5 reasons wrestling was better in the 1980s and 5 it was worse
Inevitably, one argument always comes up between wrestling fans new and old.
Was wrestling really better in the 1980s?
It is a question with no simple answer, and must be examined on multiple levels. Wrestling has changed, of course, but so has society, and world politics. And don't discount the effect of social media's influence on the sport.
In this slideshow we will be taking a look at aspects of 1980s wrestling and contrast them with the modern era. In order to present a balanced viewpoint, here are five reasons wrestling used to be better... and five reasons it used to be worse.
Better: Longer Matches
Today, even a main event wrestling match at the biggest show of the year isn't likely to go more than twenty minutes.
Perhaps catering to shortened attention spans, most promotions from the indies to the WWE will put on shorter matches, with the average match time being around ten minutes.
Back in the 1980s, it wasn't uncommon for a match to go up to an hour, or longer. Who can forget Sting coming up just a little short against Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions? Or Bob Backlund's numerous hour long contests which ended in time limit draws?
A longer match means more time for the wrestlers to tell a story, and allows that story to be more rich and varied.