The Attitude Era was a period in the World Wrestling Federation and professional wrestling history . It began with the Monday Night Wars and reached its end with the conclusion of the Wars in 2001 . The Attitude Era , was a period in World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) ( known now as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE ) and professional wrestling history that began as a direct result of the Monday Night Wars , a television ratings conflict between the WWF and long time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) , and culminated at the conclusion of the wars in 2001 .