Editing WWE (section)

====Start of the Attitude Era (1997–1999)====
{{Main|Attitude Era}}
{{See also|Montreal Screwjob}}
[[File:Austin with WWF title.jpg|thumb|175px|right|[[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] rivalry with Vince McMahon is often cited as having turned the tides for WWF in the [[Monday Night Wars|Monday Night War]] against rival promotion WCW.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://411mania.com/wrestling/the-monday-night-war-review-episode-eight-the-austin-era-has-begun/ | title=411Mania }}</ref>]]
As the Monday Night War continued between ''Raw Is War'' and WCW's ''Nitro'', the WWF would transform itself from a family-friendly product into a more adult-oriented product, known as the [[Attitude Era]]. The era was spearheaded by WWF VP [[Shane McMahon]] (son of owner Vince McMahon) and head writer [[Vince Russo]].

1997 ended with McMahon facing real-life controversy following [[Bret Hart]]'s controversial departure from the company, dubbed as the [[Montreal Screwjob]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Mick Foley|title=Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2000|page=648|isbn=0-06-103101-1|title-link=Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks}}</ref> This proved to be one of several founding factors in the launch of the Attitude Era as well as the creation of McMahon's on-screen character, "[[Vince McMahon#As Mr. McMahon character (1996–1997)|Mr. McMahon]]".

Before the Montreal Screwjob, which took place at the [[Survivor Series (1997)|1997 Survivor Series]], former WCW talent were being hired by the WWF, including [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]], [[Mick Foley|Mankind]], and [[Big Van Vader|Vader]]. Austin was slowly brought in as the new face of the company despite being promoted as an [[antihero]], starting with his "[[Austin 3:16]]" speech shortly after defeating [[Jake Roberts]] in the tournament finals at the [[King of the Ring (1996)|King of the Ring]] pay-per-view in 1996.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foley|first=Mick|title=Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2000|page=229|isbn=0-06-103101-1|title-link=Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks}}</ref>

On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to [[terrestrial television]], airing a special program known as ''[[WWE SmackDown|SmackDown!]]'' on the fledgling [[UPN]] network. The Thursday night show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999{{snd}}competing directly with WCW's Thursday night program titled ''[[WCW Thunder|Thunder]]'' on [[TBS (U.S. TV channel)|TBS]].