First off, Cube has some 1.8-style PvP. What makes Cube unique is that of the 3 most popular servers, Cube is the only server with full 1.9+ support and PvP. No other densely populated servers not even Mineplex or Hypixel, have 1.9 PvP. The closest they have is 1.9+ compatibility, but PvP is still 1.8. You can still spamclick in 1.9, but don't expect much unless you spamclick the enemy into environmental hazards.
Every time I see these threads, it makes me sick. I'll cite two quotes a 1.8 player wrote on a different forum. It was quite clear he had no clue what he was talking about:
"But you aren't mad with the stone axe being the best weapon in the game now."
"Comboing is not possible anymore, if you try it you will deal almost zero damage. And when did we ever say '1.9 sucks because I can not run up to players?'"
I will leave it to you to answer why these statements are not correct.
Here's what happens if Cube reverts to 1.8:
-No elytra
-No more complex PvP tactics. For example, airshots were VERY situational in 1.8 (only applying to falling players). Heck, because of that it was impractical and not used prior to 1.9. 1.9 made landing those hits much more rewarding in elytra PvP.
-No new blocks
-Loses its PvP specialty to other servers. 1.8 is "everyone has this," but we can't say the same for 1.9+.
-Certain plugins/cmds were introduced in 1.9
-More bugs. A lot of bugs were fixed when 1.9 was released. For example, the "hidden button behind stairs" glitch was fixed.
-PvP was based on "whoever had the best mouse and CPS." Note that any good PvP system such as TF2's would have it balanced and NOT based on CPS. Additionally jitter clicking hurts the user's wrists and damages the mouse faster.
-Hacking is much harder to spot in 1.8, even harder if someone has a ghost client. Heck, I have to watch videos at 0.25 and/or 0.5 speed to triple check if the offender is actually hacking or not. In 1.9, all I need to know is the sounds of his swings (loud swing = crit), when he swings, and what he's doing.
OP, I would like you to think about this question: what do you find fun with old things? Have you put at least a few hours (not 1-2) of 1.9 PvP? It's not too hard to get started with the basics and most of the PvP tactics from 1.8 carry over to 1.9.