5 reasons wrestling was better in the 1980s and 5 it was worse

Better: Almost no botches.

Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes had one of the greatest rivalries of 1980s wrestling.

In the 1980s, talent--even enhancement talent--almost never got on television unless they were very, very skilled.

While there are exceptions to this (check out some of Nikita Koloff's early matches) for the most part the wrestlers you saw on television were the elites of the sport. This meant that there were very few botches that broke the illusion of a real contest.

Today, even consummate professionals at the highest levels still make botches, though to their credit they cover them up well for the most part. This is because many of the stars being pushed are still relatively new and/or green, and haven't learned all the nuances that the stars in the 1980s had to nail down to even appear on television.