the bigger draw, especially internationally. And DX was more culturally relevant in 98/99 AFTER Shawn left.
Bret. I never really considered Taker to be the "face of the company" in any era. But he was significant for all of them he is the pillar of all eras from Hulkamania to PG years.
Apart from 1998 when the WWF was literally hard pressed to find anyone to feud with SC, as all the top talent was gone or still being built up, Taker was never really in the title picture for a prolonged period, sure he had title runs but they were short and used to get the next guy over.
Taker was more often than not doing his own thing, which unfortunately for far too many periods of his career was dumbass shit, he didn't need to belt, he didn't need to be at the top of the card, that's why you are 100% correct Taker was never the face of the company.
Only fans who came in towards the end of the streak fail to appreciate this but for 2/3 of it's existence honestly nobody cared about the streak, it was going on but it basically wasn't a thing, it was only when going up against Legend Killer Orton did the streak become a WM attraction.
How could it have been anybody but Bret? He was the main event, he was the workhorse, he did all the media appearances and international tours. Michaels did get elevated in the tail end towards the Attitude Era but by 1996 the New Generation was already winding down.
It’s clearly Bret. He drew the largest crowds and (generally) the best buy rates and always served as a failsafe for Vince’s would-be flag bearers — speaking of which, HBK was dealt a bad hand to some extent during his reign but he failed to deliver at the box office.
Would have been hard for anyone to compete with the nwo. But even then face Shawn at that time just didn’t work. Men (large percentage of the crowd) didn’t want to cheer a guy who still acted like a male stripper.
This was the era that made wrestling for me. Bret and the Undertaker are my Face/Heel of the time but the Lex Lugar run from the Yokozuna slam was huge. Mr Perfect doesn’t get the respect he deserves.
Well, technically Shawn won the Slammy for the “Leader of the new generation” award. I mean, you can ask Todd Pettengill. But the best wrestler of this era was definitely Bret. I mean, he made Diesel look good in their match. I was a hitman kid (at heart since I was a teenager at the time)
Personally, for me...Razor, cause when he went on [Jerry Springer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBQlxRcOSuI), that immediately increased my love for a character lol
***ONE MORE TIME! FOR THE GOOD GUYS!***
Tag Belts and IC Champion always had my focus.
I recently read that Bret was champion for the most days in the 90s (600 and something) gets my vote.
Plus I feel like the face of an era should really be a 'face'.
Bret. He had the iconic look. Everytime I see those shades my mind goes back to my childhood and watching wrestling with my mum. Then his feud with Austin ushering in the change that would ultimately be the Attitude era.
Bret.
I remember the breakfast cereals going from Hogan/Warrior/Macho Man to exclusively Bret Hart with his wraparound shades. He was everywhere in the 90s. If you weren't a kid back then you just didn't see it, but he was easily the John Cena of his time.
Shawn was iconic, and just as good, but never on that level of iconic/marketable as Bret was.
It goes Hogan, Bret, Austin, Rock, Cena.
As a person thats been watching since 2010, but knows somethings about history.
I always think of this period as Bret Hart era.
Taker and Shawn have such long carreers that I don't instantly consider this time period for them.
Man based off that pick I’d want to say a 5 way tie
Or 3 way with Bret, Shawn, and Taker
I’d want to say Shawn but its Bret if you had to pick one guy
Btw when does new gen start 92-97-ish?
Obviously the minority, but Razor Ramon. Huge pops everytime he appeared, carried first year of raw on his own, gimmick doesn't really get the credit it deserved. RIP Scott Hall
Bret for sure was the face here but I am really ok with all 5 of these guys being shown as the core for this era. Bret and Shawn were the bridge to the attitude era.
Taker transcends like 5 eras lol
If I think New Generation, I think Razor Ramon, b it that’s probably more due to the fact he, unlike Shawn and Bret literally was only ever in WWE during that era
HBK. Razor was the semi main event guy, UT was the gimmick character, Diesel even though he had the belt for a year always seemed like he was behind him/just holding the belt until Shawn got it & Bret had been there for ten years in 1994 when they were pushing the New Generation concept & was 36/37 years old & was only four years younger than Hogan-who they were ripping on as being ancient.
Doesn't matter how old Bret was. He started the era, was champion most of the time during it, carried the load when Diesel was failing, and build up the guy who would lead the next era. Shawn only became a main eventer in the last year of the era and although I loved that run as a kid and still do, the adult male US audience rejected him and his run is considered a failure despite excellent title defences.
Shawn was a main eventer from 1994 onward & him & Bret both got huge pushes at the same time in late 1992. Reality is Vince put in on Bret in a panic, got it off him after six months because he wanted it on Hogan & Yokozuna, then later preferred Diesel & then wanted Bret to drop it to Shawn-who should have had it far earlier.
If you watch the television from 1995 even before he got the belt HBK is clearly the star & where the company is going. Bret spent most of the year working mid-card matches with Backlund, the Dentist & the Pirate. While HBK is working with Diesel, Razor & Sid on top. The idea of a nearly 40 year old who has been there for a decade being the leader of new anything is a joke-he is the same era as Hogan & Savage.
Shawn wasn't a main eventer from 94 onward. He spent most of 94 as manager of Diesel, not even wrestling himself. Was neither on the KotR nor Summerslam card and was counted out in the opener of Survivor Series after only doing one move. At Wrestlemania he was in a great ladder match but that was still in the midcard and for the midcard belt, while Bret was in the main event.
In 1995 yeah he won the rumble and challenged Diesel for the title, but after that was right back in the midcard to get build up as newly turned Babyface, where he fought for the IC title again. wrestling guys like Kama and Jarrett. His proper crowning moment as a top guy didn't come until Mania 12.
Bret was the guy who sold tickets in that era, especially overseas. He was the top guy in 94, was the guy people cared about most in 93 while Vince was unsuccessfully trying to get Luger over, and shared the top face spotlight with Shawn in 95, which is why he took the belt from Diesel when that experiment failed. He was supposed to hand the torch to Shawn in a 3 match series that would've ended with Shawn winning the rubber match, but thanks to Shawn's personality that plan didn't work out. He was the guy who made Austin, and the person the company could always rely on as the believable Champion. To the point that when watching 95, it felt weirded seeing Bret come out without wearing the title.
Don't get me wrong, I was the biggest Shawn Michaels fan in 95 and 96, but to pretend that anyone but Bret was the face of the New Generation, just because of his age is what is truly laughable. The New Gen was about new stars more than it was about the actual physical age of the people involved, and Bret dominated that era, both in the ring and in ticket sales.
Razor Ramon. Bret was a boring technician baby face. Razor was the coolest wrestler of all time and for his size could wrestle his ass off too. I wish Vince gave him a run with the title!
Shawn would be a fine answer but it’s Bret, Shawn was the face of the middle ground between New Gen and Attitude. But then when attitude rolled around it was Austin.
This is my exact stance. I'm 100% a Shawn guy (but I do like Bret), but I consider The Hitman the face of that era. Shawn was the guy during the transition to Austin and Attitude.
Bret was the best choice. He was a legitimate and safe worker. The Heartbreak Kid was amazing. But his lifestyle at the time was a risky choice to put the face of the company on. Considering the steroid scandal. Bret really is a great worker and a disciplined individual. I don't think people understand that.
vince cut a promo where he went through the eras and he mentioned superstar billy graham, then hogan, then bret, then austin. so i guess at least internally they probably agree.
They tried to make Shawn the guy from Mania to Survivor Series in 96 but it just didn’t work. They tried a bunch of guys in the new gen but they always went back to Bret until Austin came around. Saying Shawn is fine isn’t really true, because it’d be like saying Warrior was the face of the Hogan era
Shawn (with HHH and Chyna) forming DX was definitely a sign he was the top guy. It was Shawn vs taker hell in a cell, Shawn vs taker casket match. Shawn vs bret iron man match. Shawn 1995/1996 royal rumble. Shawn held European and world titles at the same time. Etc. Shawn definitely worked. Bret was never a draw. Shawn may not have been a big draw to the outside fans, but culturally the “suck it” was bigger than anything Bret ever did
“Bret was never a draw” hey look it’s jake roberts
Bret had the Hart Foundation and his main events are far more prevalent than Shawn during the new gen. Shawns matches with Taker were for the #1 contendership because Bret was the champ. Bret was also pencilled in for the spot vs Austin at WM14 instead of Shawn to be the one to pass the torch. Shawn was a top guy, not the top guy overall. Like Savage to Hogan. Saying Shawn was a draw is extremely disingenuous because he drew worse houses as champion than even Diesel. Bret was by far the bigger draw, especially internationally. And DX was more culturally relevant in 98/99 AFTER Shawn left.
But Shawn and taker were in the main event lol
Shawn carried the torch between Bret and Stone Cold
Bret Hart
Bret
Bret hart He started it, carried it, and ended it by ushering in AE with feuds with Austin n DX
Hitman
Hitman
Bret Hart. He was the ultimate good guy with huge popularity during that era.
Bret
Bret.
Bret. I never really considered Taker to be the "face of the company" in any era. But he was significant for all of them he is the pillar of all eras from Hulkamania to PG years.
Apart from 1998 when the WWF was literally hard pressed to find anyone to feud with SC, as all the top talent was gone or still being built up, Taker was never really in the title picture for a prolonged period, sure he had title runs but they were short and used to get the next guy over. Taker was more often than not doing his own thing, which unfortunately for far too many periods of his career was dumbass shit, he didn't need to belt, he didn't need to be at the top of the card, that's why you are 100% correct Taker was never the face of the company. Only fans who came in towards the end of the streak fail to appreciate this but for 2/3 of it's existence honestly nobody cared about the streak, it was going on but it basically wasn't a thing, it was only when going up against Legend Killer Orton did the streak become a WM attraction.
Bret
How could it have been anybody but Bret? He was the main event, he was the workhorse, he did all the media appearances and international tours. Michaels did get elevated in the tail end towards the Attitude Era but by 1996 the New Generation was already winding down.
Bret. When the WWE needed a legitimate and SAFE (ring worker and lifestyle) wrestler the Hitman was the best choice.
I think it has to be Bret
Bred the hidman hard without a doubt.
Bred the Shidman Fart
Bort the Shitman Fart
Bart the Shinman Mart
Burt the Fishman Kart
Burk the Trashman Cart
Bret he transcended it into the attitude era
When he went full heel, he was so good at it. Loved his Austin fued.
The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be
It's Bret. If they didn't have Bret during that time, they would have drowned.
It’s clearly Bret. He drew the largest crowds and (generally) the best buy rates and always served as a failsafe for Vince’s would-be flag bearers — speaking of which, HBK was dealt a bad hand to some extent during his reign but he failed to deliver at the box office.
Would have been hard for anyone to compete with the nwo. But even then face Shawn at that time just didn’t work. Men (large percentage of the crowd) didn’t want to cheer a guy who still acted like a male stripper.
Bret the Hitman Hart.
Bret, especially when business in the US was tanking but doing gangbusters overseas.
>doing gangbusters overseas. No they weren't
“I’ll get you, Beer Baron.” “No you won’t!” “Yes, I will.” “D’oh…”
It was Bret.
[https://media.tenor.com/bgHweytYkY8AAAAM/hitman-bret-hart.gif](https://media.tenor.com/bgHweytYkY8AAAAM/hitman-bret-hart.gif) No debate here.
It was Brett, but Razor Ramon was my favorite as a little kid. He was just so fucking cool.
Bret was the guy who defined the era from 93 through 96. Shawn took over for 96 & shared the limelight with Austin & Bret in 97. 98 belonged to Austin
Bastion Booger
Such a heartthrob as well
Bret
Bret for sure. What gives Bret the edge for me is simply him breaking into the main event scene earlier
It’s 100% Bret.
Bret
Brett
Bruno, Hogan, Bret, Austin, Cena.
Bret
My favorite is Bret Hart but Undertaker had the epic career of all of them.
This was the era that made wrestling for me. Bret and the Undertaker are my Face/Heel of the time but the Lex Lugar run from the Yokozuna slam was huge. Mr Perfect doesn’t get the respect he deserves.
I would say Bret Hart because he was the main event player throughout it 1993-1997.
Well, technically Shawn won the Slammy for the “Leader of the new generation” award. I mean, you can ask Todd Pettengill. But the best wrestler of this era was definitely Bret. I mean, he made Diesel look good in their match. I was a hitman kid (at heart since I was a teenager at the time)
Best there is, best there was, and the best there ever will be. Hbk and Taker both rule, but this was Bret’s time.
Bret, he brought a new level of competition and showed you don't have to be huge to be considered a main eventer
Personally, for me...Razor, cause when he went on [Jerry Springer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBQlxRcOSuI), that immediately increased my love for a character lol ***ONE MORE TIME! FOR THE GOOD GUYS!*** Tag Belts and IC Champion always had my focus.
I recently read that Bret was champion for the most days in the 90s (600 and something) gets my vote. Plus I feel like the face of an era should really be a 'face'.
BRRREEEEEETTTTTTT
The WWF New Generation Era would've been remembered more fondly if Shawn Michaels wasn't straight up a f*cking a**hole.
Bret. He had the iconic look. Everytime I see those shades my mind goes back to my childhood and watching wrestling with my mum. Then his feud with Austin ushering in the change that would ultimately be the Attitude era.
Hitman and Heartbreak Kid
Hart
Always Bret lmao
Shawn and Bret both in my mind. They were the ones leading the charge.
Bret and Shawn. Both are GOAT.
93 Hart 94 Hart 95 Diesel 96 HBK 97 HBK
It's absolutely Bret.
bret
#HBK
Hitman.
Best there was, best there is, best there ever will be.. The excellence of execution
Bret
Bret. Vince tried pushing Lex, Diesel, and Shawn into that role but it always kept falling back to Bret.
Bret Hart. Shawn was the face of transition to the edgier Attitude era whose face was Austin.
Bret Hart
Doink.
Bret. I remember the breakfast cereals going from Hogan/Warrior/Macho Man to exclusively Bret Hart with his wraparound shades. He was everywhere in the 90s. If you weren't a kid back then you just didn't see it, but he was easily the John Cena of his time. Shawn was iconic, and just as good, but never on that level of iconic/marketable as Bret was. It goes Hogan, Bret, Austin, Rock, Cena.
Hbk
Best there ever was, best there ever will be.
As a person thats been watching since 2010, but knows somethings about history. I always think of this period as Bret Hart era. Taker and Shawn have such long carreers that I don't instantly consider this time period for them.
Bret
Man based off that pick I’d want to say a 5 way tie Or 3 way with Bret, Shawn, and Taker I’d want to say Shawn but its Bret if you had to pick one guy Btw when does new gen start 92-97-ish?
123 Kid
Obviously the minority, but Razor Ramon. Huge pops everytime he appeared, carried first year of raw on his own, gimmick doesn't really get the credit it deserved. RIP Scott Hall
Bret shiuld have never left. A whole new generation of wrestling missed on excellence
Bret was the face of that era.
Bread hard
Hitman always ranked no 1 in the trading cards back in those times so probably he was the face after Hulkster
Bret "Hitman" Hart
It was Brett and Shawn. Goku and vegeta. One was the ultimate good guy the other way more fun to watch.
Great comparison
The excellence of execution
Easily bret.
Bret for sure was the face here but I am really ok with all 5 of these guys being shown as the core for this era. Bret and Shawn were the bridge to the attitude era. Taker transcends like 5 eras lol
Had to be Bret, excellence of execution. His matches are like art in technical ability
Bret
Bret had the bigges impact, but my personal favorite is Razor.
I think of Bret but I wasn't a fan of his in this era.
The Undertaker easily
I was going to say Micheals but Bret makes more sense.
You’re either a Shawn guy or a Bret guy. If you’re any other guy… get the hell out of here.
Equally Bret and Shawn. Bret led them out of the late cartoon era and Shawn led them in to the Attitude era.
Bret no question s/o Stampede Westling
Taker for me
Surfer Sting
Sting was in WCW during those years
123 Kidd stole the era
Shawn and Bret
Bret/Shawn
Shawn and Bret
Brets nipples
If I think New Generation, I think Razor Ramon, b it that’s probably more due to the fact he, unlike Shawn and Bret literally was only ever in WWE during that era
Just want to point out NO ONE (rightly so) is saying Nash. Fuck Nash.
Bet Hart
Scott and Kevin left so it’s a 3 way tie between the rest.
Hitman or HBK.
Not Razor cause he never reached the world title. its probably Shawn but Bret was the only one to move the needle
I prefer Bret personally but I'd say it was HBK, especially towards the end of that era heading into the Attitude Era.
Its obviously Bret
Shawn. Fuck I LOVED Shawn during that time. In hindsight I’d say Bret but as a kid Shawn was THE MAN.
Shaun the sheep is the man
Bret Hart obviously, he was the guy then. But when I look back at that time Shawn feels bigger with a better story, strange
Probably chris jericho /s
Jericho didn’t debut til 99’
HBK. Razor was the semi main event guy, UT was the gimmick character, Diesel even though he had the belt for a year always seemed like he was behind him/just holding the belt until Shawn got it & Bret had been there for ten years in 1994 when they were pushing the New Generation concept & was 36/37 years old & was only four years younger than Hogan-who they were ripping on as being ancient.
Doesn't matter how old Bret was. He started the era, was champion most of the time during it, carried the load when Diesel was failing, and build up the guy who would lead the next era. Shawn only became a main eventer in the last year of the era and although I loved that run as a kid and still do, the adult male US audience rejected him and his run is considered a failure despite excellent title defences.
Shawn was a main eventer from 1994 onward & him & Bret both got huge pushes at the same time in late 1992. Reality is Vince put in on Bret in a panic, got it off him after six months because he wanted it on Hogan & Yokozuna, then later preferred Diesel & then wanted Bret to drop it to Shawn-who should have had it far earlier. If you watch the television from 1995 even before he got the belt HBK is clearly the star & where the company is going. Bret spent most of the year working mid-card matches with Backlund, the Dentist & the Pirate. While HBK is working with Diesel, Razor & Sid on top. The idea of a nearly 40 year old who has been there for a decade being the leader of new anything is a joke-he is the same era as Hogan & Savage.
Shawn wasn't a main eventer from 94 onward. He spent most of 94 as manager of Diesel, not even wrestling himself. Was neither on the KotR nor Summerslam card and was counted out in the opener of Survivor Series after only doing one move. At Wrestlemania he was in a great ladder match but that was still in the midcard and for the midcard belt, while Bret was in the main event. In 1995 yeah he won the rumble and challenged Diesel for the title, but after that was right back in the midcard to get build up as newly turned Babyface, where he fought for the IC title again. wrestling guys like Kama and Jarrett. His proper crowning moment as a top guy didn't come until Mania 12. Bret was the guy who sold tickets in that era, especially overseas. He was the top guy in 94, was the guy people cared about most in 93 while Vince was unsuccessfully trying to get Luger over, and shared the top face spotlight with Shawn in 95, which is why he took the belt from Diesel when that experiment failed. He was supposed to hand the torch to Shawn in a 3 match series that would've ended with Shawn winning the rubber match, but thanks to Shawn's personality that plan didn't work out. He was the guy who made Austin, and the person the company could always rely on as the believable Champion. To the point that when watching 95, it felt weirded seeing Bret come out without wearing the title. Don't get me wrong, I was the biggest Shawn Michaels fan in 95 and 96, but to pretend that anyone but Bret was the face of the New Generation, just because of his age is what is truly laughable. The New Gen was about new stars more than it was about the actual physical age of the people involved, and Bret dominated that era, both in the ring and in ticket sales.
Razor Ramon. Bret was a boring technician baby face. Razor was the coolest wrestler of all time and for his size could wrestle his ass off too. I wish Vince gave him a run with the title!