>>8862855There is definitely something to the adoption of wrestling having more emphasis on the in-ring work instead of the larger-than-life personalities that has hurt it significantly.
Even though it was a great feud, I blame Benoit-Angle partially for this. It was a feud sold entirely on the ring work where the heel kept winning but the matches were awesome and we were told that's what wrestling should be. Nah, you need major personality clashes between a hated heel and a charismatic babyface where the babyface eventually goes over. That's pro-wrestling at its core and has very little to do with athleticism, though modern day does need more athleticism than the 80s obviously. It just shouldn't be the focus.
