FEEDBACK: WWF Invasion 2001

Rewind-A-Wai #161 will cover the WWF Invasion 2001 pay-per-view, which Espresso Executive Producer Andrew MacDonald selected.

Leave us your feedback and memories from this event and tune in this Thursday for the review on the POST Wrestling Café.

Watch WWF Invasion 2001 (WWE Network account required):

WWF Invasion
Sunday, July 22, 2001
Cleveland, Ohio at Gund Arena

*Inaugural Brawl: Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho vs. Booker T., DDP, The Dudley Boyz & Rhyno
*Bra & Panties Match: Torrie Wilson & Stacy Keibler vs. Trish Stratus & Lita
*WWF Hardcore Championship: Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
*Tajiri vs. Tazz
*Big Show, Billy Gunn & Albert vs. Shawn Stasiak, Chris Kanyon & Hugh Morrus
*Raven vs. William Regal
*X-Pac vs. Billy Kidman
*The APA vs. Chuck Palumbo & Sean O’Haire
*Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick
*Edge & Christian vs. Mike Awesome & Lance Storm

1 Like

Hey guys,

This event was alright for the names they had on paper. Going 5-5 until the main event made sense. It really shows how weak The alliance was compared to team WWF without the big names but that’s expected when they would rather take those big checks and sit at home than do this invasion storyline. The undercard matches were a mixed results for me with RVD vs Jeff Hardy being the best match other than the main event. Other notes I have is that I really do enjoy the X factor theme song. Two questions; why was the X PAC heat such a big thing, and also if the big names like the NWO, Sting, Goldberg and Flair to name a few came in, do you thing a 5 on 5 match up happens.

Thanks

Is it hyperbole to say that the Invasion angle is perhaps the biggest blown opportunity in professional wrestling history?

A PPV that did a monster buy-rate, that SHOULD have been the ground work for the next twelve months at the very least. Instead we have this show, and a pretty lackluster angle that is mercifully put out of its misery by Survivor Series.

We all know that the contract situation with many of the main event talents in WCW - that WWF refused to buy out. One has to think that if Vince and co, coughed up the money for the big names and bought out deals, they would have made their money back tenfold over the following months and year (if not more). Even without paying out Hogan, Hall and Nash, they could have easily brought in the likes of Goldberg and Sting, and had years of marquee matches on PPVs that would shatter buyrates.

The one man who felt like true star on this show from the Alliance was clearly Rob Van Dam. And unfortunately, the company wasted years before finally somewhat getting behind him as true main eventer.

Even those moments where they could have turned it around - like the night they created the Alliance - which floundered out by the end of the very same episode when Stephanie was revealed as the new owner of ECW.

And that would be the tone of the entire angle… DDP is here - but he’s playing a random stalker character, and then being slaughtered by the Undertaker… They’re giving WCW the main event slot on Raw with Booker T and Buff - but they’re going to get laid out by Austin and thrown out of the building. And so on and so forth, all summer. By the time The Rock was winning the WCW World Championship at SummerSlam, you knew the writing was on the wall as to how seriously WCW as a brand was going to be taken.

Sorry, I feel like this feedback is just commiserating over badly this angle was flubbed. But years of fandom and fantasy booking throughout my childhood all played out in the most uninspired ways possible, certainly left a bad taste in my mouth all these years later.

I distinctly remember a glimmer of hope around the news that WCW was going to be getting a late night slot on TNN that summer, from 11pm until 1am being announced (that later became Velocity and Confidential). I even remember there being a Ticketmaster listing for a show in New Jersey. Unfortunately, that got cancelled for one reason or another - and the dream of a separate WCW brand died.

1 Like

Robbie from London……Ontario, Canada

As a kid that grew up watching wCw, and almost exclusively wCw, this show was disheartening to say the least, perhaps even heartbreaking. The use of wCw at every turn was frustrating, painful and was such a turn off I stopped watching wresting entirely until I discovered TNA the following year.

I always felt they should have just waited. Don’t have the big stars yet? Wait until you do instead of running an angle with almost exclusively mid carders invading. Possibly the worst execution of a great angle idea of all time. Do you guys recall how you felt at the time? Were you two as put off in any capacity?

3 Likes

Jesse from the 6

Yo, you dealin’ with the X Factor. You fellas last reviewed this show in June of 2010, just a few months after your initial review of WrestleMania IX. I wonder if today, as then:

  • John and Wai will begin the show boasting about the 786 members they have on their official facebook page

  • John will castigate the WWF for its numerous misuses of the word “ironic”

  • John will declare Hardcore Holly’s segment at WWF New York to be his favourite of the show

  • Shawn Stasiak will repeat as the Scott Putski Award winner

  • John will suggest, “The Slam Dunk” and “The Reverse” as more appropriate names for the Big Show’s finishing move because “Alley-Oop” should be the name of a double team maneuver

  • Wai will say Tazz looks like a janitor

  • Nate Milton will leave feedback arguing that the women’s match on this show was better than the average Bra and Panties Match

On that show 14 years ago, John posited that the strong buy rate for this PPV might have had less to do with the caché of the WWF vs WCW concept, and more to do with the excellent go-home Raw show and the promise of a babyface Steve Austin. What are your feelings on this idea now?

Take Care

1 Like

Jordan from the Bronx

The Invasion angle as a whole was one of the biggest fumbles WWE has ever had. Despite not having the biggest WCW stars, they didn’t treat the ones that they did have with any reverence. They turned DDP into a creepy stalker, they made sure to expose guys like Buff Bagwell and Kronik, and it was a miracle that Booker T was able to survive and thrive through what they gave him over the years.

The ECW flip could’ve been a fun angle that they rushed through in one episode of Raw. It was clear that there was buyer’s remorse and it turned what could’ve been a very fun couple of years into one weird summer. As an ECW and WCW fan in my teenage years, this was a big disappointment. There was a message board I was active in that the owner shut down a couple of months after the angle ended because they couldn’t stand to see ECW lose lol.

Paul Heyman and Jim Ross quickly became my favorite commentary team during this time. Heyman was completely insane and Jim Ross was ornery and couldn’t hide it. I don’t know if they worked on that or not, regardless, they were very entertaining.

Watching this show back with hindsight, certain matches felt more like WWE trying to figure out if certain people were worth investing in, with the trios match sticking out to me in particular. RVD and Jeff Hardy stole the show. RVD became a more focused on Alliance guy, and I felt like this match was the reason why. I feel like among others, Mike Awesome and Lance Storm could’ve gotten better during the Alliance run. They were among the first invaders and had relatively nothing to do after this show.

1 Like

Alexander from Portland

This was my first time watching anything pertaining to the invasion, as I got into wrestling a few years later.

This show was decent. The five-on-five was fun, hardcore multi-man brawls in the main event are always enjoyable. Jeff and RVD put on a great showcase, and I liked seeing Kidman and Raven picking up wins. The show-long rivalry made every match feel more important. There were only two bad matches, but at least they were short and featured Foley.

I understand why team WCW/ECW used the stars that they did but it felt underwhelming. I’m sure there were multiple reasons why guys like Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Sting, Luger, Flair, and Steiner weren’t used on this show. Having Raven and the main eventers win by using outside help made The Alliance look weak. The Alliance winning the six-man tag but immediately being beaten down made them look like dorks. Nothing in-ring is particularly worth rewatching. Solid 4/10 show.

Question: did you enjoy the Survivor Series that came later in the year?