Julian cannon back again for another post. this time it is a look back between the crossover between WWE and ECW. in feburary 1997, ECW accepted Jerry Lawler’s challenge to appear on raw the following week. Paul Heyman did just that along with many other ECW wrestlers. a few months later at wrestlepalooza 97, Tommy Dreamer finally defeated raven and sent him packing to “dubya see dubya” (WCW). moments after, the lights go out and come back and RVD and Sabu attacks Tommy with a chair. Dreamer gets the upper hand until the lights go out and come back on, and Jerry Lawler is seen in the ring. When the fans first saw him, it was chaos and they looked like they wanted to kill him, what made this even better is that most of the locker room tried to make the save but RVD and Sabu got everyone out the ring. Jerry Lawler would also insult the ECW fans and Tommy Dreamer, with one of his most famous lines of the attack “this bingo hall should be build out of toilet paper because there is nothing in it but SHIT”.. Although that was a great line, the fans didn’t take it that well. so the attack continues until Taz gets in the ring and clears the ring from the attackers.
Lawler would then cut “anti ECW” promos, then Tommy would cut some about Lawler and the WWE. then on July 7th 1997, Jerry Lawler and now Jim Cornette interrupts the main event of that evening between Tommy dreamer and the sandman vs RVD and Sabu and all four of the put a beating to Dreamer and Sandman. As stated by Dreamer on the rise and fall of ECW, Jerry Lawler hit Tommy Dreamer in the testicles with a kendo stick, which caused him to be rushed to the emergency room for him to get blood pumped out..and to the women who read this, don’t hit a guy in that area lol.
a few weeks later on heatwave 97, Dreamer cut a promo on Lawler and challenged him to a match at hardcore heaven 97, which was also ECW’s second PPV. Lawler accepted and during that match, Jake Roberts and sunny made their appearance at the PPV but Dreamer won the match. Jerry Lawler has said many times that he hates ECW, that is a shoot right there and he was not lying. Lawler also stated that the first night he was there, he was very scared of what would happen if he left the arena. some good came out of this feud.
1. RVD’s other nickname “Mr. Monday night” was given to him by Lawler
2.ECW got more exposure from the national audience
3.the Sandman vs Sabu feud started from this angle, which was important because before the Lawler invasion, these two never fought in a one on one match
4.the night ECW came back to RAW was the first time Monday night RAW was changed to raw is war
5. we get to see RVD’s first match in the WWE against a then unknown Jeff hardy.
6.although Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman don’t see eye to eye a lot of times, they always knew that this is business and the fans is the number 1 thing on their mind
I am back with another post, this time, the sequel to the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time, This time it will be the top 10 best wrestling gimmicks of all time
10. The Boogeyman
Like many gimmicks on this list, the Boogeyman gimmick remains a cult favorite with a lot of fans. Marty Wright got booted from Tough Enough for lying about his age, but got what he wanted out of the deal anyway. WWE saw potential in him, and he ended up with the Boogeyman gimmick. Wright embraced the gimmick wholeheartedly. You really couldn’t have asked for more. His recitation of nursery rhymes, combined with his mannerisms made what should have been a ridiculous gimmick something not only believable, but occasionally creepy. The crawling, the fantastic makeup, and the mouthful of worms combined to make WWE’s version definitely creepier than the Boogeyman from The Ghostbusters cartoon. Wright lasted nearly four years off and on with WWE with this gimmick, and scored several high profile wins over talent such as JBL and Booker T. Boogeyman remains proof that any gimmick can be successful if talent is willing to sell out for it to make it work.
9.Gangrel
The Vampire Warrior gimmick began in Memphis in the USWA, which has been home to several outlandish gimmicks. He parlayed that into a job with the World Wrestling Federation, thanks to Bruce Pritchard and Vince Russo, who felt that a vampire gimmick had legs. The character was fleshed out a bit by giving it a gothic twist, similar to what fans had seen in the screen adaptation of Interview With A Vampire. However, the true influence for the character came from the game Vampire: The Masquerade. Much like The Boogeyman, the behind the gimmick (David Heath) embraced it wholeheartedly and made it work. He would be given a couple of lackeys – Edge and Christian – in a stable called The Brood. It could be argued that a big part of the success Heath enjoyed is due to the Brood’s intro, because this was the greatest entrance ever. Gangrel could deliver in the ring, though. Everything about this gimmick worked, from blood baths to the spitting of the blood to his participating in the Ministry with The Undertaker.
8.Latin American Exchange
These three men took the world of pro-wrestling by storm, in many ways. They were a very unique team with Konnan on board, as the revolution began in TNA. The team of Homicide and Hernandez would capture many championships, Have their own Commentator table, and along with many bloody battles along the way, with names such as The New Age Outlaws, The Dudleys, Beer Money, and AJ Styles and Daniels. It’s been prove true over the past few years, there is nothing like the original as The Latin American Xchange can never be duplicated.Clearly they were the best group in TNA until the Main Event Mafia in 2008.
7.Sting
ting is arguably the most popular wrestler of all-time. He was named “Most Popular Wrestler of the Year” four times by PWI, which is more than any other wrestler.
He became known as WCW’s “Franchise” and was its most important star from the late ’80s until the company folded in 2001.
Sting is currently the only wrestler to ever win the NWA, WCW and TNA world titles and is considered by many to be the best wrestler to never step foot in a WWE ring.
Sting was WCW’s brightest star in the ’90s along with his trademark blonde flattop and various face paints.
Sting feuded with many of the company’s biggest stars including Sid Vicious, Lex Luger, The Great Muta, Cactus Jack, Vader, Nikita Koloff, Rick Rude and most famously Ric Flair.
Flair and Sting feuded for years and it was Sting who would defeat Flair in the last WCW match ever.The most dramatic moment of Sting’s career happened in 1996. Sting traded in his bright blonde hair and carefree persona and transformed into a gloomy and dark Sting.The new Sting wore all black, covered his face in white paint and would often descend from the rafters during shows. Sting would not speak on WCW programming for over a year.It was during this time period that WCW held a distinct edge over the WWE in the Monday night ratings “war.”Some of WCW’s success had to be attributed to the presence of Sting. Many fans tuned into the WCW programming to find out if and when Sting would make his next appearance.In December of 1997, Sting captured the WCW title from Hulk Hogan in the main event of Starrcade.Sting continued with WCW until the company was bought out in 2001.Sting joined the TNA wrestling company in 2006 where he still competes under the same name.
The man they call Sting is one of the greatest professional wrestling stars ever.
6.Raven
Raven – yes raven this guy was deeply disturbed he wore all black and looked like he would kill you and in his mind he probably was.From Scotty Flamingo in WCW , to Johnny polo in WWF, Raven Would soon land in ECW on January 1995 . Raven IMO is singlely the most underrated, underutilized character ever! Raven was this character that could go in many different directions . He was an ECW hardcore legend he put on some of the most extreme matches in ecw history with Tommy dreamer,The Sandman and Justin credible . Look at the promo work he did to he was able to be well worded with his work to he was able to run with emotions that IMO I believe other wrestlers look back and look to feed on. The funny thing is this guy could work the heel so well his character was made for it but he was able to get the fans behind him. In WWE,TNA,WCW and ECW, this guy had a gift maybe because deep in our minds we understand him. He won quite a few titles but when he got into wwe it seemed like they were to scared to push him I would loved to see him and Kane or undertaker feud I really would
5.Goldust
Yes Goldust I agree with a comment Mean Gene or Mick Foley said Without Goldust you might have never seen an attitude era, But then again it was ECW involvement and Brian Pillman’s “Pillman got a gun” segment.But anyways, I mean he was the man that started it pushing the envelope you never saw anything like it I mean you didn’t know what he was gonna say or do next. He not only should be on there because of that but because he deiced to take himself out of bein dusty son. He was also very good in the ring and I always just wondered that if it wasn’t for back stage politics how far he could of gone. Goldust was able to draw heat and gain fans especially during his rivalry with Lawler and his team up with Booker t.Scott Hall even said in an interview one time that he did not want to work with that guy because of the gimmick. Goldust will never get the credit he deserves – Cody Rhodes. I agree with that he never will I honestly think he should be IMO in the Hall of fame.But we will never know
4.Kane
Kane has evolved through the years, becoming at times a comedic character. He’s been masked and unmasked, heel and face. Way back when, though, the character was inspired by one of the great horror icons. Glen Jacobs himself has said that his portrayal of Kane was heavily influenced by none other than Michael Myers, the antagonist of Halloween. Despite the obvious differences in color patterns, the similarities are there – a slighted brother hellbent on destruction, the mask, remaining silent for years. In his early days, and occasionally in the years since, Kane was an indestructible force that was constantly moving forward. As time has gone by, there have been layers added to the character. At its roots, though, the Kane figure remains a dominant monster in WWE. For me, the night he took of that mask in 2003 is the greatest moment in the history for the big red machine
3.Mankind
The original idea for this character was “Mason the Mutilator”, a name dreamed up by Vince McMahon. Foley himself suggested the change, and the rest is history. Long before Mankind was a lovable underdog, he was a monster. Mankind was originally a masochistic sort that lived in boiler rooms, tucked away from society. Once he was brought into society, he was a force of destruction. Seemingly incapable of controlling himself, Mankind was prone to acts of violence and screeching fits of masochism in the middle of the ring. Mick Foley has always been able to deliver on the microphone, and his eloquent monologues and understanding of the value of vocal inflections allowed Mankind to become a very unsettling character on WWF television in the mid-90’s. Even now, watching the interview segment that results in Jim Ross having the Mandible Claw applied to him by Mankind gives me an uneasy feeling. Mankind is one of the truly great characters in wrestling history.
2.John Cena (rapper)
I’m still in shock over this.
When he debuted in the WWE, John Cena was one of the bland, faceless blue chippers. The only thing that made him stand out were his pastel tights. And then, one day, Stephanie McMahon caught him free-style rapping. Thus, Cena ditched the colorful shorts and put on some jean shorts as he adopted a white rapper gimmick. “Well, that’s it for Cena,” I thought.
And a weird thing happened. Fans started to root for him. This totally blew my mind. A rap gimmick hardly works for black wrestlers. Does anyone remember the No Limit Soldiers? Me neither. It’s even worse for white wrestlers. I mean, when I think of white rappers, I think of pop culture jokes like Vanilla Ice and Snow… and of a barely remembered tag team known as PG-13. How is this black hole of a gimmick actually getting John Cena over?
Then Cena took it to the next level. He started wearing throwback jerseys and pump shoes. He blinged out the US Title. OK, I thought, maybe fans are OK with white rappers since the Eminem thing. But Eminem’s not the kind of guy you associate with the “bling.” And Cena was also starting to do stupid puns revolving around the words “deez nutz.” Fans are going to turn on him soon, aren’t they?
In less than a year, Cena would ride the “white rapper” gimmick all the way to the WWE Heavyweight Title.
Oh, sure, eventually some fans would get tired of the gimmick and start booing Cena. And Cena would gradually drop the more overt aspects of his persona (like the rap offs) to become a superstar reminscent of Hulk Hogan. But that doesn’t change the fact that Cena parlayed a “white rapper” gimmick into one of the longest title reigns in WWF/WWE history.
1. The Undertaker
When the Undertaker debuted, it was assumed that it would be just another cartoonish gimmick that faded away relatively quickly. Instead, the character gained a cult following even as a vicious heel, and survived longer than most gimmicks – cartoonish or not – do in professional wrestling. The Undertaker has become an iconic character, the “franchise” of WWE, and an attraction unto himself. The original look for the Undertaker was based on the morticians of the old west, and the close relationship with death was enough to make people uneasy. His affinity for locking people in caskets and undead appearance furthered the effectiveness of the gimmick. As the years went on, The Undertaker became a cult leader, a biker, returned to his undead persona before becoming something of an undefined supernatural force. No matter how often this topic is revisited, or how far into the future it goes, it’s going to be virtually impossible to knock The Undertaker off this perch.
The number one way to make money in pro wrestling is with a great feud. Nothing draws bigger at the box office than a rivalry pitting good vs. evil. Today I spotlight one of professional wrestling’s greatest feuds.
Raven vs.Tommy Dreamer
In speaking of pro wrestling’s greatest feuds, one of the greatest from the last decade began locally in the city of Philadelphia, PA.
Extreme Championship Wrestling was in the early stages of a revolution in 1995 that arguably changed the industry forever. The days of boring matches, intelligence-insulting storylines, and characters you couldn’t relate to were over. ECW would bring their fans closer to their heroes and villains than any other company in the history of the business.
In walked Scott Levy. Levy, just out of the WWF under the name, “Johnny Polo” where he went from an in ring talent to an outside of the ring employee. Tape collectors who followed Scott Levy from his early days in Portland, to trips through Memphis, Global, and WCW were aware of his talents. At this stage in the game, it was truly a make or break career move for Levy to go from the WWF to ECW under a completely different gimmick.
Tommy Dreamer entered ECW as a muscle headed jock with overalls, and a pretty-boy smile. His in ring talents were never questioned, however the character became the antithesis of everything ECW fans hated about pro wrestling. Tommy would morph his character from smile to grunt as he became angry, took off the overalls, donned black pants and a black t-shirt, came back for beating after beating, and completely reinvented himself to something the fans could identify with.
The feud started when Stevie Richards began wearing some of Scott Levy’s old ring jackets to the ring. Richards and Dreamer had some altercations, and Levy would emerge as Raven.
Raven wore t-shirts, ripped jeans, and was anything but the “Scotty Flamingo” character Levy portrayed in WCW. Raven was dark, evil, manipulating, a cross between Jim Jones, Jim Morrison, and the scary kid who walked the school halls alone with little to no friends.
The back story to their rivalry was that the two were friends from summer camp. As kids, Dreamer got all of the girls and had all of the friends, while Raven was a loner. The two became rivals then, and this would continue into ECW. Raven hated Dreamer and Dreamer learned to hate Raven.
Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven turned into the longest running feud in ECW history. Starting in 1995 and continuing through 2000 when the two became a hostile team. Not enough credit is given to Dreamer, Levy, and booker Paul Heyman for sustaining fan interest over such a long period of time. On paper the storyline looks rather ridiculous. But the emotion, the intensity, the hate, the drama, the twists and turns in the story, and the tremendous abilities of Levy and Dreamer made it work.
The golden years of the feud were from 1995-1997. During this time period Dreamer and Raven had wrestled each other at least once just about every weekend, in every kind of match possible. Raven would include his crew of followers which included Beulah McGuillity, Mick Foley, the B.W.O, and others. In a business today where wins and losses are forgotten by the week, Dreamer was never able to beat Raven. During that time period the frustration and angst that Dreamer would carry with him into the ring against Raven made for wrestling heaven for ECW fans.
Their matches were the last of a dying breed of old-school brawls. The two would brawl all over the arena, come back to the ring, wrestle, brawl all over ringside, use chairs, ladders, tables, bleed buckets, and leave the fans standing on their feet yelling, “ECW” in unison.
In 1997 ECW took the company to a whole new level by entering the world of pay-per-view. WCW started to take them seriously, and raided ECW by signing then champion Raven. Raven and Dreamer had what was billed as their final encounter at Wrestlepalooza in an old-school “Loser Leaves Town” match.
This presented an interesting scenario to everyone involved in this at the time. The ECW fans read the Internet, read the newsletters, and were already aware of Raven’s signing with WCW. The news would obviously telegraph the result of the match. Behind the scenes up until the match, Raven had politicked hard to win the match, completely throwing off logic and the fans. Would Paul Heyman go the traditional route and do what was right for business or leave the fans stunned?
The two had one of the greatest ECW matches of all-time. The fans went nuts from start to finish. Unlike in the past where fans would split down the middle, this was bigger than Raven vs. Dreamer. This was now WCW vs. ECW and there was nothing more the ECW fans hated more than WCW.
The match itself was even more of a roller coaster ride than their previous wars. Dreamer, Raven and everyone involved wrestled this match as if they were in the main-event of WrestleMania. The match featured tons of interference, foreign objects, and twists and turns. Every time the fans expected the match to end, someone would kick out and the war would continue. This wasn’t about a championship it was about life to these two men.
Tommy Dreamer eventually won the match. The war was over, Raven was leaving for WCW, Dreamer theoretically represented ECW by killing off the (WCW) enemy, and the book on this feud was complete. Or so the fans had thought.
Just like great feuds of the past including Dundee-Lawler, Freebirds-Von Erichs, Flair-Steamboat, the feud would see new life several years later. Just like those great feuds of the past, the feud would never come close to reaching earlier proportions the second time around.
Raven would return to ECW three years later from WCW. A new twist of the feud saw Raven and Dreamer strike a small truce and win the ECW World Tag Team titles. The constant tension between the two provided for some great teases that never seemed to get off of the ground. Some things are better left untouched.
Also to note, they are the only two to have a feud in ECW,WWE and TNA
Hey Guys, I am back for another post. The last time I went to a WWE house show was in madison square garden back in march. It was worth my 90 bucks so here is some tips for attending an event.
5. Follow The Product
Did you know that Bret Hart will be on Raw this week?
Do you know that CM punk and Paul Heyman are teasing something for this monday?
How many fans know that a 95 pound girl – AJ – is running Raw now?
This is what I mean. Of course, the diehard fans will know what is going on. However, not everybody there keeps up with the story lines. Lots of them are just there to enjoy a show. By following the product, It will be much more engaging and an enjoyable show with knowing what’s going on.
4. Leave Your House Early
Trust me! I have been to well over 40 wrestling shows. From small shows from ECW when I was a kid, to WWE pay-per-views, you have to be ready to go.
Upon the doors to the arena opening, it is just pure chaos. I hope you are ready for thousands of fans all running to their seats. It may seem like I am exaggerating here, but I am not.
I have been to a lot of WWE events, and all but two have I been early and on time. The few that I was running late were not very fun to deal with. Not fun at all…Add scanning tickets, getting a drink, using the restroom, getting food (I usually don’t), and you have a lot more on your hands.That is not even considering the huge crowd around the merchandise stands! The newest (or best) shirts always sell out BEFORE the show even begins. It sounds redundant, but leave your house early and avoid all of this rush!
3. Signs/Posters
Who doesn’t love “Sign Guy?”
When going to a WWE show, make sure you have some creative ideas for signs. A poster can not only add some fun to the show, but it can land you on TV!
That is a very cool thing to think about. In front of millions of people, you could be replayed in video packages and in WWE Magazine photos for years to come.
Of all the events I have gone to, only a few times have I gone without a poster. More often that not, I make up a few nice “quotes” a few hours before the show and write them on a big poster. Very cool!
2. Pick Your Poison
When going to a WWE event, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. The last thing you want to do is bring a “Negative Ned or Nelly” and be sitting next to him/her for over three hours.
That can’t be fun.
Every move creates a negative comment under their breath. Every rest hold brings out a loud “boring” chant. Every finish warrants a “cynical, insulting” response. As always, there is a fine line between freedom of speech and ruining a show for others around you.
How do these people EVER enjoy a Wrestling show?
I often wonder. In my case, I have a lot of positive energy surrounding me in life. Thus, I have no doubts the WWE show is going to be a great time!
1.Don’t forget your tickets!!
Every time I go to see a sporting, musical or any other entertainment event, there is only one concern. Just one to worry about!
“Do you have tickets?”
You can get into a show without a poster. You can get into a show if you are late. You can get into a show if you are alone. You can get into a show if you do not follow the product.
However, you NEED a proof of purchase (ticket). It may sound like the most obvious choice, but it is also the most important.
Some of these moments may not seem extreme today but back when they occurred they were. You have to look at many of these events and remember that at the time the WWF was running angles between guys with day jobs trying to prove that their job was better than the other guys. ECW revolutionized the business and was always a step ahead of popular culture. You will also notice that many of the events include fan participation which is the reason why the fans would not let ECW die.
please note that some of these were mentioned in the rise and fall of ecw and forever hardcore dvds
1. Lesbian Kiss
The in-ring kiss between Beulah McGillicutty and Kimona Wanalaya took place while lesbianism was still taboo. Once the kiss aired, ECW lost several affiliates and lost their timeslot in other areas. This event almost forced ECW to close their doors five years too early. Since 1996, several events have taken place to make lesbianism on TV not a taboo topic. Since this event, the WWE has run several lesbian angles.
2. Mass Transit Incident
When Axl Rotten no showed a match, a rookie named Eric “Mass Transit” Kulas took his place. Unfortunately, he was underage and did not know how to cut himself. He allowed New Jack to cut him which turned out to be a very bad idea. Because his skin was not cut before, New Jack had to cut him extra hard with his machete type weapon and the wound became a gusher. When footage of this event got out, ECW lost their spot on PPV. It took a fans write in campaign to get ECW back onto PPV.
3. Shane tosses the NWA title
This was the event that made ECW extreme. Shane won a tournament to win the NWA title. The reason it was held in ECW was because they were the NWA affiliate with the best TV coverage. After winning the belt, Shane declared that he didn’t want to be champion of a company that died several years earlier and declared himself the first ECW World Champion. Except for Paul Heyman and Todd Gordon, no other representatives of the NWA had any idea that Shane was going to humiliate them.
4. A WWF wrestler beats a WCW wrestlers to win the ECW title
Mike Awesome was the ECW champion when he signed with WCW. After a lot of legal wrangling, it was decided that he would lose a match so ECW could get the title back. ECW chose for Tazz to take the belt off of Awesome. At the time, Tazz was in the WWF and Vince McMahon loved the idea of one of his wrestlers beating a WCW wrestler. He also loved the idea of Tazz then losing a match to Triple H on SmackDown! while still holding the ECW title.
5. Chair Tossing
One of the most famous events in the history of ECW was the chair tossing incident. After a match between Terry Funk and Cactus Jack in 1995, The Public Enemy interfered and battled both men. At one point, Funk asked a fan for a chair while in the ring. Instead of one chair, several dozen came flying in the ring and buried The Public Enemy. This moment is etched into every ECW fans memory because it has been replayed hundreds of times in the opening credits of ECW’s TV shows.
6. Fan Set on Fire
During a match between Tommy Dreamer and Cactus Jack, both Raven and Terry Funk interfered. Cactus tried to hit Terry with a chair that had a burning towel on it. The towel came off and burned Funk who then let the towel get into the audience. Security shot off fire extinguishers as the arena lights were shut off for an angle involving Dreamer and Raven. As you can guess, pandemonium erupted in the arena. Mick Foley discusses the incident and fans lawsuits in his first two books.
7. Ring Collapsing
In the early era of ECW, the fans were a big part of the show. They used to bring weapons to the arena for their favorite wrestlers to use on their opponent. As a way of thanking the fans for their support, The Public Enemy invited them into the ring to celebrate after a match. Too many fans entered the ring and it collapsed. Fortunately, no one was injured.
8. Spike Dudley Body Surf
During a match against Bam Bam Bigelow, Spike Dudley was pressed over Bam Bam’s head. Bam Bam then threw Spike several rows into the crowd. Instead of letting their hero fall, the fans caught Spike in mid-air. While in the fans grasp, Spike was bodysurfing throughout the crowd.
9. The Crucifixion
During the feud between Raven and The Sandman over The Sandman’s son, Raven instructed his flock to crucify The Sandman. The crowd went silent and Kurt Angle, making his debut in ECW, threatened to sue the company if he was shown as being a part of this. Raven then came out to apologize to the crowd. This is the only time a wrestler was forced to apologize for his actions in ECW. Footage of this event was not seen until several years after the demise of ECW.
10. Sandman Drunk & Mooning Incident
The Sandman loves his alcohol and usually drinks several on his way to the ring. Prior to an 8 man tag team match in Florida in 2000, The Sandman showed the crowd a little more than they wanted to see. After mooning the crowd a few times, he proceeded to take his pants down exposing his “other Singapore cane” to the crowd. He then proceeded to jump up and down in only his shirt while Tommy Dreamer tried to put his underwear back on.
Welcome back to another episode of Wrestleshock Reviews. This is the 5th episode of the reviews and hope you are all enjoying what the show is doing!
Chris has a few reviews for you and has a very special guest to help him review another dvd. Chris first looks at the Elimination Chamber 2012 courtesy of Silvervision.co.uk – Chris goes over the good and the bad (the “great” khali) of the PPV and was this better than the previous release in the Royal Rumble 2012? What are your thoughts on this?
Hayley Stewart (hayleythetiny on twitter and xswantongirlyx on Youtube) sends in an mp3 file to review the fantastic DVD release of Trish Stratus 100% stratusfaction guaranteed. With Hayley being a big diva fan, she dissects the DVD and lets you know her thoughts on this.
Chris then has a fan request to review one dvd and that was Paul “Spanner” Yorke who asked for Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen to be reviewed so Chris obliges and goes through the set on one of the best factions of all time! Does the 2 DVD disc set do justice to the newly inducted Hall of Famers?
Follow the show on Twitter – @Wrestleshock316, Chris @Vinto316 and Hayley @Hayleythetiny. Is there a DVD that you want reviewed? Check out Chris’ DVD collection by heading to youtube and checking out Chris’ collection video. Vintomania is his account name!
Eleven Years ago, The WWF bought WCW and people thought the dream scenarios and matches would become a reality. But unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Instead WWF crushed the Atlanta groups name, buried most of the stars and moved on with business as usual. I thought a fun column would be me re-booking the Invasion and seeing if it could be more fun. So lets take a fantasy trip back to 2001. On TV, Shane McMahon had bought WCW. Fans all over the world were anxiously awaiting the Invasion they thought they’d never see. So let’s say Vince McMahon had bought out Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Ric Flair, Goldberg, Sting and Scott Steiner’s contracts in addition to the stars they had. Maybe the invasion would have been different and fans would have gotten some of the dream matches they wanted. I’m going to book this from April 2001. Shane McMahon has bought WCW, Austin has turned heel and The Rock has left. So with all those pieces set in place, here’s what could have happened……..
April 23rd 2001 – Monday Night RAW
The show starts with Mr McMahon coming to the ring to talk about this Sunday’s epic main event where the WWF Tag Team Champions Undertaker and Kane take on IC Champ Triple H and WWF Champ Stone Cold. Vince says its winner take all and he has decided to make things fair. He will be in the corner of HHH/Stone Cold at Backlash. Later on that night, there’s a huge brawl in the ring with The Brothers of Destruction and the Two Man Power Trip. Vince gets in the ring with a chair ready to take out the Undertaker when Shane McMahon’s music hits and Shane, Taker and Kane chase Austin, HHH and Vince out of the ring. Shane announces that he spoke with Linda McMahon and she feels the fans would want to see things equal this Sunday so Shane will be in the Brothers of Destruction’s corner at Backlash.
Backlash 2001 – April 29th 2001
The main event match for all the WWF titles went around 20 minutes. Vince tries to get involved in the match when Shane grabs a chair and smacks Vince in the head with the chair knocking him out. Triple H and Kane start brawling into the stands, leaving Stone Cold and Undertaker in the ring. Austin goes for the stunner, when Taker counters it and smashes Austin with a chokeslam. The deadman sets up Stone Cold for the last ride. Taker has the belt won, when Shane McMahon sneaks up behind Taker and cracks a chair over the back of his head while the referee is attending to Vince. Austin stuns Taker and covers him for the three count. Stone Cold and Triple H are the new WWF Tag Team Champions and Shane McMahon has reunited with his father as the pay per view goes off the air.
RAW – May 21st 2001
Over the past few weeks, Shane and Vince have been abusing their power all over WWF TV with Austin and Triple H triumphing every week. The first match on this show is the Hardy Boyz against X-Factor. The Hardyz win and as they celebrate the camera cuts backstage to a limo pulling up and out steps Linda McMahon. Linda comes out to the ring and before she can make her announcement, Shane and Vince come out and cockily tell Linda she should go home and bake cookies and leave business to them. As they leave, Linda says that, as they know, she has just as much power around the WWF as they do. She heard about their plans for WCW, to drive it into the ground and make sure everyone on the WCW payroll is put out of business for good. Linda says she couldn’t let Vince and Shane do this to the people of WCW, so since the company is the property of the WWF, she sold WCW earlier on today. Vince and Shane are going crazy in the ring. Linda assures them that she isn’t going to leave them out of the deal. They will all get a third of the price from the sale. Linda then hands Shane and Vince one dollar each and points out that later that night Austin and HHH must defend their tag title against Jericho and Benoit. As Linda leaves, fans wonder who bought WCW and Vince and Shane are irate that WCW was sold for $3 just to stick it to them.
King of the Ring – June 24th 2001
Triple H tore his quad on the May 21st RAW. The Undertaker’s wife stalker angle never happened. At K.O.T.R, The main event is Jericho one on one with Austin for the WWF title. The match is nearing its end when there is a referee bump and Austin hits the Stunner. As this happens you see Vince laid out cold backstage with a pair of boots standing beside him. But the camera doesn’t pan up to who it is. You hear backstage agents like Michael Hayes and Brisco shouting for security. Austin will look very confused in the ring. Then as Austin turns to attend to Jericho, all you hear is the fans going insane as Goldberg runs into the ring in street clothes. Austin turns round and Goldberg gives him a brutal spear that takes Austin out and Goldberg jumps the guard rail and fleets the arena as all the WWF talent and security run to the ring. In the ring, Jericho puts his arm over Austin and the ref counts to three and Chris Jericho becomes the WWF Champion as the pay per view goes off the air with mayhem!
RAW – June 25th 2001, Madison Square Garden
The show starts with Vince, Austin, Steph and Shane coming out to the ring. Austin rips into Goldberg and says he’s not stupid, it’s obvious Goldberg is part of WCW and he cost Austin his title! Vince takes the mic and says whoever is behind WCW, he’s ordering them to meet him in the ring later on the show, live to deal with this face to face. Jericho defend his belt in a 30 minute classic with Benoit live. Vince is in the ring and he says he wants the man that bought WCW to show his face right now! Eric Bischoff walks out to the stage as the crowd boo the crap out of Easy E. Vince laughs and said he knew it would be Bischoff, it’s so obvious. Bischoff goes from smiling to confused. Bischoff tells McMahon that he isn’t behind WCW. He’s here to tell Vince he’s looking for a job. Vince tells Bischoff that he can think of nothing better than to have RAW announced by Jim Ross, Paul Heyman and ERIC BISCHOFF! He tells Eric to take his seat at the commentary table. JR and Heyman look outraged that they’ll have to work with Bischoff. As Bischoff takes his seat at the announce table, fans in the crowd start going wild as WCW Start walkng down the stands towards ringside led by Ric Flair. He leads down Booker T, Sting,DDP, Goldberg, Buff Bagwell, Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire and Rey Mysterio. Vince looks in shock as Flair starts Woooo’ing and the WWF stars flock to the ring to be with Vince. You have Austin, Jericho, Benoit, Taker, Kane, APA, Edge, Christian. Flair jumps the guardrail at the announce table and grabs a mic. Vince yells “Let him speak” Flair tells Vince, that he should thank his wife for selling WCW back to Flair because now Flair intends to make Vince regret every single time he talked down about WCW and threatened to put them out of business. Security come out and it looks like everyone’s gonna face off as Raw goes off the air. The fans have no clue what’s going to happen.
RAW – July 23rd
After last month’s RAW, Vince promised we wouldn’t see the WCW wrasslers anymore. Over the weeks, WCW wrestlers would attack WWF stars in various ways. DDP, Booker T etc. Sting would turn up in the rafters twice only during the Undertaker’s matches. In July there’s a Fully Loaded pay per view where Austin wins back the WWF Championship from Jericho. The next night on RAW, Vince McMahon comes out to the ring for a celebration of Stone Cold winning back his title. Linda McMahon appears on the titantron saying she has great news. She just came from a Board of Directors meeting and during the WCW invasions and WCW stars being on TV, ratings have skyrocketed and the board want this to be dealt with accordingly. The Board have decided that for one month, WCW stars will be allowed to come to RAW and SmackDown for the fans to see their favourite WCW stars. They will NOT be allowed to wrestle or interfere in matches. In one month at SummerSlam, Vince McMahon will see active competition and on the line will be the SmackDown show. If Vince wins, no WCW star will ever be allowed near a WWF event, however, if Vince’s opponent wins, SmackDown will be no longer and after SummerSlam, every Thursday night on UPN we will see two hours of WCW NITRO! Linda passingly remarks “Oh and Vince, I’d suggest you start training because your opponent is a 16 time World Heavyweight Champion and his name’s Ric Flair!” Flair comes out to his music with Vince going ape in the ring. Flair makes his way down to the ring as Austin’s music hits. Austin and Vince corner Flair when Goldberg’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Goldberg and Austin square off face to face before WCW and WWF undercard stars come out and separate the two. Flair promises Vince that at SummerSlam he’ll kick his ass and take his show.
SummerSlam – August 19th 2001
During the end of July, The Rock returned, setting up SummerSlam’s main event as Rock challenged Austin for the WWF title. After the first match on the show, Vince is in the back and promises, no matter what, tomorrow night on RAW he will make an announcement that will shake down the foundation of the WWF to its very core. The Flair and Vince match is brutal with Vince blading and after several interferences from both WWF and WCW competitors, Flair figure four’s Vince and he taps as WCW Nitro is back.
RAW – August 20th 2001
Austin retained the WWF Championship at SummerSlam and starts a feud with Kurt Angle on RAW. Vince comes out at the end of the show and says he never thought he’d have to do what he’s about to do. WCW is a cancer to Titan Sports. For now they run the show on Thursday nights and there’s nothing he can do about it, but if he knows anything about WCW, he knows what killed it and he’s going to inject some poison into WCW. He announces the men he’s about to bring out can appear on WWF and WCW television. He brings out Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The nWo are back as Vince hopes they’ll kill WCW.
WCW Nitro – Thursday 23rd 2001
Ric Flair opens the show and says WCW Is back and for the main event he’s gonna have the WCW Championship be decided as Booker T defends against Diamond Dallas Page. Jeff Jarrett comes out on the show and smashes Goldberg over the head with a guitar after a match. The new World order come out and promise they’re here to make WCW prosper and not here for Vince McMahon.
What we’ve done here is see in a 4 month period of how the WWF could have booked the Invasion to be monumental. The rosters would have been very strong on both shows.
WWF would have Angle, Austin, Jericho, Kane, Rock, Taker, Edge. Christian etc
WCW would have Goldberg, Sting, DDP, Steiners, Jarrett, Rey Mysterio, and others.
Vince and Flair would keep their feud going and you have Hogan, Hall and Nash playing it safe before picking whos side they’re on. This invasion could have brought back past stars who have been in both companies like the Road Warriors, Dustin Rhodes and Lex Luger to play a part in this picture. Mick Foley may have returned if he had felt creatively stimulated. Triple H would have returned at the beginning of 2002 after his quad tear. WrestleMania X-8 could have been headlined by Sting and Undertaker, Rock and Hogan and Goldberg and Austin. The possibilities are endless. You may have booked it differently. If so, I’d love to hear your ideas.
