That's really interesting to read about someone watching it for the first time. You're right in the general observation that execution is on the whole better, but the majority of stars created in the last decade haven't had the seasoning to properly tell stories (with huge exceptions). Decline of other meaningful US companies to work for is probably a big contributor to that.
The Eddie Guerrero thing was leading to his gimmick at the time of trying to get away with the most blatant illegal activity he could without being spotted.
