The work done in the 80s and 90s was for very different hardware than now, when accelerated graphics wasn't the norm. MS made that mandatory with Aero and then Windows 8 a long time ago, Apple's been at it for even longer.
Wayland exists because, thanks to hardware innovations, there's a better way to do the job than what was possible in the 80s.
The real work was done in the 80s/90s through a consortium of universities and corporations
Then one day, some nobody shows up and in their infinite wisdom decides: I know better than all the 100s of people before me.
And now we have to listen on and on about how this nobody was somehow a "major developer"