1993 was a year of radical change in the WWF, as many of the top stars of the previous ten years left or were phased out throughout the course of the year. Hogan and Savage lapsed into semi-retirement, Ric Flair was let out of his contract and Curt Hennig went down with a serious back injury. Ted DiBiase also ended his active career due to injury. Moreover, Andre the Giant's death was acknowledged. Other notable WWF stars of the '80s, such as Roddy Piper, The Ultimate Warrior and Demolition, had likewise lapsed out of the big picture.
As the company struggled to reorganize to fill this gaping void, wrestlers that may have otherwise struggled to break out of the mid-card went to the top. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels acquired main event and semi main event positions, while Scott Hall received the first big singles push of his professional career and Kevin Nash waited in the wings to receive his major opportunity. Yokozuna, who had never headlined for any organization, dominated the calendar year as champion, with Lex Luger, who many expected to break out big in WCW, instead rising to a position as the WWF's clear number two babyface. The Steiners, also lately of WCW, were the top team in the WWF.
One could argue that all of this came about merely because of the steroid scandal, as the WWF had basically no choice whatsoever other than to keep a lower profile, even if that meant filling the major roster spots with unproven talent with considerably less body mass than the Hogans, Savages, etc.
Even the WWF's television format was changing, as Saturday Night's Main Event was now a thing of the past, and would not be reactivated for roughly fifteen years. Monday Night Raw, meanwhile, began its first exciting season.
WCW was beginning to pick up momentum in the area of PPV buyrates. Many of the changes that would later propel them ahead of the WWF were in the offing, but the status quo was not yet drastically affected.
Two years is not a lot of time in the realm of business, but the proof is in the porridge. Within a span of less than 24 months, WCW had overtaken the WWF with a number of sound switches in the hierarchy and several bold moves. Acquiring a lot of the WWF's discarded talent and establishing Nitro to go head-to-head with Raw were two moves that most insiders figured would immediately backfire on WCW...but this was not the case. By the fall of 1995, WCW was clearly ahead in momentum, and the WWF was rendered a joke it this aftermath. On the heels of a tepid WrestleMania, widely considered among the poorer 'Manias of all time, the WWF was a booking quagmire.
Nash remained on top as the undisputed champion for nearly the entire calendar year, but consistently drew poor numbers as the WWF fell further into a slump. Michaels was stuck in the role as Nash's mid card sidekick, while Hart was established in the mid card and stuck feuding with Jerry Lawler, Hakushi and a friggin' pirate by the name of Jean Pierre Lafitte. Mabel---Mabel, for crying out loud---stormed the main event picture by winning King of the Ring and headlining one of the WWF's biggest cards of the year versus Nash, only to be squashed in ten minutes. The WWF suffered continued talent raids, losing Luger to WCW and also failing to procure several key acquisitions, including Chris Benoit, who then went to WCW to avoid pissing off New Japan staff. Pairings such as The Smokin' Gunns polluted the tag team scene.
Steve Austin and Triple H made their WWF debuts, but it would be years before they would develop the star power necessary to guide the company to salvation. The mid card was stocked with too many Henry Godwinns, Doinks, Adam Bombs and Savio Vegas, and not enough Owen Harts.
To put it in layman's terms, the WWF of 1993 was a respectable force. The WWF of 1995 was a virtual laughingstock.
