Nothing new is correct. I hear this all the time from my fellow Judoka, that BJJ is no different than Judo and it is infact that same as it really came from the same Kodokan Judo. Yes, technically it is correct that there is/was nothing new or special about BJJ.
So why is it that Judo has changed it's rules so dramatically this year? Why is it that I can walk into a Judo Tournament playing by their rules as a Judo White Belt/BJJ Purple Belt and walk out with a third place medal against two other black belts?
Well the difference is as you state Ignatius, how it is pracitced and what emphasis is put on what aspects of the "fight".
So yes, I agree 100%, there are only so many ways to lock or throw a human being...absolutely! As you state though, it is how it is practiced that makes the difference on how well you can do it given a certain set of parameters or conditions.
Aliveness matters, and Aliveness is enough of a factor to make a distinction between two "styles" doing the exact same thing.
When folks make video comparisons like this what they are essentially doing is the classic Cognitive Dissonance Theory example of "Buying a New Car".
They are essentially attempting to reduce dissonance through comparison. Festinger proposes there are two ways to solve the problem. 1. Come to the conclusion that you are not going to be a fighter in the ring and dissassociate. 2. Admit that you need the skills and abandon your current processes and adopt ones that will lead you to where you want to go.
However, continuing to say "Hey look at this guy using Aikido in a real fight...." does no good at all since the correalation simply is illogical and does not apply to you personally.