Dark Pegasus Video Review: WWF/WCW inVasion

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 06.04.2008

Not exactly living up to the hype.

WWF/WCW inVasion
by J.D. Dunn

So, after ratings and buyrates started to decline and TNN refused to give WCW a timeslot, Vince decided to show that WCW could, indeed, draw because it was now owned by the McMahons, so he put on a special WCW attraction between Booker T and Buff Bagwell. The match was booed by the few fans that remained in the stands at the end of that episode of Raw. WCW was dead on arrival.

Vince panicked and decided to bring WCW in as an invading stable á la the nWo. To give them street cred, WCW and a revived ECW merged to form a super-invading force led by Shane and Paul Heyman. Oh, but that might have been interesting, so instead they introduced Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley as the new ECW owner, turning it from WWF vs. WCW & ECW to yet another McMahons-hate-each-other angle.

The only problem is that Steve Austin was suffering from marital problems, so his mind wasn't really into the feud, especially since Vince wasn't showing him the love he thought he deserved. It's 2001 Austin, don't ask. You had to be there.

This all led to WCW's nWo angle being played out over the course of four weeks instead of 18 months, complete with Austin (Sting) abandoning the WWF and then coming back in the middle of a big brawl to turn the tide.

Now, Austin leads the WWF into "The Inaugural Brawl" against WCW and ECW.

July 22, 2001

Live from Cleveland, Ohio.

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Michael Cole.

Opening Match: Edge & Christian vs. Lance Storm & Mike Awesome.
Mike Awesome became the first WCW superstar to invade Madison Square Garden. That should tell you why this angle sucked. The WWF has a lifetime monopoly on the most prestigious sporting complex in the world, and the guy who is the first one to invade is… That 70s Guy? E&C hit their usual moves with Christian nearly braining himself when he catches his foot on the ropes during a springboard plancha. Christian plays face-in-peril. The heels' offense is only moderate interesting here, though. Edge gets the hot tag and accidentally knocks Christian off the apron. Storm small packages him, but Christian rolls them over for two. Awesome picks Edge up for the Awesome Bomb, but Christian spears Awesome in mid-move. Edge falls on top and picks up the win at 10:11. Very All-Japanish ending. **1/2

Nick Patrick vs. Earl Hebner.
Even the refs couldn't get along! It was all very Jets vs. Sharks. Mick Foley is your special referee. Patrick slaps Earl in the face, so Earl spears him into the corner and stomps a mudhole. The other refs surround the ring like lumberjacks until Foley decides they're getting too unruly. Patrick stops to argue, so Hebner spears him and gets the win at 2:50. Well, it was intense. I'll give them that. Patrick starts to argue, so Mick knocks him silly and puts him out with Mr. Socko. *

In the back, Sara and Debra bond over being stalked by Diamond Dallas Page.

In a hilarious-in-retrospect moment, they show a video package of the APA trying to rally the troops to remain loyal to the WWF because they have to defend their future. Those troops – Ron Killings, Taka Michinoku, Bull Buchanan, Haku, and Essa Rios.

Non-Title: Chuck Palumbo & Sean O'Haire vs. The APA.
The WCW guys storm the ring for a brawl. Lots of kicky-punchy stuff follows. O'Haire hits his future finisher – the Widow's Peak (not the Victoria one). O'Haire breaks up a powerbomb with a thrust kick. Faarooq plays face-in-peril for a while before hitting O'Haire with a spinebuster. Bradshaw picks Palumbo up for a Fallaway Slam but gets superkicked again. Palumbo thrust kicks Faarooq but stand up into a Clothesline from Hell at 7:19. No idea what happened to Palumbo and O'Haire because they had stardom written all over them at one point. Well, okay, Palumbo was saddled with a number of bad gimmicks, but O'Haire had the look, the moves, and everything else you could want in a future star. *

Chris Jericho tells Vince not to fear WCW but ECW might be a threat under Paul Heyman.

Elsewhere, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Paul Heyman put all of their faith in Billy Kidman to turn things around. No, this wasn't doomed to fail at all.

Non-Title: X-Pac vs. Billy Kidman.
X-Pac still gets booed out of the building, despite being on the WWF side. SEE, X-PAC HEAT! Billy hits a rana and an enzuigiri to knock X-Pac to the floor. Cool spot as Billy hits a sliding bulldog. X-Pac sidesteps a charge and tosses him to the floor. That leads to a springboard plancha from Pac. They exchange sleepers, and X-Pac misses a somersault senton. Kidman goes up but comes off into the X-Factor. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO? Seriously, Kidman gets to kick out of that? The Rock didn't even kick out of that. Kidman blocks the Broncobuster. The Shooting Star Press finishes at 7:13. Good enough. I like the fact that Kidman is a face working for the heel organization, and X-Pac is a heel working for the face organization. **1/4

In the back, the Alliance celebrates.

Elsewhere, Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler talk about their tits and ass (respectively, of course). They decide to celebrate with the Hardy Boyz once they beat their girlfriends.

Raven vs. William Regal.
This has the potential for major suckage. Cole says that Heyman convinced Raven to rejoin ECW because he has the ability to convince "seemingly level-headed men" to do what he wants. Yeah, a guy named Raven from an alcoholic father, raised in a bowery, who obsessed over the fat girl at camp and had her stolen by Tommy Dreamer only to replace her with an Asian stripper before assembling a quasi-homosexual group of men to follow him around as The Flock is "level-headed." It's great to see potential being fulfilled as this really does suck. Regal wants to wrestle, and Raven wants to brawl, so neither guy knows what the other is thinking at any given moment. Regal knees him in the head, but Raven small packages him for two. Finally, it looks like Raven decides to wrestle… as a babyface. Regal, a natural heel, starts kneeing him in the face. Raven goes for the Evenflow DDT, but Regal blocks, sending Raven to the floor. That allows Tazz to run out and suplex Regal. Raven sneaks in and hits the Evenflow for the win at 6:25. Pretty bad. 1/4*

In the back, Vince gives a pep talk to the Brothers of Destruction and the Wife/Sister-in-Law of Destruction.

Big Show, Billy Gunn & Albert vs. Shawn Stasiak, Kanyon & Hugh Morrus.
I had completely forgotten about the Show-Gunn tag team. Or the Gunn-Show tag team. Or the Big-Ass tag team. Whatever they were called. Sadly, Stasiak seems to be the captain of the heel team because they use his "Exodus" rip-off as entrance music. The babyfaces triple Military Presses. Gunn Electric Chair Drops Kanyon and they go all Flair-Steamboat on our asses (in theory). Meat comes in and stomps a mudhole in Gunn. Remember when it turned out Stasiak was Keibler's baby? Stasiak winds up taking a Bicycle Kick and the Baldo Bomb. Morrus and Kanyon make the save, though. Gunn gives Morrus the Fameasser. He tries the One and Only on Gunn, but Stasiak hits him with the Meat Grinder. Morrus is kind of in his vicinity, so he gets the pin at 4:23. After the match, the WWF guys leave the WCW guys laying to bury WCW just a little more. Not that I care in the cases of Meat, Mortis, and Morrus. 3/4*

William Regal is so upset at Tazz's interference that he sicks Tajiri on him.

Taz vs. Tajiri.
Tajiri was quickly gaining a cult following. Taz catches him in a Gargoyle Suplex and pounds on him. Cole: I'd like to just sit down with Taz and figure out what he was thinking. Well, they'd have the next four years to do so. Taz grabs a cross armlock, but Tajiri is in the ropes. Taz catches him with a Waterwheel Suplex for two. The Handspring Elbow knocks Taz to the floor and gets a huge pop. To the floor, Taz tosses Tajiri into the steps. Back in, Tajiri locks in the Tarantula. A seated dropkick gets two. Tajiri peppers him with kicks, but Taz catches on for a Capture Suplex. Tajiri mists him and finishes with a Buzzsaw Kick at 5:45. *3/4

In the hall, Matt Hardy is a bit worried that Jeff Hardy might not be ready for Rob Van Dam. Rob Van Dam runs in and nails Matt with a chairshot because he loves the concept of irony.

Over at WWFNY, Hardcore Holly threatens to beat up a fan with a WCW shirt on.

WWF Hardcore Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam.
Obviously, Jeff is much more of a player here than he was when they met in 1997. Jeff misses a legdrop on the neck, and they both miss somersault legdrops. Crowd chants "RVD" so he poses for them. Jeff sneaks up behind him and dropkicks him in the back. Van Dam misses a charge in the corner. Hardy dropkicks his face into the turnbuckle. Hardy reverses a monkey flip to his legdrop into a rollup. Van Dam charges into an atomic drop but ducks Hardy's crossbody dive and nails him with a moonsault for two. Van Dam delivers the flying Pedigree (notice how quickly he dropped that once he entered the WWF). Rolling Thunder gets two. Van Dam goes up, so Hardy pushes him to the floor. A baseball slide sets up the rail run clothesline. Van Dam cuts him off and knocks him into the crowd. RVD moonsaults off the second section barrier onto Hardy. He sets Hardy on the apron and delivers the corkscrew guillotine legdrop for two. Hardy sunset flips him off the apron into the outside mat. He pulls a ladder out from under the ring and goes up. Van Dam scurries into the ring and tips the ladder over, giving Ross the opportunity to bust out the "How do you learn to fall off a twenty foot ladder!" and "How's he even able to stand is what I wanna know" soundbites that you hear on every WWE DVD. Van Dam grabs a chair, but Hardy takes it away from him. Jeff tries to use it but takes the Van Daminator. The corkscrew legdrop gets two for Van Dam. Back to the ring, Van Dam dropkicks the chair into Hardy's face. Hardy blocks the split-legged moonsault by getting his knees up. A DDT gets a series of two counts. Hardy drops him with a backdrop suplex, but that only gets two. Jeff goes up for the Swanton, but RVD rolls out of the way. Van Dam puts the Hardcore belt on Jeff and finishes with the Five Star Frogsplash at 12:32. ***1/2

In Vince's office, Kurt Angle gets a pep talk from Vinnie Mac.

We get a brief video recap which reminds me that Trish once managed and had a budding relationship with Jeff Hardy.

Bra-and-Panties Match: Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Torrie Wilson & Stacy Keibler.
The intrigue here is that Trish and Lita hate each other because Trish was flirting with her boyfriend. Yeah, I'd hate to see a blond Canadian come in between that relationship. Mick Foley is the special referee and is positively giddy at the idea. I should point out that Lita is the only fully-trained wrestler at this point as the other three were still learning. Funny moment as neither of the heels wants to get in there with Lita. She strips Stacy of her top, but Trish nails her coming back in the ring. The Keib takes off Lita's top, but Lita uses it to snapmare her around the ring. Ross ponders whether it's a snapmare because she's a female. Lita misses a crossbody but tags in Trish. Torrie takes Trish's top off the hard way, but Trish reverses and strips Torrie's pants off. The faces team up for Poetry in Motion on Torrie and strip her down to her underwear. Trish gives Stacy the bulldog, and they strip her too. *

The Inaugural Brawl: Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Rhyno & The Dudley Boyz (w/Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon & Paul Heyman) vs. Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane & The Undertaker (w/Vince McMahon).
Just to make a point, I want you to check out the line-ups for the respective five-man teams here and wait until the Survivor Series 2001 review is up, then compare the two main events. I think it's quite telling. Perhaps more telling: all five guys on the heel team wound up in TNA. Big brawl in the aisle to start until Austin comes down and starts kicking ass. It powders out to Rhyno versus Austin. Like my insider term there? Austin stomps a mudhole and superplexes the Manbeast. Jericho tags in and hits a springboard dropkick on Rhyno. Taker plays face-in-peril for a while as JR buries the Spinaroonie. They quickly realize they'll need someone who's willing to sell for the heels, so Jericho gets the tag moments later and catches a beatdown. Kurt gets more of the same, including JR's hated Spinaroonie. Page shows some spunk with a spinning powerbomb as well as a Cobra Clutch Slam. A false tag leads to Kurt catching a stomping from WCW/ECW. The match breaks down, and Rhyno accidentally gores Booker. Taker sideslams Page and chokeslams him. Charles Robinson tells him to get out of the ring, so Taker gives him the Last Ride. Mike Chioda replaces him. Austin appears to hurt his knee on the outside. The Dudleyz get wood, but Kane shows up and chokeslams D-Von through the announce table. Rhyno and Bubba suplex Kane through another table, but Rhyno turns around and gets wiped out by Jericho. That leaves Kurt Angle alone with Booker T and Bubba Ray. Kurt cleans house on both of them to a HUGE pop. By the way, if you were wondering when Angle got main-event cred, here it is. Vince tosses in the title belt, but Shane intercepts and nails him. Kurt dispatches Shane and Angleslams Booker. The ref is out. Angle grabs the Anklelock, but the ref is out and can't see Booker tapping. Austin shoves the ref in, Stuns Angle, and tosses Booker on top for the win at 29:04. Yep, Austin faked out… well, Jim Ross and the other four WWF guys, and was working with WCW. It's supposed to be a Hogan at Bash at the Beach moment, but A) that had been done to death at that point and B) that was booked a lot better than this. For one thing, Hogan only came out at the end of the match. He didn't spend the whole match beating the shit out of Hall and Nash as part of some elaborate ruse. I mean, I didn't exactly go to Westpoint, but I'm sure I could think of at least a half dozen plans that accomplish the same thing and don't involve me beating the shit out of my friends. Then again, WCW always was a masochistic bunch. ***1/4

The 411: Outside of the main event and the Hardcore Title match, this was a pretty lackluster show considering it was the first ever "WCW vs. WWF" PPV. It also showed that Vince had zero confidence in anything outside of his inside guys getting over. Even looking at the main event heel team, it's WCW guys Booker and DDP and then three guys who were pretty firmly entrenched in the WWE before the invasion even happened. The *real* ECW team would have been Raven, Dreamer and Rob Van Dam. But then, hindsight is 20/20. Then again, even foresight should have told them this would be a big waste of time and money because that's exactly what fans were saying at the time.

Mild thumbs down.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]