World Wrestling Federation – Invasion 2001 – 22nd July 2001
By the summer of 2001 the ill-fated ‘Invasion’ angle was in full swing. WCW, fronted by Shane McMahon alongside the likes of Dallas Page and Booker T had aligned itself with an ECW faction owned by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley to form ‘The Alliance’ and were causing chaos across World Wrestling Federation programming. Determined to teach the invaders a lesson, WWF scrapped the planned ‘Fully Loaded’ ppv event and instead booked this – an inter-promotional supershow featuring roster members from each company fighting it out. Sounds like a dream right? Unfortunately the nightmarish reality was that this means we have things like Earl Hebner vs Nick Patrick in a referees fight, the Acolytes against the Natural Born Thrillers and a hugely watered down ‘Inaugural Brawl’ main event of The Alliance (represented by DDP, Booker, the Dudleyz and Rhyno) facing Team WWF (with Steve Austin as captain and support from Jericho, Angle and the Brothers Of Destruction). Jim Ross and Michael Cole will call the show, taped in Cleveland, OH.
SIDENOTE – I’ll tag a bit of a column/opinion piece giving my thoughts on the atrocity that was the 2001 Invasion angle to the end of my Survivor Series 2001 review. For now I’ll try to approach the events with an open mind. In truth, to this day I’m still so disappointed in how much of a mess WWF managed to make of it I honestly can’t remember that many matches.
Mike Awesome/Lance Storm vs Edge & Christian
I’ll admit that Awesome was a great talent and looked cut out for a great run in the WWF, but here’s mistake number one of the evening – where the f*ck are the Impact Players? Awesome represents ECW despite the fact he knifed the company in the back and planned to disrespect their title on WCW television whilst being their Heavyweight Champion…whilst Storm and Justin Credible were one of the finest teams in ECW history.
Awesome’s power is too much for even the tag team prowess of Edge & Christian. The 2001 King Of The Ring has better luck against Storm – back dropping him over the ropes into Awesome on the floor. SUPER BOTCHED PLANCHA by Christian! He tripped on the top rope and basically landed on his head! Mike makes things worse by wiping him out over the turnbuckles seconds later – leaving him in position for Storm to shunt him off the apron into the rails. Lance then chucks Christian RIBS-FIRST into the ringpost with crazy velocity. He stays on the ribs and chest, supplemented by some physically dominant offensive flurries from Awesome too. Christian emphasises that point by dropping him with a crossbody, but then crumpling up in pain on the mat. FROG SPLASH BY AWESOME for 2! He hauls Christian up the ropes…only for him to counter the Awesome Bomb with a second rope back body drop. Hot tag to Edge, who quickly racks up a nearfall with the Edge-O-Matic on Storm. The ECW team try to double team him, prompting Christian to come to his aid with a double clothesline from the top. Spear on Awesome for 2! SUPERKICK by Storm! Cactus Clothesline from Christian, taking both he and Lance out as Awesome swoops to scoop up Edge. He lines up an Awesome Bomb, but Christian saves with a SPEAR! Edge pins Awesome at 10:09
Rating - *** - Just because the angle sucked, it didn’t suddenly mean there weren’t more talented guys floating around on the roster. All four of these guys are really good, so it should surprise no-one that they put together a decent little match. Storm played the quarterback, pulling the match back together after Christian’s epic botch and constructing it around a rib injury designed to play off that cock up. Awesome kept his stuff to a minimum, occasionally coming in to showcase his unique blend of size and agility…whilst E&C did subtly continue their slow-burn split angle that has been brewing for a while, albeit slightly delayed now the Invasion has taken centre stage.
Vince McMahon celebrates WWF going 1-0 up on the show with Commissioner Regal. The Commissioner confirms that Steve Austin has arrived in the building
Nick Patrick vs Earl Hebner
The idea here is that the heat between the three companies was such that even the referees couldn’t get along. There were arguments and locker room brawls between the refs about where to put their stuff. Naturally it wasn’t felt that would get over, so the creative geniuses played it up still further by having Patrick become a full-on heel referee – refusing to count falls for WWF guys, fast-counting wins for Alliance representatives and so forth. With the encouragement of William Regal, WWF Senior Official Earl Hebner laid out the challenge for this one. Mick Foley, who had good careers in all three major promotions, is on hand as the surprise guest referee.
Weirdly, I think one of the WCW referees is Earl’s son, Brian Hebner. Nick gets us started by slapping Hebner in the face…so little Earl shoves him down into the corner and flails away at him with some bizarre strikes. Foley has to leave the ring to break up a potential fight between the WWF and WCW officials on the floor – as in the ring Earl is still slogging away at Patrick with his utterly uncoordinated forearm strikes and punches. The WCW referees try to attack Hebner…so Mick ejects them from ringside. Earl wins with a football tackle at 02:50
Rating - DUD - Predictably this was pretty lousy, but thankfully they kept it short so it didn’t kill the momentum of the show too much. It felt like a massive waste of Foley on a show like this though…
WWF get their money’s worth from Foley’s appearance as he busts out Mr Socko for the Mandible Claw on poor Nick Patrick.
LAST THURSDAY – WCW’s resident wife-harassment expert DDP abducts Debra, causing Austin to abandon his post in a WWF vs Alliance tag match
Debra and Sara compare sh*t acting skills and complain about DDP.
Acolytes vs Chuck Palumbo/Sean O’Haire
This is a WWF Tag Champions vs WCW Tag Champions match, with neither titles on the line. Whilst Vince concerned himself with the main event level guys, the APA were responsible for whipping up support for the anti-Alliance movement with the lesser roster members (i.e. Kaientai or Essa Rios, who never got any TV time even before a ton of WCW and ECW guys were hired). As WWF Tag Champions, they were natural targets for Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire – looking to make an impact in the WWF by beating up one of the toughest duos in World Wrestling Federation history.
The WCW guys make like the Ultimate Warrior and sprint to the ring to get the fight started. Naturally, Bradshaw has no interest in selling that, so soon enough the APA are on offence after a double spinebuster on Palumbo. Next Bradshaw doesn’t even bother MOVING HIS HEAD to sell O’Haire’s punches. Faarooq makes slightly more effort, bumping occasionally as the WCW Tag Champs double team him. Bradshaw is soon back, looking totally at ease as he picks Chuck up with a fallaway slam. O’Haire visibly doesn’t pull a kick and connects across Layfield’s jaw. A cool moment, but probably part of the reason why he got jobbed out and sent packing despite being one of the more promising of the WCW talent acquisitions. He whips Faarooq into the steps, allowing his team some brief moments of offensive dominance…before Big Ron shuts him down with a spinebuster. The Thrillers hit a dropkick/flapjack combo on Bradshaw – who is inevitably on his feet seconds later to drop Palumbo with the Clothesline From Hell. WWF take a 3-0 lead at 07:16
Rating - DUD - I’m not saying that Palumbo and O’Haire were the second comings of Ric Flair or Ricky Steamboat, but they were MUCH better than being steamrollered by the Acolytes. To nobody’s surprise, Bradshaw acted like an ass in this match and very obviously wanted no part in helping the WCW guys get over at all. Hence the problem with the Invasion angle – too many veterans with inflated egos clinging to their own spot rather than trying to do what was best for business.
Vince McMahon has summoned Chris Jericho for a pep-talk ahead of the Inaugural Brawl. Y2J warns Mr McMahon not to underestimate the influence of Paul Heyman on the Alliance
Stephanie and Shane are starting to panic in The Alliance locker room. Shane and Heyman pile the pressure on Billy Kidman to win the next match, whilst Steph rants about how much she hates Jericho
X-Pac vs Billy Kidman
This is another champion vs champion bout, with WWF’s Light Heavyweight Champion facing WCW’s Cruiserweight Champion. Kidman was pretty over towards the end of WCW’s existence, and he was young and talented enough that it was actually pretty exciting seeing him on WWF rings. Despite representing the Alliance he will be the de-facto babyface against X-Pac here.
I forgot how awesome Kidman’s entrance music was. JR tries to hype X-Pac as the fan favourite, even as he gets roundly boo’d by Cleveland. The hostility increases as he cockily rides Kidman on the mat. Billy ducks a superkick and does it right back to him! He pops into a hurricanrana and knocks Pac clean out of the ring with an enziguri. BASEBALL SLIDE FACEBUSTER to the floor! X-Pac gets back into the ring and heaves the WCW representative out of the ring for a springboard plancha! Kidman tries a sleeper hold, only to be deposited on the ground with an emphatic back suplex. He misses a somersault senton from the top though, allowing Kidman to hit a sit-out powerbomb for 2. X-Pac tries to powerbomb him…so Kidman COUNTERS WITH THE X-FACTOR! How much heat do you think he got for that? He jumps off the top rope…MID-AIR X-FACTOR by Pac! Serious heat for Waltman as he attempts the Bronco Buster, but Billy knocks him back for the Shooting Star Press! Kidman wins, putting The Alliance on the scoreboard at 07:12
Rating - ** - A decent match between two strong talents, complemented by an awesome crowd who vocally threw Vince’s ‘script’ out the window and cheered for someone they actually liked, rather than someone they were ‘told’ to like regardless of who he worked for. In truth Kidman was never charismatic enough, or unique enough as a junior heavyweight to make a serious dent in the WWF landscape but he could work a match and he had no problems hanging with a veteran like X-Pac.
DDP tries to talk to Shane, Steph and Heyman about the wives he’s harassed…and is told to get his head in the game
Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson (who were hotter than most of the WWF divas so get huge pops) discuss their tits and asses (seriously)…but it’s a shame we won’t get to see them because they are going to strip Trish and Lita later. They leave to seduce the Hardy Boyz…
Raven vs William Regal
If we were booking the main event as a legitimate ECW dream team Raven would be in Inaugural Brawl as one of ECW’s most controversial characters ever – not stuck in an impromptu match booked on Heat. Regardless, he is tasked with the important mission of taking out the WWF’s Commissioner.
JR at least acknowledges that Raven’s best work was in ECW, despite having spent significant time in WCW and WWF. Regal has the better start, peppering Raven with strikes and suplexes – which drive him out of the ring looking for respite. He gets back in and tosses Regal out – giving him a Russian legsweep into the guardrails. He tries to come off the second rope, taking a shot to the gut from the Commissioner, then a running knee to the face. Raven wriggles out of multiple pinning combo’s from the Englishman…whilst the crowd starts to fall asleep and chant ‘boring’. Regal Cutter blocked, but so is the Evenflow. They collide mid-ring…and as the ref checks on Raven Tazz runs in to give Regal an exploder Tazplex. Raven hits the Evenflow DDT to win at 06:33
Rating - * - This is notoriously bad match, but whilst I agree it’s not great – it’s far from the worst match on this card. It was a very obvious clash of styles and the two guys looked stuck trying to decide between working a brawl (i.e. playing to Raven’s strengths) or a wrestling match (playing up Regal’s) – in the end falling awkwardly in between both and putting on a bit of a snooze-fest. WWF took this an indication that Raven couldn’t ‘work’ and he struggled to get much exposure (not that he’d had much anyway) for the remaining two years of his WWF run. That Tazz and Raven, two of ECW’s biggest stars, were stuck bumbling around in midcard filler matches tells you all you need to know about the problems the Invasion angle had.
The Brothers Of Destruction (with Sara) are the latest recipients of a patented Vinny Mac hype speech.
Big Show/Billy Gunn/Albert vs Chris Kanyon/Shawn Stasiak/Hugh Morrus
Do you remember Albert’s 2001 run as Intercontinental Champion? No, me either. This match really highlights the problem WWF had booking the WCW troops in the Invasion. The Time Warner contracts meant all WCW’s biggest stars were on good money guarantees – so didn’t need to work. WWF felt they could get this angle over without forking out the money to get the likes of Goldberg, Hall, Nash, Hogan, Sting, Bischoff, Steiner and so forth off their couches – so aside from a few notable exceptions, most of the WCW talent they actually picked up sucked ass. Not that the ‘talent’ on the WWF side is much better. Big Show and Billy had formed an alliance, both feeling under-appreciated and under-utilised by the powers that be – with Gunn trying to ‘motivate’ Big Show, who had noticeably gotten much fatter since his return at the Royal Rumble.
The WCW team attack the WWF guys…but they are chumps and easily swatted aside with a trilogy of press slams from Gunn, Show and Albert. Billy nails Kanyon with a big electric chair drop…so Stasiak cracks him in the back of the head – sending him into the Russian legsweep/Stroke combo by Kanyon. The IC Champion enters, prompting a 6-man brawl. Baldo Bomb gets 2 on Stasiak before Morrus DDT’s A-Train. Bill DeMott was f*cking sh*t, and almost botches the Fame Asser until Billy’s sheer athleticism saves the spot. One & Only blocked, with Stasiak grabbing Gunn for an inverted DDT. Morrus, unbelievably, gets to win at 04:22. The Alliance even the score at 3-3 for the night.
Rating - DUD - This sucked. Whoever booked Hugh Morrus to win should have been fired on the spot. Kanyon would go on to become one of the more entertaining Alliance members and, to give credit to Billy Gunn, he was at least visibly working hard. But wow...so bad!
Big Show lays out the whole WCW team by himself, instantly destroying any credibility they may have gained from winning this match.
Shane McMahon corrects my scoreboard – apparently it’s 4-3 to the Alliance because Chavo Guerrero beat Scotty 2 Hotty on Heat. Booker T (WCW World Heavyweight and United States Champion) is pumped for the main event. Probably because he’s one of the few WCW guys who hadn’t been completely buried by this point.
Tajiri hangs out in the Commissioner’s office, perhaps agonising over his decision to stay loyal to the WWF rather than join ECW. Regal rewards him for his loyalty…by booking him against Tazz
Tazz vs Tajiri
Much like Rhyno, Tajiri was a guy the WWF deemed talented enough to sign after ECW went under (well before the Invasion angle began). He quickly rewarded that faith and gained a cult following for his zany in-ring style combined with brilliant backstage comic timing in skits with Regal. In character, he’d stayed loyal to the WWF and spurned the advances of the Alliance…meaning he now has to defend the World Wrestling Federation’s honour against one of the most dominating ECW World Champions ever.
Loud ‘EC-Dub’ chants get us started, possibly proving Tazz was over enough to get a little more exposure in the Alliance than he got. Tajiri lands a spinning heel kick only for the Human Wrecking Machine to grab him in an overhead belly to belly Tazplex. Tazz peppers him with forearm strikes, but keeps falling victim to Tajiri’s explosive martial arts shots. Cross armbreaker applied, looking to ground the Japanese athlete and neutralise some of that striking power. Tajiri escapes to hit the handspring elbow…but Tazz whips him off the apron soon afterwards to counter the springboard moonsault to the floor. Tarantula gets one of the biggest pops of the night, turning the favour in Taj’s favour once again. CAPTURE TAZPLEX counters more kicks! GREEN MIST! BUZZSAW KICK! Tajiri wins at 05:43, making the score 4-4
Rating - * - Initially I gave this 2*, but I realised I was only marking this up favourably because it was better than some other matches on the show. Most of this match was pretty dull, with both Tazz and Tajiri doing little more than going through the motions. A hot closing sequence made this one seem a lot more exciting than it actually was. Unlike most ECW guys, I’d argue that Tajiri is someone who got MUCH better once he’d signed for the WWF.
Hardcore Champion Jeff Hardy is doing his final stretches – with Matt Hardy warning him exactly how dangerous RVD is. Ironically, Van Dam then jumps him from behind with a chair. Ha ha…
Speaking of Hardcore, Bob Holly is at WWF New York berating a fan in a WCW shirt.
Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam – WWF Hardcore Title Match
You can tell from the look in his eyes as he comes through the curtain that RVD is extremely determined to make something of himself in the WWF. From the late-90’s to the close of the company, he was arguably the most over babyface in ECW. He was a record-breaking, undefeated TV Champion, produced critically-acclaimed matches and was undeniably extremely cool. Unlike Tazz or Raven, he was also right in his prime at this point, and had never sullied his reputation with a sh*tty run in one of the ‘big two’. His debut (with Tommy Dreamer) was one of the highlights of the Invasion angle, and he now challenges for the Hardcore Title against the WWF’s own resident ‘cool’ high-flier in Jeff Hardy. This is actually a rematch, with these two meeting back in 1997 as part of the ECW Invasion angle they were allowed to do to promote the Barely Legal ppv.
RVD shows his flexibility right away, as he and Jeff go through a CRAZY near-miss opening sequence. He’s also more over than Jeff, which is a serious feather in his cap. Sadly he starts thumb posing for the ‘RVD’ chants, and is punished with a dropkick to the spine. A double leg drop pin folds him in half for an early nearfall. Van Dam ducks a Hardy crossbody soon after, landing a standing moonsault. He then pisses HHH off by using his double underhook gourdbuster as a set-up to the Rolling Thunder for 2. In classic RVD fashion he then potatoes Jeff so hard you can hear the thud through the ring mics…and Hardy retaliates by shoving him off the top rope into the rails. Guardrail run lariat…COUNTERED as RVD jumps on the rails to meet him and club him off! The fight spills into the crowd, where Rob hits a MOONSAULT PRESS off a rail for 2! Not content with that, he suplexes Hardy onto the guardrails – leaving him in position for the SPINNING LEG DROP OFF THE APRON! He then takes an elongated bow to the Cleveland crowd as they continue loudly chanting for him. Hardy capitalises with a SUNSET FLIP BOMB TO THE FLOOR! The champion pulls out a huge ladder from under the ring…and climbs it only to be SHOVED OFF onto the concrete floor! Jeff beats him up the aisle with a chair…SO RVD CLOCKS HIM WITH A VAN DAM-INATOR OFF THE STAGE! Back in the ring he picks up a chair again, blasting Hardy with the Chair Surf dropkick. Split-legged moonsault countered with knees…and Jeff spikes Van Dam on his head with a DDT for 2! NECK DROP GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE TITLE BELT! RVD kicks out again! Jeff has been busted open (presumably hardway), and bleeds heavily as he misses the Swanton Bomb. RVD deposits the title belt over his chest then gives him the FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH to win it at 12:31
Rating - **** - There is no doubt in my mind that WWF knew they had a major star on their hands when they signed RVD. He wasn’t someone like Tazz, who lacked height but was over with fans because of his gimmick. He wasn’t someone like Raven who was a limited worker but a brilliant character artist and pro-wrestling thinker. He was a legitimately unique talent, with an undeniable x-factor and an ability to do things inside the ring that others simply couldn’t do. Whilst the majority of the new talent brought in for the Invasion angle was left to flounder and given minimal opportunities – WWF gave Van Dam a genuine shot. By giving him 12+ minutes and by booking him against Jeff, in an environment like this where he could do all the sh*t that made him so cool in ECW they gave him every chance of getting over. He rewarded that faith with a hell of a match (albeit one punctuated with the clumsy, stiff shots which blighted his career and ultimately started hampering his upwards momentum), and the crowd rewarded that faith by giving him a hero’s welcome. Other than Steve Austin, RVD was pretty much the most over guy all night. A show-stealing ppv debut match.
Vince, disappointed at losing control of the Hardcore Championship, calls in Kurt Angle and challenges him to step up and be a WWF leader in the Inaugural Brawl.
Torrie Wilson/Stacy Keibler vs Lita/Trish Stratus – Bra & Panties Match
Ironically Torrie and Stacy wound up being two of the more popular recruits from WCW. They were strikingly beautiful, with enough acting chops to make them instantly likeable. Neither of them are experienced in-ring workers though, meaning Trish and former WWF Women’s Champion Lita present a serious challenge for them – even though Trish and Lita have been struggling to get along.
Mick Foley comes out to guest ref his second match of the night. Lita, as the most competent wrestler in the contest, easily decks Stacy…whilst their counterparts roll around the ring in a classic catfight style. Stratus goes for Torrie’s shirt, but is cut off by Stacy. The WCW ladies amble into a shambolic double clothesline attempt…and rightly get dropped by Trish. Neither of them want to face Lita, forcing Lita to drag Keibler in and forcibly remove her shirt. Stacy runs away, and her bra is ill-fitting enough that she has to cup her breast to stop them from spilling out. She leads Lita into a trap from the waiting Torrie Wilson, allowing them to get her shirt off too. Lita misses a crossbody, as the WCW ladies botch a tag. Seriously. Torrie is the recipient of the world’s worst tag – coming in to stand on Trish’s hair and remove her shirt…only for Stratus to counter and flip her over to pull her pants off. Poetry In Motion clothesline by Team WWF…and Wilson is now stripped to her bra and panties. Lita gives Keibler the Moonsault and removes her pants for the win at 05:03
Rating - DUD - These four women are all stunning, so had this gone shorter I’d have given this an N/A rating. Unfortunately it was just too long and too sloppy for me to justify that I’m afraid. They’d all go on to become four of the most over divas on the roster in the next few years though.
That makes the scores 5-5 ahead of the main event. Stephanie, Shane and Paul E. have The Alliance team in a huddle. Everyone screams and shouts like lunatics…causing my neighbours to bang on the wall of my house as I'm watching this late at night
Vince slides into Steve Austin’s locker room, with Austin confirming he’s ‘the old Stone Cold’ tonight and isn’t here to sing, play guitar or hug.
SIDENOTE – For all the criticisms I’ve levelled at the Invasion angle, the video recap reminds me of what an AWESOME moment it was when you realised the hoard of wrestlers in the ring were all former ECW guys – and they all turned round in unison to attack WWF guys. And a similarly amazing moment when Freddie Blassie was wheeled in and stood up out of his wheelchair, encouraging the WWF team to fight.
Booker T/Diamond Dallas Page/Rhyno/Dudley Boyz vs Steve Austin/Kurt Angle/Chris Jericho/Undertaker/Kane
This is as close as the Invasion ever got to a genuine inter-promotional dream match. Booker T and DDP were WCW main event stars and both boasted multiple WCW World Title reigns. Rhyno makes the team largely due to his success since joining the WWF, but is remembered as the final ECW World Champion…whilst the Dudleyz turned on the WWF to join ECW, the promotion where they made their name and became legendary figures. Angle, Jericho and the Brothers Of Destruction are all motivated to fend off the invasion – but question marks remain over Steve Austin. He is WWF Champion and captain of the WWF team, and is seemingly back to being ‘the old Stone Cold’ after a couple of months spent hugging Vince McMahon. Vince, Shane, Stephanie and Paul E. are all at ringside for the match.
Undertaker doesn’t want to wait for everyone to enter, and kick-starts proceedings by attacking Page in the aisle. Everyone is involved in the brawl – culminating in a massive pop as the glass shatters and Austin makes his way out to stomp mudholes in as many Alliance members as possible. The match officially starts with Stone Cold making Rhyno his bitch to the delight of Mr McMahon. Booker and Jericho in next, and after a promising start once again it’s the WWF guy totally dominating. D-Von tags in with Kurt…and you see where this is going – he gets his ass kicked. Bubba Ray saves his half brother from a Kane Chokeslam, so the Big Red Machine settles for a back suplex instead. At last the Alliance get some serious offence with the Dudleyz joining forces to hit the back suplex neckbreaker combo. No worries WWF fans: Kane is back up beating down those pesky ‘other federation’ guys seconds later by hitting his top rope clothesline then tagging in Undertaker. The Deadman decides to fight the entire opposition team single-handedly and succeeds until DDP guillotines him over the top rope (so already he’s got twice as much offence in as he managed at King Of The Ring). Undertaker (reluctantly) is dropped into a DDT too, before a tag is made back to the WCW Champion. No need to sell for him Taker – he dusts off a flurry of Booker T’s strikes then flattens him with a running DDT, thus isolating Booker on the WWF’s side of the ring. T blocks the Stunner but is helpless to prevent Austin taking him out of the ring for a suplex on the floor. Y2J valiantly tries to put Booker in the Walls Of Jericho, but is prevented by Page…then throttled over the top rope by a combination of Booker and Bubba. Whilst in the ring The Alliance guys are being flattened, on commentary JR makes sure to bury them too by calling WCW’s style ‘stale and neutered’ and ECW’s style ‘stupid and career-shortening’.
Jericho is actually on the defensive for a few seconds, but only because both Dudley Boyz are in the ring beating him up…and it’s only brief as Angle gets the tag and, of course, starts beating both Dudleyz up by himself. DDP makes it 3-on-1, ensuring Kurt falls into a Bubba Bomb for 2. Rhyno makes a point of grabbing Kurt for a belly to belly suplex with Team WCW/ECW enjoy their first prolonged period of offence 17-minutes into the match. Booker T levels Angle with the Axe Kick, and barely gets through his Spinaroonie before Taker stomps in and slaps him around to remind him of his place. DDP gets a nearfall with a cobra clutch slam before leading the Alliance in a 5-on-1 stomp-fest after they trick the referee into missing Kurt’s hot tag to Austin. DDP drops Angle with the Diamond Cutter…prompting all 8 other guys to pile. Inadvertent Gore from Rhyno to Booker T! In the midst of it all Undertaker is back making Dallas Page his personal bitch…and even finds time to give WCW referee Charles Robinson a Last Ride. DDP runs away (again), pursued through the crowd by the Phenom. The Dudleyz assault Kane on the outside and position a table against the rails. No sweat, Kane Chokeslams D-Von THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! Rhyno joins Bubba Ray, and they wildly DOUBLE SUPLEX Kane through the Spanish announce table! RUNNING FOOTBALL TACKLE THROUGH A TABLE from Jericho to Rhyno! It seems like the entire field of athletes is down outside the ring, with Booker and Kurt still legal apparently. Angle rallies, dropping Booker with a German suplex, then taking out Bubba with an Olympic Slam. Shane dives in to attack his father…so Kurt clocks his great rival Shane McMahon. ANKLELOCK ON BOOKER! HE TAPS! There’s no ref though – and in storms Austin to GIVE ANGLE THE STUNNER! Booker pins Angle at 29:04
Rating - ** - I really hate this match on so many levels. I can’t give it as low a rating as I would have liked to, because the last five minutes or so are undeniably HOT…but the booking is just so stubbornly pro-WWF it’s simply moronic. There is literally zero point in booking this invasion angle if you have no intention of ever making the ‘invaders’ look even halfway competent. Most of this match was a joke. WWF guys would dominate, no-selling as much offence as possible (particularly if it was from Booker, DDP or Rhyno), and an Alliance guy would only ever be allowed to gain any kind of offensive advantage from cheating, or using superior numbers to overwhelm a ‘heroic’ WWF fighter. And that’s before you get down to the ridiculous Austin turn at the end. Whilst I really don’t agree with Austin turning to join the Alliance at all, if you’re going to go down that route at least do it well. Why the f*ck would he fight the other team for the whole match…then turn on them at the end? It sounds stupid, because it IS stupid. They’d come up with the perfect angle for him, with Vince shunning his love and demanding the ‘old Stone Cold’. They’d shown Austin as depressed, drinking at a bar and feeling unloved. They could have gone the Hogan/Bash route, or the Homicide/ROH vs CZW route whereby Austin sits out most of the match. WCW/ECW dominate because they have a 5-on-4 advantage (assuming Undertaker doesn’t decide he just wants to beat their entire team by himself to stroke his own ego). Then have the glass shatter near the end of the match, the place explodes thinking ‘the old Stone Cold’ is here to save the day then WHAM, he turns with the Stunner on Angle. I can’t write this off as a terrible main event, because for the most part, in terms of what was happening in the ring, it was fine. But it was ultimately a hugely infuriating and disappointing main event to round off a big fat farting anti-climax of a ppv to kick off the biggest missed storyline opportunity in professional wrestling history.
Just to make the point that this is WWF’s show, Booker’s music is shut off so they can play Austin’s music instead. In fact, all the actual Alliance wrestlers clear off to leave Austin, Heyman and the McMahon siblings frolicking in the ring. Heaven forbid the WCW/ECW guys get to look good by celebrating victory…
Tape Rating - * - Even at the time people were really unenthused about this card. Excitement should have been at fever pitch for this – WWF guys, ECW guys and WCW guys all fighting on the same card. It should have been a legendary event. But a combination of poor booking choices, massive egos and a lack of desire to get the real top tier WCW talent off their sofas meant this was a wet fish of a show. Jeff Hardy and RVD saved it to an extent, with Van Dam delivering the kind of performance which made a huge splash with WWF fans and ensured he’d have a job no matter how much the Alliance storyline tanked. The Inaugural Brawl still makes me so angry now, well over a decade later. Skip this for all you’re worth, but track down Hardy/RVD on some kind of compilation. The sad part is, this ppv wound up doing record numbers for a ppv outside of the 'Big Four'. What a colossal missed opportunity to kick themselves out of the post-Mania slump.
Top 3 Matches
3) Booker T/Diamond Dallas Page/Rhyno/Dudley Boyz vs Steve Austin/Kurt Angle/Chris Jericho/Undertaker/Kane (**)
2) Edge & Christian vs Mike Awesome/Lance Storm (***)
1) Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam (****)