What is a "prime Dan Severn"?
When Severn got into MMA at 36 years old, he was a washed-up amateur wrestler who had suffered numerous crippling injuries in that sport. By HIS OWN admission, the Dan Severn that competed in MMA was nothing more than the fumes of the Dan Severn in his amateur wrestling heyday of the 80's.
When Severn faced a former world-class amateur wrestler who wasn't so dilapidated, Mark Coleman (2 years after Severn debuted, so one could argue this was still his "prime" as he had learned some submissions and sub defense by this point), he was smashed in under 3 minutes.
Severn is a pioneer and a legend, and you won't find anyone more appreciative of the old-school than me (check my username), but let's be realistic. Dan Severn at any point of his MMA career gets destroyed by virtually any borderline decent heavyweight today.
He had zero striking, zero striking defense, limited sub defense, and very crude, lousy GnP. His wrestling was pretty good, not great; you could see his age and injuries had sapped his shot of its speed and explosiveness, and it often looked like bending down was painful for him. (See my comment about Coleman, too)
All that aside, why can't people appreciate old-school legends and pioneers without comparing them to modern-day fighters?