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It emerged during the height of the 'Monday Night Wars' with the now-defunct rival promotion WCW, and was a direct rebellion against the family-friendly, buffoonish Hulkamania era that powered the WWE through the eighties and early nineties.

Almost overnight the WWE became a hotbed of swears, blood, crotch-chops and edgy humour. The new direction propelled the ailing promotion to new heights, and made household names out of stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker.

Nowadays the WWE is once again a different beast; a safer, family-friendly affair aimed at a younger audience. But older fans still look back wistfully at the 'good old days'; a wilder time when the WWE superstars would routinely drive a cement mixer into the arena, or brawl on the banks of the Mississippi River.

The unpredictability and OTT excessiveness made Monday Night Raw can't-miss television during the Attitude Era, and the upcoming WWE '13 video game hopes to introduce that passion and excitement to a new generation by giving us the chance to recreate some of the period's most famous bouts.

Over the next few pages, we revisit some of the iconic moments that are either confirmed to appear in WWE '13, or have been hinted in trailers with all with the subtly of one of the Godfather's entrances...

Badd Blood, October 1997: The debut of Kane

The Badd Blood pay-per-view was overshadowed by the tragic death of Brian Pillman (who lives on in one of WWE '13's three DLC packs, as an aside). 'The Loose Cannon' was found dead in his hotel room just hours before the event was scheduled to begin.

Understandably this took an emotional toll on the wrestlers who competed on the night, and the show was looking like being a washout until the main event, where the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels saved the show by putting on a masterclass in the first ever Hell In A Cell match.

The match was memorable for two things: one, the brutal amount of damage Michaels sustained as the Undertaker pinged him around the cell like a pinball; and two, the debut of the Undertaker's demonic brother, Kane.

Paul Bearer had hinted at Kane's imminent arrival in the months prior to Badd Blood, but no-one knew when or where it would happen.

The answer was during the thrilling climax of the Badd Blood pay-per-view. As 'Taker was preparing to polish off a bloodied Michael, the lights dimmed and the now-familiar organ music chimed over the PA system.

Kane stormed the aisle, tore the cage door from its hinges and treated his storyline brother to a Tombstone Piledriver.

A dizzied Michaels was then able to drape himself across an unconscious 'Taker for one of the spawniest wins in WWF/E history.

Survivor Series, November 1997: Montreal Screwjob

The Montreal Screwjob, or 'Le Screwjob de Montreal' as they call it in Quebec (We think? We don't speak French, so we tend to let the funky music do the talking) was one of the most notorious incidents in wrestling history.

It was also one of those awkward moments were real-life tensions bled into scripted storylines. In short, outgoing WWF Champion Bret Hart was asked to lose the title to Shawn Michaels at the 1997 Survivor Series before leaving the company, but he had a creative control clause in his contract that allowed him right to refusal.

Hart didn't want to lose the Championship to real-life rival Michaels in his home country, and so proposed dropping the title the following night on Raw. WWF management, concerned Hart was about to waltz onto WCW programming with the WWF title in his possession, decided to take matters into their own hands to ensure he didn't leave Canada with the WWF title in his suitcase.

At around the twenty-minute mark of the match, Michaels snared Hart in "the Hitman's" own patented Sharpshooter submission hold.

According to the script, Hart was supposed to reverse the hold and make good his escape, but instead the ref called for the bell, leaving Hart bemused and angry in the ring.

The infamous moment would later be recreated in 1001 copycat wrestling storylines. It's been strongly hinted in the recent DX trailer (very strongly, in fact) in that WWE '13 will allow you to make that 1002.

Wrestlemania XIV, March 1998: Tyson decks Michaels

The DX portion of WWE '13's Attitude Era mode charts the rise and rise of D-Generation X, an anarchic stable that consisted of, at various points in time, Shawn Michaels, Triple-H, Chyna, the New Age Outlaws and X-Pac.

And for a short time, it seemed as though D-X could also count amongst their ranks none other than 'Iron' Mike Tyson.

In the weeks prior to Wrestlemania XIV, 'The Baddest Man On The Planet' would frequently appear on Raw flaunting his new Degeneration-X t-shirt - a fashion choice that, to say the least, cast doubts on Tyson's impartiality as Ringside Enforcer for the upcoming Michaels v Steve Austin title fight.

On the night however, Tyson called it straight down the middle - and when a defeated Michaels got into Tyson's 'grill' about it, Iron Mike brought down the curtain on Michaels' reign as D-X leader by knocking him out with one of his famous right hooks.

King of the Ring, June 1998: Hell In A Cell

Mick 'Mankind' Foley was little more than a mid-card curio prior to this career-defining performance against the Undertaker, which took place inside (for the most part) the torturous Hell In A Cell structure.

The punishment he absorbed at the hands of a vengeful Undertaker captured the hearts and imagination of the stunned crowd at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. By the end of the year, he was WWF Champion.

Mankind and 'Taker set the standard straight from the opening bell; both men immediately clambered to the roof of the cage and began trading blows at an altitude of sixteen feet in the air.

Then, suddenly and without warning, Undi grabbed Mankind and launched him off the side of the cage, where he landed in a crumpled heap on what remained of the Spanish announce table. 'BY GOD HE'S BROKEN IN HALF' panted a hyperventilating Jim Ross at ringside in one of the most famous calls in WWE history.

The worst, incredibly, was yet to come. Mankind somehow managed to drag his mangled carcass back to the top of the cell, a heroic feat that was rewarded by the Undertaker choke-slamming him clean through the roof of the cage.

Concussed, confused and with a tooth lodged up his nostril, Mankind somehow managed to haul himself to his feet once more. Miffed at this show of defiance, the Undertaker chokeslammed him into a pile of thumb tacks in a needlessly vicious coup de grace.

Royal Rumble, January 1999: The Rock v Mankind, I Quit Match

The only way to win an 'I Quit' match is - of course - to make your opponent say the words 'I quit'. Which is problematic if you're facing a human punchbag such as Mick 'Mankind' Foley.

How do you make a man with an insane pain threshold submit? The Rock gave it a damn good try. First, he handcuffed Mankind's hands behind his back, and then smashed a steel chair over his helpless opponent's head. And then again. And again and again and again.

And again. Did we mention that this all took place in front of his terrified wife and children? Eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime of chair shots, The Rock thrust a microphone in the face of a barely-conscious Mankind, and the words 'I quit!' rang out loud over the PA system.

Except of course, the words didn't come from Mankind's mouth. Unbeknownst to the audience, The Rock had recorded the line from a Mick Foley interview that took place earlier in the night, and lined it up to play on cue.

Feel free to share your favourite Attitude Era moments in the comments section below. But please, no daft comments about how wrestling is fake. Yeah, right. We bet you're the sort who thinks the moon landings were fake too, huh?