WWE today vs WWF in 1991

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

The WWE of today's roster ....

The Wyatt Family
John Cena
Triple H
The New Day
Wade Barrett
R Truth
Ryback
Stardust
The Ascention
The Dudley's
Brock Lesnar
Seth Rollins - Roman Reigns - Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler
Lucha Dragon's
Prime Time Players
Cesaro
Kevin Owens
Big Show
Mark Henry
Kane
Undertaker
Adam Rose
The Miz
Zack Ryder

Plus more ... Those are essentially the heavy hitters or wrestlers seen on television for the most part.

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The WWF Roster in 1991

Hulk Hogan
The Ultimate Warrior
The Undertaker
Andre The Giant
The Macho Man Randy Savage
Mr . Perfect
King Haku
The Hart Foundation
The Million Dollar Man , Ted Dibiase
The Rockers
Warlord and Barbarian
The Texas Tornado
Rick Martell
The Nasty Boyz
Tito Santana
Greg Valentine
Earthquake
Jake The Snake Roberts
Demolition
Hercules
Paul Roma
Dino Bravo
Ric Flair

Plus more, these were also the heavier hitters at the time and on television the most.

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Current WWE Stories ---

The biggest story involves the injury to the WWE Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, a tournament will be held at Survivor Series for his vacant title. Alot of fingers are pointing at Roman Reigns as the next champion in Rollins absence.

The Wyatt Family have taken Undertaker and Kane - Away - ...Bray Wyatt now has Taker's and Kane's supernatural powers and a Wyatt Family vs Taker's Team match is approaching for Survivor Series.

Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler have started a feud, after Breeze attacked Ziggler.

Alberto Del Rio has started a feud with Jack Swagger.

Other than these events....that's pretty much it for stories in the current WWE right now.

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WWF Stories in 1991 around this time of year.... November 27th --

Undertaker has defeated Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series for the WWF Heavyweight Championship thanks to Ric Flair sliding a chair into the ring for Taker to Tombstone Hogan on.

Hogan has recaptured the title in an impromptu event called Tuesday Night in Texas. I suppose Hogan couldn't stand not having the title for more than a couple of days.

The Macho Man Randy Savage and Jake The Snake Roberts started a chilling feud after Jake set his snake on Randy's arm and it chowed down on it.

The Ultimate Warrior walks away from the company due to money demands and such.

A steroid abuse scandal unfolds before WWF fans eyes in 1991 , names like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior are ( obviously ) thrown in the pot.

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WWE's current problem with it's number one heel being injured.... would WWF have that same problem in 1991 ? I think not... just look at the names on that roster that could easily take the mantel and be the new heel of the company. Even though WWF was still in the - Hulk Hogan rules - era.

Picture this....Hulk Hogan gets injured just like Seth Rollins and hurts his knee. He's out as the head dog now. Ultimate Warrior has just walked away from the company as well. No problem ....once again, just look at the vastly superior roster, Macho Man , Perfect , Taker, Flair...any one of these guys could easily step in and hold the title for awhile...yes, even the young Undertaker.

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Now that I've given more points to WWF 1991 ... here's where the WWE of today takes points back.

The WWE of today has the benefit of a little thing called - NXT - A complete farm system of wrestlers they can dip into that are being trained to take their talents to the big leagues at any time. On ALOT of NXT events, they put on a BETTER show than the big leagues as well.

The WWF in 1991 had to hope a WCW Wrestler wasn't happy where he was or had to recruit the old fashion way. In a crappy ( largely unknown ) farm system of their own.

The WWE of today doesn't have Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

The WWF in 1991 was still saddled with - Wrestling is not fake - stigma and was treated as a sporting event. This hurt when The Athletic Commission decided to start sticking it's nose where it didn't belong.

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WWF 1991 takes points back as special events like SUMMERSLAM had better build ups to it. They weren't hampered with a special event every three weeks and could really build a feud to a - Must See - conclusion.

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[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

One could also argue that WWE today has Monday Night Raw and it's own Network. WWF 1991 does not....but that kind of added to the appeal of WWF. I liked tuning in and watching wrestlers ( albeit taped matches ) wrestling from around the globe in special attractions. Instead of all the headliners under the same roof fighting each other week after week.

 

[NatureBoy3:14]

If you are asking which one was better. It's not a question. Today's WWE isn't good. The Savage> anyone on today's roster, Flair>anyone one today's product, Hogan>anyone on today's produc, 1991 tag team division>today's product. The Macho Man and Smake dues is arguably better than any Fued the WWE has done since Cena vs Punk.
I will make the argument (you can agree or bash me if you want): if we just switch roster and years the 1991 roster today would be more profitable and do better numbers ratings,house shows and pay per views. Enormously better. Add in the NXT system and Network "wrestling would matter" in today's day. People were invested in the Flair,Hogan,Savage and Liz, Taker was fresh. There is no question to me that the wrestling world wouldn't be better today if the rosters switched years

 

[Jack-Hammer]

One could also argue that WWE today has Monday Night Raw and it's own Network. WWF 1991 does not....but that kind of added to the appeal of WWF.

The biggest appeal the WWE circa 1991 had was that I was 11 years old and, for the most part, had no idea that it was all "fake." Having that sort of childhood innocence coupled with a lack of knowledge obviously has a genuine impact on someone's enjoyment of something. Circa 1991, Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior were two comic book superheroes come to life whereas circa 2015 guys with the gimmicks of Hogan & Warrior would be laughed/booed out of the building because of how "insulting" they'd be to the "intelligence" of fans.

When I take nostalgia out of the question and when I compare the overall roster of then to now, the overall talent of today's roster blows 1991 away in my opinion. In terms of storylines, WWF circa 1991 has the advantage of keeping things simple, easy to understand, mostly logical and not trying to overcomplicate things. However, as I alluded to earlier when it pertains to insulting the intelligence of fans, a LOT of modern fans are much too "smart" for their own good because nothing surprises them anymore, they're too busy trying to find things to criticize about to even try to enjoy the product. However, what was once old is new again in that NXT uses simple formulas for storylines that are logical, easy to invest in and understand without being dumbed down with Vince's sports entertainment McMahonerisms. If continuity, logic, common sense, using these things to enhance the wrestlers involved in the storylines and progress things along was more important to Vince, I'd laugh my ass off if someone told me WWF 1991 was better than WWE 2015.

I think each has advantages in some ways than the other, though I find I do enjoy things more overall today. Then again, I'm a 35 year old man rather than a starry eyed 11 year old kid. What puts WWE 2015 over for me is the overall superior wrestling action; when I tune in each week, I know I'm going to see at least a few very good wrestling matches whereas much of the formula circa 1991 would have guys like King Haku or Hercules beat the shit out of some nameless jobber and boringly drag what would normally be a 2 minute squash match into 5 just to file some airtime.

 

[FromGlasgow]

So many huge names missing from your 91 roster like
The Legion of Doom,
The British Bulldog,
Sgt Slaughter,
Roddy Piper
Their certainly higher in the scale than Dino Bravo and Paul Roma on your list.
Maybe I'm slightly biased as that was the era I grew up watching wrestling but in my opinion 91 is far superior, Most of these guys in 91 were household names but I can't say the same for today except for maybe less than a handfull of guys and most of the bigger names today that are still going are part timers, 91 as far as I know where all competing full time not to mention the big future names competing at the time like the Hitman and HBK.

 

[MTL722]

I guess we're comparing the 2, which we really can't do

Comparing the present to the past is impossible because you cant reflect on the present. You cant have fond memories of the present. And you cant tell what the future holds for the present.

Roster wise, we have no idea if the stars of today will be able to compare with past stars. Yes, Cena is the Hogan of this generation. Thats really all we have to go on tho.

Most people will choose the past because they remember it, usually through a warped revisionist history because of how long ago it was. Memories usually dont hold up to the reality of certain eras. I remember thinking of Macho Man as superior to Hogan because I was a child that didnt understand the difference in marketability. All I saw was the glitz and glam of an icon, not the millions and millions of dollars that Hogan brought in

If I were forced to choose, Id go with today. There is simply too much potential with NXT and its roster. Ask this again in 20 years and then we can talk

 

[MTL722]

Also someone correct me if Im wrong here and I'll delete this, but can we really count Andre in this for 1991? Im pretty sure he was part-time at best at this point. If so, you might as well add The Rock to the 2015 list

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Andre made some appearances but was on crutches for them (and in horrid shirts) so he qualifies...

1991 was an oil change period, they debuted a lot of new talents between August 1990 and December 1991 - and changed a lot of talents out - Guys like Kerry, Davey, Jacques, Taker, Berserker, Beverly Brothers all came in and guys like Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo, Ax & Smash all were released.

Today is similar, there is a lot of new talent coming in, but we've yet to have a big "cull" this year in the same way we've had in the past... I've a feeling we're coming to another oil change time - some bigger releases will be coming in the next 6 months...

 

[FlairFan2003]

The big difference is Star Power.....The Stars of The 80s were huge and they were still the difference makers in 1991 WWF. Hogan was still the #1 hero and the mostly the top star. Ric Flair, the second biggest draw of the decade in the 80s behind Hogan, came into WWE in a huge shocking manner that other than the Hogan Heel Turn/Formation of The NWO was the single biggest storyline shock of the 1990s. Randy Savage was a huge 80s star, former World Champ, with tremendous appeal to the audience who by the end of the year was prominently featured. Jake Roberts and Ted DiBiase were well established 80s stars who were still prominent on the undercard. Not too many "new stars" were created in 1991, Taker being the obvious exception. Brett Hart wasn't so much new, he was a well established 80s left over who was a major star in the tag team scene when tag teams were huge attractions, albeit he was in a different storyline as face singles star as opposed to a cowardly heel tag team guy. Guys like Skinner, Repo Man, etc were essentially heavily promoted failures.

While several stars in the past 2-3 years have become significant players (Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns) todays product basically has no established stars from the previous era to anchor it and keep long time fans in tune. Cena is the obvious exception but who were the WWE's biggest and most successful stars of the 2000-2009 decade.....HHH is basically retired and in an occasional on air non wrestling role.....Taker is basically retired save for one fued a year.....HBK & Flair are both gone, appearing occasionally in non wrestling roles with no major storylines....Edge retired due to injury.....Batista left for a movie career.....the mega stars from the very beginning of the decade are long gone (Austin due to injury, Rock for a movie career, Goldberg due to lack of interest in the industry, Angle terminated due to drug issues and never brought back).....CM Punk had just started gaining traction as a legit top teir guy at the very end of the previous decade and he is long gone too. Other than Cena the only legit main event guy that has been successful at all at the box office from the last decade still around today is Randy Orton. Big Show & Kane were major attractions reduced to lesser roles today and not contributing as much.

Therefore the 1991 product/roster looks better in comparison not so much for the wealth of new talent created, but for the performance ability and prominence of the "old guys".....granted there is no one today save for Cena that can claim they appeal to a cross section and can be promoted to a cross section of different era fan bases as Hogan, Flair, & Savage circa 1991, not too mention part timer Roddy Piper. However, 1991 WWF wasn't doing a good job producing new stars marketable in a successful way to the current group of young fans as todays product has. 1991 gave you Taker.....this era has given you Ambrose, Reigns, & Bray Wyatt as well as Seth Rollins.

Its hard to compare match quality, personally I don't think either was that good. 1991 WWF was against blood and more violent matches and typically stars who could perform 4 and 5 star matches were purposefully held back so as not to outshine Hogan. Guys like Roberts, Savage, Flair, Hart, and few others were on significant leashes in terms of what they were allowed to do in a match due to Hogan's limitations. The restrictions on blood and more violent content are largely enforced today, but today's stars are allowed more freedom to express athleticism in their bouts than in the early 90s. I personally don't think the "selling" is as good and therefore the matches are not as believable, but I'm sure someone will argue that point.

Storyline wise things are slightly more adult today than 1991 but both products are pushed heavily at family friendly, kids and tweens age demos that are best suited for selling merchandise (how many 40 year olds are buying T-Shirts, action figures, etc ???).

The biggest similarity is that in both periods business was way down. 1990 was the beginning of major yet slow downturn in wrestling business over all in the US, which continued in 1991, It was felt in WWF but was more profound in WCW (thanks in large part to loosing top acts like Flair & LOD) but 1991 WWF wasn't generating revenue at the same pace as 1988 and 1989 for instance (and neither was WCW). Today there is no major rival like WCW so that aspect is irrelevant, yet WWE business has been on a slow decline since the end of the end of the last decade, which ironically marked the end of major full time or close to full time involvement of the "old stars" HBK, Taker, HHH, Flair as well as some unexpected losses of recent stars like Edge & Batista. The difference here is that despite showing loss WWE business and wrestling business in general didn't decline back in the 1990s as much as it has today, due in large part to the continued involvement in a major way of the "80s guys", Hogan, Flair, Savage, as well as Sting and LEx Luger and Brett Hart all playing a major role in keeping US wrestling business above water moving into the middle of the decade before the last big explosion in business (although most of that was in WCW, not WWE but it benefited the business as a whole). There are no anchor stars like that now save for Cena who can appear on a regular basis and prop up the product in the middle of this decade.

 

[FlairFan2003]

The WWE of today's roster ....

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Now that I've given more points to WWF 1991 ... here's where the WWE of today takes points back.

The WWE of today has the benefit of a little thing called - NXT - A complete farm system of wrestlers they can dip into that are being trained to take their talents to the big leagues at any time. On ALOT of NXT events, they put on a BETTER show than the big leagues as well.

The WWF in 1991 had to hope a WCW Wrestler wasn't happy where he was or had to recruit the old fashion way. In a crappy ( largely unknown ) farm system of their own.

.

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Are you saying that WCW in 1991 was a "largely unknown" farm system for WWE and that it was not as "big" as NXT ? In comparison to WCW, NXT is a tiny pebble in the sea. WCW was drawing far more viewers even at this stage (its lowest point once Flair left) than NXT gets, and WCW had some of the decades most profitable and successful superstars on their roster, guys all wrestling fans knew (Lex Luger, Sting, Rick Rude, Ricky Steamboat, Vader). The average wrestling fan barely knows NXT exists except for occasional mentions on RAW as to where someone came from, WCW had a fairly susbstantial fan base in comparison.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Are you saying that WCW in 1991 was a "largely unknown" farm system for WWE and that it was not as "big" as NXT ? In comparison to WCW, NXT is a tiny pebble in the sea. WCW was drawing far more viewers even at this stage (its lowest point once Flair left) than NXT gets, and WCW had some of the decades most profitable and successful superstars on their roster, guys all wrestling fans knew (Lex Luger, Sting, Rick Rude, Ricky Steamboat, Vader). The average wrestling fan barely knows NXT exists except for occasional mentions on RAW as to where someone came from, WCW had a fairly susbstantial fan base in comparison.

No, I wasn't referring WCW as that farm system...they had an OVW type Schick in the background that wasn't mentioned or acknowledged very much.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

So are we just going to ignore the pure athletes of today compared to then?? You had very few who would go to the or actually wrestle. Then when guys went to the top rope it was just an elbow or cross body.. As was the match wrestling. Now you've got every kind of submission tap-out and when you go to the top rope its untelling what kind and by fç of move or how many big ppv's there now...and more big matches now. a few good movie axtors. Theres so many actors now that wwe had to make their own movie studios.film film,