The formula has changed. In the 80's, guys like Henning would threaten the face's title run but never win, or win and only hold onto it for a short while for either the face to recapture it or the new face champ to come in and take it. Back then, you had to have 'the smile' to be a longterm champ in the WWF. The shades of grey and Austin's anti-hero persona changed that. I agree with Nowhereman. I think the era of larger than life champs like Hogan are gone and replaced with the underdog fighting for the impossible win.
But, down South, wasn't that already the formula. We had guys like Dusty Rhodes and Sting fighting the underdog fight against Flair & the Horsemen and Vader long before Austin had his big break. Hell, I'm not even sure the formula was all that different for Hogan. Sure, he held on to the belt for a long time. But, I also seem to remember him being handicapped in someway in his matches so he would look like the underdog going in.
