Let me guess, Lord Sidious inspired this thread?
A feud is a battle between two opposing people or groups of people (stables) that contain one or more of the following: A.) Matches B.) Promos C.) Angles/storylines
A feud usually has a storyline behind it.
A storyline is a story that's conveyed through promos, actions, matches, and angles. Storylines are usually the stories in feuds. That simple, really.
I would consider it an honor if I somehow did serve as an inspiration for the thread. But it is a great topic that I think needs clarification, as there seems to be a good amount of disagreement on it today.
I would classify a feud as much more basic. A feud is simply another word for a "program" between two or more wrestlers, which results in a series of matches for a certain period of time. Feuds can go on for several weeks, or they could go on for several months.
Some of today's FEUDS would be:
Jeff Hardy vs CM Punk
John Cena vs Randy Orton (just starting up again)
Triple H vs Randy Orton and Legacy (more recently)
Chavo Guerrero vs Hornswoggle (God, when will it end??)
All of the above examples are Feuds, not Storylines. Unfortunately, we have both less Feuds AND less storylines than we have compared to year's past.
The Hogan Era was a Feud-based Era, but nearly everyone on the roster, from the Top of the card, to the Mid-Card division, to Tag Teams all were involved in feuds, and WWE did a fantastic job with this. Today, not so much.
Let's compare today's feuds to those of the Hogan Era. I'm simply going to pick the year that I started following wrestling. These were a list of the feuds that were all going on simultaneously, around SummerSlam 1990:
Hulk Hogan vs Earthquake
Ultimate Warrior vs Ravishing Rick Rude
The Hart Foundation vs Demolition (when Demolition added a 3rd member) ... with the Legion of Doom waiting in the background
Texas Tornado vs Mr. Perfect
Tugboat vs Dino Bravo
Dusty Rhodes vs Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase & Macho King Randy Savage
Jake the Snake Robert vs Bad News Brown
Nikolai Volkoff vs Boris Zhukov
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Sgt. Slaughter
Bushwhackers vs Rhythm and Blues
Rockers vs Power and Glory
I need to emphasize that all of those feuds were going on at the same time. And they went on for several months thereafter on the House Show circuit ... they weren't just made for the PPV, only to move on the next month with another series of matches.
How many feuds can you list that are going on today, at this moment in time compared to those? Also, notice how all of those feuds have a nice fluctuation of Main Event, Mid-Card, Tag-Team, and even lower Mid-card talent ... which helped get the talent over with the audience and got them to care about the people involved.
The Attitude Era was much more Storyline-based and took things to the next level with the complexity of its writing for television.
A storyline could be described as a much more complex plot, which goes beyond a simple feud. It contains a beginning, middle, and end with probably some twists along the way. You get the impression that with each passing week, you are actually building towards something, while working your way to the climax.
Here are some examples of STORYLINES ...
Who tried to kill Mr. McMahon?
Who ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin?
Who is Mr. McMahon's Illegitimate son?
Stone Cold Steve Austin takes over as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
Who is the Higher Power of the Ministry of Darkness
JBL hires Shawn Michaels due to Shawn Michaels financial woes, and forces him to do his bidding
For some reason, the Undertaker sold his soul to the Million Dollar Man, and is working for him. Is it the Real Undertaker or not?
Eddie Guerrero propositioning Chyna to be his Mamacita
Chris Jericho and Christian teaming up for a "who can get a girlfriend and bang them first" contest, and Jericho keeping this information from Trish Stratus, after they became a couple
Stephanie McMahon impregnated with Triple H's baby (in an effort to get back together with him, when she was a Heel and he was a Face)
Dawn Marie taking a romantic love interest in Al Wilson, Torrie Wilson's father, and planning a wedding
The Gay wedding being planned for Billy and Chuck ... the wedding planning for Teddy Long and Kristal Marshall
Vickie Guerrero cheating on Edge with the Big Show
Mae Young being impregnated by "Sexual Chocolate" Mark Henry
Jake The Snake Roberts mentoring the Ultimate Warrior on a weekly basis to prepare him to meet his destiny against The Undertaker (only to turn on him)
Storylines still happen in this day and age, but like feuds, they are very, very rare. And part of that is either because of lazy booking or simply because McMahon wants it that way, in an effort to portray wrestling as more so of a sport, as opposed to Soap-Opera-like Entertainment for guys, which he used to.
