WWF vs. WWE: Which Is The Better Brand?

#4 Storytelling

Which era was better when it came to weaving

a story fans

got invested in?

As noted earlier in this article, today’s WWE faces the daunting factor that a higher volume of fans than ever are paying close attention and rewatching matches and promos than ever before. This has compelled WWE to take greater care in assembling storylines with some level of coherence—especially for high profile stars. Moreover, with contracts being more formalized and fewer competing promotions out there, WWE has enjoyed a greater continuity of talent available to it than the WWF did.

The WWF didn’t have multiple shows a week or monthly PPVs to plan around, which in many ways created a fundamentally different storytelling context. There were certainly ways in which that was an advantage because WWE tended to tell more sweeping epic stories of larger than life characters. For example, the Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth love story spanned over six years. It started with the heel Macho Man and his innocent valet, grew both characters playing face, involved Savage getting driven mad by jealousy against Hulk Hogan and shunning Elizabeth in a heel turn, continued to their reconciliation, and Savage defending Liz’s honor against Ric Flair. We just don’t get stories like that nowadays, or in the last twenty years.

Advantage: WWF