I have very mixed feelings about the entire Invasion/Alliance storyline, which I'm sure will be very clear in my next few reviews as I cover it. On one hand, the whole was really just a giant Vince McMahon ego trip, dancing on the grave of two fallen competitors, making it abundantly clear that his guys were the only true stars in the business. On the other hand, that is literally true, just look at WCW and ECW's main event scene by the time they folded, neither company could match the WWF for starpower. Maybe the gap could've been a bit closer if Vince had been willing to buyout some of WCW's bigger names from their Time Warner contracts, but it just made more sense financially to use the roster he already had, and I get it. By early 2001, the WWF had pretty much completely cornered the market, they had the strongest roster in the world and the best in the history of the company, in my opinion. Why bother spending potentially millions of dollars just to sign guys like Kevin Nash or Ric Flair, who seemed well past their physical peaks, especially when you could just wait for another 9-12 months and get them for significantly less? That being said, it's also worth noting just how weak this card is as a result of that decision, as other than the "Inaugural Brawl" in the main event, the only match it seemed like you would really have to see was the Hardcore title match between Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam. It's really not a good sign when your first big collision between three giants of the wrestling world needs two referees fighting and a tag team bra and panties match just to fill out the card, that just makes the entire business look bad. It's time to dig into one of the most controversial storylines in the wrestling history, as WWF, WCW and ECW battle it out at InVasion.
- Check out this monstrosity of a pay-per-view poster, I think it sort of symbolizes everything that went wrong with this concept in one image. No showcase of any of the new talent invading the company, apparently even the WCW and ECW logos weren't worthy of appearing. Instead, we've got Vince and Shane McMahon's faces merging into one demonic being that's sure to haunt your nightmares. Way to go, guys.
- InVasion comes to you from the Gund Arena(now Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse) in Cleveland, Ohio, which we've seen once before on this blog, as it was the host of No Mercy 1999. I took a shot at the crowd from that show and Cleveland crowds in general on that review, which I know admit may not have been entirely fair. It is true that the crowd on that night was pretty dead, although the show in general was pretty dull, but this one more than makes up for it. They are red hot all night long, fully buying into everything Vince was selling, seemingly not disappointed at all by the card they were given. Fair play to them, it seems like they had a lot of fun.
- Our opening contest is a Canadian affair, as Edge and Christian take on the invading Lance Storm and Mike Awesome, who were paired up in WCW as Team Canada for a brief time. This is a very standard tag team match, an elongated heel beatdown leading to a hot tag. I do like all four guys and I thought they worked the formula well, as Storm delivers some really crisp offense and Awesome got to show off some of his athleticism with a big splash. Edge puts together a really good hot tag, before shoving Christian out of the way of Storm's superkick, taking the move himself, reinforcing his face turn. Mike looks for the Awesome Bomb, holding an unconscious Edge up in the crucifix position, which leaves his midsection open for Christian to hit a Spear, as Edge falls on top of Awesome for the cover and the win. Even though this match was extremely formulaic, I still thought it was pretty good and one of the better offerings on the night.
- Straight into the bollocks we go, as WWF referee Earl Hebner faces WCW referee Nick Patrick. The fact that someone thought this was a good idea is probably the most shocking part of this entire show. At least the crowd is into this match, popping big time when Earl goes on offense, and both men tried their best to have a proper match. Hebner wins after a glancing shoulder block, mercifully ending this embarrassing contest in just under three minutes.
- Time for back to back champion versus champion matches with absolutely no gold on the line. First up, we have WWF tag team champions the APA taking on WCW tag team champions Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire. This is a slugfest with four big hosses, lots of strikes and the occasional power move, like a double team spinebuster by Bradshaw and Faarooq. This could've been fun if it had just been a chaotic brawl, but it's just a straight up, seven minute match that feels extremely redundant the longer it lasts. There's no real build to the finish, as after all four guys taking turns hitting each other, Bradshaw nails a Clothesline From Hell on Palumbo for the win.
- Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac now takes on WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman in what could be an entertaining high-flying exhibition on paper, but doesn't provide much in execution. X-Pac is clearly just phoning it in by this point, slowing the action to a glacial pace with headlocks while spending tons of time working the crowd. That results in an interesting dynamic, as Cleveland despises X-Pac, the only WWF guy to get such a negative response. Kidman is over by default, and his match-ending Shooting Star Press gets a big pop, setting him up for a run as a tweener for the rest of this storyline. I don't really know why they booked X-Pac to stay loyal to the Federation, it would make perfect sense for him to jump ship since the company's own fans hate him so much, but whatever.
- It took four matches to get here, but we finally have ECW facing off with the WWF, as Raven takes on William Regal. Raven is another guy that seems to have mentally checked out, and he and Regal put on a very dull match. I did at least enjoy Regal countering the Raven Effect into a Northern Lights Suplex, but that being the only move I can remember from a 6 minute match is a pretty damning sign. Tazz, who teamed up with Raven for a bit the previous year, interferes to hit Regal with a T-Bone Suplex to get ECW on the board.
- We've obviously reached the "let's just get everyone onto the card" portion of proceedings, as Big Show, Billy Gunn and Albert team up to face Chris Kanyon, Shawn Stasiak and Hugh Morrus, who are here representing WCW. Boy, with a lineup of talent of this caliber, I have no idea how they went out of business. To be fair, this match isn't terrible, and I was impressed by what Kanyon and Gunn brought to the table, I think they could've had a decent singles match. This was obviously filler though, and despite the WCW boys getting the win, they all get wiped out by Big Show after the pinfall, just to show you who Vince thinks is the real star here.
- Tajiri and Commissioner Regal have formed a fairly entertaining comedic duo over the past few months, with Tajiri serving as Regal's assistant. He's going for revenge here against Tazz, fired up after a backstage promo with Regal. I did enjoy what Tajiri brought to the table here, his strikes looked a bit weak but he sold well and the Tarantula will always be over. Tazz, on the other hand, is in a bad state, well past his peak and it's very tough to watch, as the man was such a monster back in his heyday. Tajiri gets the win after misting Tazz.
- Time for something actually good, it's been long enough, as Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam square off for the Hardcore title. You can tell that these two men are the future of the company, they present such a unique style from everything else on the card and the crowd is hooked. Both men take turns getting in some flashy offense, with Jeff gaining the upper hand after a crunching sunset flip powerbomb to the floor. He sets up a ladder, but takes his own spill on the floor after RVD tips it over. They brawl up to the stage, where the Van Damninator sends Hardy tumbling right into the middle of the two entrance ramps. Back in the ring, Jeff manages to hit a DDT, which is sold beautifully by RVD, who does a headstand while taking the move. That's one of signature sells and it always looks great. Van Dam avoids the Swanton, placing the title belt on Hardy's chest before delivering his Five Star Frog Splash for the win. It wasn't one of his better Frog Splashes, but I though he sold the impact really well, and it was a very convincing finish. This is a really good match, a shot in the arm for a show that was really lagging at the point, and the kind of performance that set both men up for bigger things to come.
- I think every wrestling fan is aware of just how much WWE loves to promote historic occasions when it comes to their women's division, but I think this might be the most historic women's match ever to take place in company history. Ladies and primarily just gentlemen, I bring to you the first ever tag team Bra and Panties match. Ah yes, this is what true equality feels like. Lita, Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler put on an absolute mat classic here, filled with inventive tag team wrestling and dramatic false finishes. Then they rip each other's clothes off. Eat your heart out, AEW, the WWF in 2001 has the best women's wrestling on the planet.
- Main event time, as Team WWF collides with the WCW-ECW Coalition, as they're referred to here, although they would just be called The Alliance moving forward. On one side, we have Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Kane, The Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who has returned to his a** kicking roots by the request of Mr. McMahon. Opposing them are Shane McMahon's cronies, Booker T and DDP, along with the ECW's best, Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz, who are led by the mastermind of ECW, Stephanie McMahon. I don't know who that Paul Heyman jabroni is, but he wisely stays in the background for most of this match to let the true stars, pretty much just the McMahons, shine. This match starts and ends with a big brawl, which is fitting for the so-called "Inaugural Brawl". There is still a good amount of wrestling to be found, as a majority of the match is just filled with guys tagging in and out and hitting all their signature offense. Even if the starpower may not be quite as much as most were hoping for, it still has the aura of a showdown between the biggest names in all of wrestling, mostly thanks to the crowd, who treat every move like a big deal. After about twenty minutes, the match spills to the floor, and all Hell breaks loose. Kane chokeslams D-Von through an announce table, before Bubba Ray and Rhyno put him through the other one with a double suplex. Jericho lauches himself off the apron to put Rhyno through a table, while The Undertaker and DDP brawl into the crowd, never to be seen again. Kurt Angle goes absolutely nuts, suplexing everything that moves and dropping Bubba with an Angle Slam. I have to say, if this match accomplished nothing else, Angle looked like an absolute megastar here, proving just how good of a face he can be. Booker eats an Angle Slam, but the WCW World and US Champion saves himself by taking out the referee, before both men go down. Vince grabs his company's world title and slides it to Angle, but Shane intervenes and clocks his pops with it. Angle sends Shane and Bubba flying again, before hitting yet another Angle Slam on Booker T. The ankle lock is applied, and Booker quickly taps out, but the official is still down. Finally, Steve Austin makes an appearance. The Rattlesnake has been down for all of this chaos, selling a knee injury, but grabs the referee, ostensibly to help Angle get the win. But it's all a ruse, as he drops Kurt with a Stunner to secure a massive win for The Alliance, celebrating with the two McMahon siblings and also that Heyman guy as the show goes off the air.
- I'm not really sure what to think about Austin's betrayal, technically his second heel turn of the year. It makes absolutely no sense, he held a massive grudge against WCW, and had very little reason to work with Shane and Stephanie, as he'd spent the past few months building a relationship with Vince, not them. That being said, it was also absolutely needed, as it was obvious that Vince was never going to book the WCW and ECW guys correctly, so they desperately needed a big name to join their ranks. This also set up a dynamite feud between Austin and Angle which produced some terrific matches, and you can't argue with results. Am I seriously defending this booking decision? Maybe I should hand in my snarky wrestling reviewer's badge.
6/10
A large majority of this card was very boring, although other than the Bra and Panties match and referee fight, there was nothing was nothing technically wrong with many of these matches. The Hardcore title match was very good, and the main event was riveting, especially down the finishing stretch. InVasion is a good show, but one that fails to match the hype by both the company and the fanbase, and I can see why many would dislike it. There's a lot to unpack when it comes to both this show and this storyline, and I didn't even get to mention my thought on the set(very cool) or Michael Cole on commentary(not so much). If you haven't seen this before, ignore the reputation and the rather weak card and watch it for yourself, because I think every fan that watches this might come away feeling differently.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: SummerSlam 2001, where Kurt Angle attempted to gain revenge against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock returned to battle Booker T. See you soon.
- Henry
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