>>19159118It's simply a different source of wrestlers.
Back in the 80s they got women from tougher parts of life who didn't stand a great chance of making it anywhere and had to be tough and fit and ready to kick ass for a shoot.
Now they're getting J-idols, who've already been selected for prettiness before ever lacing up boots... for the stage. Wrestling usually comes later for them.
The same thing happened in America.
American wrestlers used to all be NCAA types, outlaw rough guys, carny crooks, shit like that. People you take seriously because they've been there, and it shows on their faces.
Now they're all college athletes with degrees and a "more sophisticated taste". That alone changes the product.
Forget for a moment that Terry Funk did all those deathmatches and went that fucking far for the business. Look at him. Look at his eyes, his facial expressions, the way he moved, the way he walked and how he sold.
There wasn't a moment where you couldn't believe he was real.
Now look at the roster today.
A Brad here, a college Chad there, posh posers who look really good on a poster and are never taken seriously by anybody no matter how hard they try, because they are performing a character for a stageplay and that character isn't them.
They're not playing themselves turned to 110% or in Funk's case 150%. They're acting.
I see those joshi threads as I roll through the catalogue and never stop and go "huh she looks different".
Bull Nakano? I stop. Look at that beast.