1984 vs 2004

1984: Stocky, amateur wrestler Bob Backlund quits WWF
2004: Stocky, amateur wrestler Brock Lesnar quits WWE

1984: Jesse Ventura preaches to millions from the broadcast booth
2004: Jesse Ventura preaches to dozens from Harvard University

1984: Rocky Balboa rules movie theatres
2004: Rocky Maivia rules movie theatres

1984: Young Kevin Nash buys Punisher: the comic book
2004: Old Kevin Nash stars in Punisher: the movie

1984: Vince Russo can’t read a book
2004: Vince Russo can’t book

1984: The Jarretts draw 8,000 on a regular basis
2004: The Jarretts struggle to give away 300 free tickets

1984: Lita listens to Cyndie Lauper
2004: Lita dresses like Cyndie Lauper

1984: Empty-arena matches
2004: Empty-arena house shows

1984: Adrian Street
2004: Rico

1984: Fans sell out arenas
2004: Fans chant “You sold out!”

1984: Gordon Solie, Dean of Announcing
2004: Jonathan Coachman

1984: Planning Starrcade ’85 a year ahead of time
2004: Planning WrestleMania ’04 the weekend before

1984: Hair vs. Hair matches
2004: All wrestlers have short hair

1984: Mick Foley jumps off a roof
2004: Mick Foley is a best-selling author

1984: Hall of Fame considers inducting Bruno Sammartino
2004: Hall of Fame considers inducting Pete Rose

1984: Paul Bearer buries for a living
2004: HHH buries for a living

1984: Shawn Michaels thinks Motley Crue rocks
2004: Shawn Michaels thinks Jesus rocks

1984: Bill Watts and Ole Anderson are disgusted by the WWF’s expansion
2004: Bill Watts and Ole Anderson are disgusted by their waistlines’ expansion

1984: Dusty Rhodes twirls his finger in the air and runs through his opponents
2004: Dusty Rhodes twirls his finger in the air and runs out of breath

1984: Chris Benoit gets his temporary drivers license
2004: Chris Benoit gets his temporary WWE title reign

1984: Rob Feinstein hides his video camera at house shows
2004: Rob Feinstein hides his face on news shows

1984: Bret Hart works the undercard
2004: Teddy Hart works the locker room

1984: Ultimo Dragon dreams of working for WWF
2004: Ultimo Dragon wishes his WWE career was just a dream

1984: Mr. T
2004: Booker T

1984: Fans can’t tell the Killer Bees apart
2004: Todd Grisham can’t tell Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko apart

1984: Mick Foley dates Republicans in college
2004: Mick Foley debates Republicans at colleges

1984: Roddy Piper cuts midgets’ hair on interviews
2004: Roddy Piper cuts incoherent interviews

1984: Steel cage matches guarantee no outside interference
2004: Steel cage matches guarantee constant outside interference

1984: WWF strips AWA of all their talent
2004: WWE hires strippers who have no talent

1984: Vince McMahon attempts to run territories out of business
2004: Vince McMahon attempts to run WWE out of business