WCW

Triple H: THY KINGDOM COME REVIEW

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Julian Cannon here to give everyone a new movie review. This time, it is something I picked up not too long ago: the recently released “Triple H: THY KINGDOM COME.”


untitled

The DVD starts on how Triple H (Paul Levesque) broke into the business after winning bodybuilding competitions. He then talks about his training with Killer Kowalski and Terry Taylor. There were clips of a younger Triple H when he was cutting promos and doing matches. For a guy that young, he knew what he was doing and he learned pretty fast. Killer Kowalski gave him the name “The Terrorizer,” although Triple H hated the name because it was too “generic.” He, however, just wanted to wrestle so he took the name no matter what. After a few months, Triple H found a local wrestler in the gym who worked for WCW, who then sent in a word to Eric Bischoff for him to join WCW for a two year contract. Triple H said that he only wanted one year just because he did not want Bischoff to spend a lot of money on him until he sees what he can do in the ring. When he went to WCW, he tweaked his ring name to “Terror Rising.” He was a major player in the mid card division for a while until he met Ric Flair. The two have been friends ever since. At the end of 1994, Triple H was repackaged and brought back with a French gimmick and teamed with William Regal for a short time until in 1995, when he was called up to WWE (then WWF.)

When he arrived in WWE, he used the name “Hunter Hearst Hemsley” with a similar gimmick he had before he left WCW. Then we get interviews from Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman. They all remarked that they all took him under their wing (including Scott Hall and Justin Credible) as the backstage group was formed as the Kliq. Triple H and Kevin Nash mentioned that Lex Luger was the one to come up with the Kliq name and hand gestures. Things would go great for them until the Madison Square Garden incident in May of 1996. It was Hall and Nash’s last night before heading to WCW.  This was also the night when they, along with Triple H and Shawn Michaels, all came out and embraced in the ring out of character (breaking “kayfabe”). In the wrestling world back then, this was an extremely taboo move because behind the scenes alliances were never to be shown, especially between a heel and a face, since this would render the gimmicks as fake. Since Hall and Nash left and Shawn was the champion, Triple H was the one who had to take the fall for it. When the interview went to Vince McMahon, he said that Triple H would have gotten fired but he put him on the bottom of the ladder instead. McMahon also said that “you are going to eat plates of sh**, and you are going to like it”. That meant that Triple H would just job out in the mid card for a year, including taking the 1996 King of the Ring winner spot away from him and booking Steve Austin to win it. Triple H did not see any light until he won the Intercontinental Championship in 1997 and, later that year, going on to win the King of the Ring.

Now the attention goes to the feud with Mick Foley. Foley said that he always thought he saw something in him in WCW. Triple H said that Foley brought out the brawling style of him in every way possible. From the steel cage match to the Falls Count Anywhere match, Foley and Triple H considered those matches as their classics.

The next portion is the formation of D-Generation X. Both Hunter and Shawn needed a bodyguard when they just happen to meet Chyna (Joanie Laurer) at a gym around this very time. Vince McMahon was originally against the idea but Shawn and Hunter fought for her. Another thing I did not know was that WCW was about to sign her, which led to Shawn to contact Shane McMahon to convince his dad to give Chyna a chance. That is interesting news but, however, nobody ever mentioned that Chyna and Triple H were dating, too. None of them talked bad about Chyna at all. The next person to talk was The Undertaker. This was the first time in a very long time that Undertaker has been interviewed in a WWE documentary so seeing him in it was worth every word he said. He talks about WCW kicking their ass every week and DX being part of the reason why WWE shifted from the New Generation Era to the Attitude Era. Eventually, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac comes into the interviews and talked about DX’s success with the fans, merchandise, the feud with the Nation of Domination and their attempt to raid WCW Nitro. By 1999, Triple H wanted to break away from the group. Billy Gunn was the only one to not agree with that direction because he felt that DX was not ready to break up.

When DX inevitably did meet its demise, Triple H changed his entire look and attitude for his journey to become the next WWE Champion. His first title shot occurred on Summerslam 1999 in a Triple Threat Match involving the current Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Mick Foley. It was wildly rumored that Austin did not want to drop the belt to Triple H on PPV but all 3 of them on the DVD discussed their own version of that rumor. Mick Foley won the belt but, however, Triple H won the belt for the first time the next night on Raw.

A few months later, the storyline of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon started and the next portion of interviews are from Stephanie, Vince and Linda McMahon along with DX, The Big Show and The Undertaker. The McMahon family talked about Triple H and Stephanie dating and that Vince did not allow Stephanie to date the wrestlers at all. However, Linda McMahon knew and let them two secretly date. Once Vince found out, he told them the risks of what could happen and he eventually gave Triple H his blessing. This may have been good but they were now the target of the entire locker room. Both Hunter and Stephanie were aware that all the wrestlers were talking about them but they did not care at all. Footage of their wedding shows from 2003 to end the segment.

The year 2000 also was a great feud between Triple H and The Rock. The Rock talks about the matches they had, including the second ever 60 minute Ironman match at Judgment Day 2000. The Rock then says that Triple H is the best in-ring worker he has ever worked with.

Going into 2001, Hunter talks about him teaming with Steve Austin and capturing the Tag Team, Intercontinental and WWE Championship. Next, we get footage from his first knee injury as Jim Ross and Paul Heyman mentioned that they were really scared for Triple H and that they were both surprised that he actually finished the match. The next footage is from the knee surgery that many WWE fans remember when it first aired on television along with the recovery and rehabilitation period. Now we get to the night Triple H returned from his injury on the first WWE Raw of 2002. Hunter said that he had no idea to how the crowd would react and that he thought the crowd would be silent.

Moving forward to late 2002 to early 2003, we get interviews from Randy Orton and Batista about how they were chosen to be part of Evolution, which consisted of Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. The idea of the group was to have both Orton and Batista to become the future of the WWE. I should mention that the Blu-ray edition has special clips and one of them was from a former WWE Superstar Mark Jindrak. He talks about how he was actually supposed to replace Batista as a member of Evolution but, due to time constraints, it never happened. This portion of the DVD is my favorite but it would have been great if they had talked about their Wrestlemania matches.

Next, we get the feud between Triple H and John Cena. Triple H commented that Cena is one of the most hardest working guys in the locker room and has not wrestled anybody like him before. John Cena says that it was a huge honor wrestling Hunter at Wrestlemania. Cena also feels that Triple H was the hardest opponent he has faced at the time, too.

Right after the Wrestlemania match, the DX reunion begins. The fans loved every single second of it but, however, Shawn Michaels and Triple H kind of disliked it. That goes to show that they’ve matured from those days of pulling pranks, but it was fun times nevertheless.

Triple H now talks about the same knee injury he had in 2001 but, this time, it was on the other knee. It happened in WWE New Year’s Revolution in 2007, which caused him to have to go through another operation.  Triple H was supposed to face John Cena at Wrestlemania 23 for a rematch before he got injured but Shawn Michaels took the spot instead. He returned 7 months later and in 2008, he won the WWE Championship and got drafted to Smackdown. Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon felt that Triple H going to Smackdown would help out young talent such as Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, MVP and more.

Going into 2009 was the feud between Triple H and Randy Orton. During this feud, the entire McMahon family was involved and the real life marriage of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon was put into the feud as well. Triple H said that his match against Randy Orton could have been better, especially since the match between Shawn Michaels and Undertaker overshadowed the main event.

Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Vince McMahon now talk about Hunter’s duties as the COO of the WWE. They talk about him bringing talent in, training the students, board meetings, and more stuff about the duties in the corporate offices in the WWE.

Then finally, we get closing interviews from Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels, Batista, The McMahon family and Undertaker along with closing details about the Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania 28.

MY THOUGHTS OF THE DVD:

If I would have to choose between this DVD and the Mick Foley DVD that came out a few months earlier, I would have to tie them both as the best WWE documentary of the year. Although there were a few things left out, a lot of other features made up for it. The most worthy footage from this DVD is seeing and hearing The Undertaker being interviewed out of character. This was the first time in a long while that The Undertaker has been interviewed for a documentary and it was great to see him being interviewed. The details about Triple H’s relationship with Stephanie McMahon and how he went to the WWE from WCW is very newsworthy for the younger fans that was not aware about any of what is going on behind the scenes along with many of the other interviews as well. I believe that they made Triple H look way too good in those interviews but I do not have a problem with it. For non Triple H fans, it is still worth it to pick it up and watch this. Another fact I want to bring up is that this may be the longest documentary WWE has produced, clocking in at 2 hours and 27 minutes. I give this a thumbs up so go to your video store and add this to your collection.

Follow @julianexcalibur

31 days of Halloween:Top 10 worst pro wrestling gimmicks of all time

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

I am back for another post. This week i will be doing the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time. The reason is because Halloween is coming up and I know most people will dress up so lets put on our costumes and start the countdown

10. PN news

PN News was fat. He was a fatty fat fatso. But he was also…phat?

That’s right. Phat with a “PH,” mothereffers! This was the early ’90s and rap was fun, god dammit! We had Kid n’ Play. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Heavy D. Vanilla Ice in Ninja Turtles II. There were Pajama Jammy Jams every night! PN News was WCW’s lame attempt to try and do something “urban.” You can also lump the WWF’s Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo) in this category of neon-colored, family-friendly old school rap n’ wrassle acts.

PN News actually had a somewhat high-profile feud with Paul E. Dangerously’s(Paul heyman)Dangerous Alliance. Before his matches, he’d get on the mic and rap a few lines that usually went a little something like “My name is PN News and I’m here to say, I’m going wrestle in a very special way…” Then he says, “Yo Baby, Yo Baby Yo” which was his way of trying to capture the magic of “Go Ninja Go Ninja Go.” Also, he looked like a giant alien potato covered in shame.

9.REPO MAN

Repo Man (Demolition’s Barry Darsow) wasn’t an utter failure. He’s one of those strange gimmicks, that I mentioned previously, that stuck around for a few years. He was a cackling, goofy 1960s-era Batman TV villain-type character that loved nothing more than just straight-up swiping other people’s shit. He was part Frank Gorshin, part Hamburglar.

I’m not sure if they were ever really trying to convince us that he held down a steady job as an actual “Repo Man,” because all he really did was swipe things. He was pretty much like Swiper from Dora the Explorer. He’d sneak around and hide, and wait for his opportunity to jack someone’s jewels. He’d really just get into feuds because he was a thief that liked to take things that didn’t belong to him. Macho Man’ s hat. Tatanka’s feathers. Hulk Hogan’s prayers and vitamins.

Why did he have tire tracks on him? Why did he wear an eye mask? Why did he use a leg-grapevine submission as a finisher? Actually, looking back at him – he might have been a genius.

8.Oklahoma

All is fair in love and war correct? Well, even though there was a Monday night ratings war between Nitro and RAW, it still didn’t seem right when the WCW created a character to serve as a personal attack on the WWF’s leading announcer Jim Ross.

Played by Ed Ferrara and co-created by Vince Russo, the character of Oklahoma was a not-so-subtle way for both Ferrara and Russo to air their grievances with their former co-worker Good Ol’ J.R. While many things were done between these two companies which seemed like exchanging blows in a fight, this would be the only punch that truly felt like it was under the belt. Making fun of J.R.’s announcing style and Bell’s Palsy, Ed Ferrara would do irreparable harm to his image within the industry by tastelessly poking fun at one of the most respected men in the business. Out of all the bad gimmicks on this list, Oklahoma serves as the only one that truly offended us.

7.THE DUNGEON OF DOOM

Hulk Hogan was new to WCW and needed some new bad guys to play with. Hey, how about a gaggle of moronic “dark” characters that he’ll just keep beating over and over again for a couple years? That sounds delightful. The Dungeon of Doom was supposed to be something to fear, but instead they were as laughable as they were inept. Erstwhile Satanist-caricature Kevin Sullivan, under the guidance of a wrinkled old “Master,” became the Taskmaster and set out to, one could only assume, embarrass the entire wrestling establishment top to bottom.

Among his minions were Kamala, Meng, The Shark (formerly Earthquake), The Loch Ness Monster (Haystacks Calhoun) and…the freaking Yeti. My god. The Yeti could have his own entry, but I decided to lump him in with this veritable “Island of Misfit Toys” of wrestling. See one of the videos below to behold the majestic Yeti in all his bandaged Hogan-humping glory.

Oh, and who could forget…Zodiac. Or is it The Butcher? Whatever. Ed “Zodiac/Butcher/Booty Man /Brutus Beefcake” Leslie takes our unofficial Gold Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Bad Gimmickry.

6.GLACIER, MORTIS and WRATH

Back in 1996 WCW had the phenomenally awesome idea of creating video game-inspired characters – reminiscent to those found in games such as “Mortal Kombat”. While there were three of them, Glacier (Ray Lloyd – aka Coach Buzz Stern), Mortis (Chris Kanyon) and Wrath (Bryan Clark – aka Adam Bomb), it would be Glacier who helped these three make their way onto our list. Spending a good amount of time feuding with each other, these three had extravagant outfits, mean attitudes and entrances which could make even multiple time world champions blush.

Glacier in particular was our favorite, as he was dressed up to look like ” Sub Zero” from the MK series – wearing a blue ninja outfit, white hair, strange contacts, a mask and occasionally a helmet (which we are told was a centuries old relic passed down by his karate instructor). While none of these guys were awful in the ring – Kanyon was actually very good – it would be the pandering to the younger gaming audience and the “trying too hard” look and feel that made these characters so embarrassing.

5.S7VEN

You may be asking: Why is Seven (or S7even, or 7even, or whatever) on this list? As, in the character’s first appearance he – being Dustin Rhodes (aka Goldust) – broke character and delivered a shoot interview on crappy gimmicks. Well, while we like the fact that the WCW was able to poke fun at itself for a gimmick which I’m sure they realized sucked in hindsight, the character had serious promos created in which Seven was built as a credible threat… or circus attraction.

After creating many promotional videos that had Seven in such menacing locations as outside a child’s window at night, Turner Broadcasting wisely put an end to the character stating that it might be construed that Seven was a child abductor, or something worse. Regardless, bad idea and all, Seven is one of the few characters on this list that created genuinely entertaining television… despite the atrocious gimmick.

4.MAX MOON

Look at those space rockets that he shoots out of his space hands! Look at those fantastical laser beams that he uses to delight the masses? But why does he look like a cross between The Michelin Man and agony? Why is he a rippled, rubber piñata? Why does it look like he can be taken apart like a game of Connect Four?

Max Moon (Konnan) was one of those awful gimmicks that was meant to give the kiddies someone to cheer on. A smiling colorful douchebag that we’d see again in the form of Aldo Montoya (Justin Credible) and that we’d seen before in the form of Koko B. Ware. Always smiling. Just happy to be there. Win or lose.

Max Moon was a cyborg soldier from The Future, apparently sent back in time to make us all sick to our stomachs. Konnan wound up leaving the WWF, claiming discrimination (sound familiar?) forcing the WWF to find a different wrestler to wear the absurdly priced $1,300 costume.

 

4.OZ

There is one thing you can count on in the pro wrestling industry, and that is no matter whom you are, you have done something which you don’t want anybody to remember. The good news for all of us is that pro wrestling is recorded and achieved. So with the help of fan videos and humiliating “remember when” pieces we can humble big names in the wrestling industry. For this list we have decided to dig up dirt on Big Sexy Kevin Nash… or should we say Oz? Yes, Oz – as in The Wizard of. Back in WCW in 1991 Kevin Nash dropped his mohawked Master Blaster Steel gimmick only to upgrade (?) to that of the mysterious Oz. Ushered to the ring by the Great Wizard (Kevin Sullivan), Oz spoke with a commanding voice, wore emerald colors, a turban and mask that looked more like The Sultan from Disney’s Aladdin than something from the book/film The Wizard of Oz. Still, you need to hand it to Big Kev, as even with the bad gimmick WCW continued to push him – whether that was due to Nash’s stature and charisma or WCW refusing to acknowledge that the character of Oz was ill-conceived is still up in the air.

Let this be a warning to all those attempting to get into the business: There are video cameras on you at all times, don’t do anything you will regret for the rest of your life.

3.THE GOON

Wow. The Goon. Yes. You know there were a handful of these “occupational wrestlers” that went on to find a lot of success. Like Mike Rotunda’s IRS and Jacques Rougeau’s Mountie, but after a while people just didn’t want to see that any more. The WWF definitely passed on more than they approved. My question is…if the Baseball Player (with his face painted up like he was a Fury from The Warriors) didn’t make the cut, then why did they think The Goon (“Wild” Bill Irwin) stood a chance?

A big, clumsy and fumbly Hockey Player? With hair like an unmade bed? And wearing full hockey gear? I know it was a few years ago, but people still actually liked to watch fluid wrestling matches back then. Who would ever want to see someone compete wearing a complete body sheath? And man, could people have cared less about Hockey?

Apparently The Goon had been kicked out of every league he’d been a part of. But they could never kick him out of our hearts.

2.Shark Boy

Again, you aren’t losing your mind, in fact you’re perfectly sane but I understand why you’re doubting yourself. You’re thinking how in the hell can someone have a shark-like gimmick, well the answer to your problem is: they can and they have. The worst moment in Shark Boy’s career was when he started taking on a Stone Cold gimmick saying things such as “Give me a shell yeah!” or “What?” and believe it or not but the shark actually drank beer at one stage! Ohhh, not to mention AND THAT’S THE FISHIN’ LINE COS SHARK BOY SAID SO!

1.THE SHOCKMASTER

For those that know their professional wrestling it will come as no surprise that we have chosen The Shockmaster as #1. Some wrestlers are given good gimmicks which can carry even the worst wrestler, some wrestlers are given mediocre gimmicks which they either make succeed or fail according to their ability, some wrestlers are saddled with bad gimmicks (as this list has shown) that will essentially bury a wrestler’s career, and then every once in a blue moon something so extraordinary happens that it will echo in the annals of wrestling history as a complete and utter embarrassment to the wrestler, the company and all those that are forced to share screen time with them… thus is THE SHOCKMASTER!!!

We’re not sure if we’re ultimately more offended by the fact that this witless meatball actually fell on his ass (actually making his mic’d teammates say out loud “He just fell on his ass!”) or by the fact that his costumed consisted of suspenders and a Storm Trooper helmet with blue glitter-glue all over it.

There you have it, my top 10 worst gimmicks of all time, my next will be the top 10 best gimmicks from the 80’s to the early 2000’s..Aslo follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur

Wrestling: 5 tips for going to a wwe/tna or any wrestling event

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

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.

No ticket, no entry!

 

Wrestleshock: Honky Tonk Man interview

Rob Leave a Comment

Yes you read correctly, Wrestleshock had an interview with the greatest intercontinental champion of all time, The Honky Tonk Man! Hopefully this was a pure joy to listen to and both Mike and Chris are fans of the gentleman! The guys talk about his reign as the IC champ, how he dropped the belt, his time with Greg Valentine and his thoughts on WCW! A very indepth and not to be missed interview!

Make sure you head over to his website www.honkytonkman.net and follow him on twitter @OfficialHTM. Thank you very much to this legend for taking time out of his schedule to appear on the show!

Chris also announces who the lucky winner was of the blu-ray copy of the best of Raw and Smackdown 2011! Was it you?

The next full episode featuring Mike and Chris will be about YOUR top 5 intercontinental champions of all time so still email your list to vinto316@gmail.com! Follow Mike on twitter – @mlacey91, Chris @vinto316 and the show @wrestleshock316. also chris has a YouTube channel so head over there – Vintomania is his username!

Wrestleshock ‘submission’

Rob Leave a Comment

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!

WWE: the invasion storyline and what could have happened if it was different

Rob Leave a Comment

By Julian Cannon

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.

I hope you enjoyed it!