Flashback Friday! Invasion: The Event We Waited Our Lives To See

For the next few weeks I'm going to be reviewing events that featured big tag main events, Bragging Rights is coming up and with the 7-on-7 inter-brand tag match I thought I'd focus on similar events. This week I'm reviewing the Invasion pay-per-view from July 2001 in Cleveland, OH, next week it'll be Canadian Stampede: In Your House, the infamous pay-per-view held also in July but this time of 1997 in Calgary, AL. So Invasion….

I hope to hear back on your memories of the event or if you hadn’t before seen it, and watched it on my recommendation, what you thought of it. Suggestions for future Flashback Fridays are welcome also.

Everybody remembers that edition of Monday Night RAW where Vince McMahon announced that he had purchased WCW and the Monday Night Wars were over. It was in the Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio the same setting for the Invasion pay-per-view. Shane McMahon pulled the rug out from under his Dad and was infect the owner of WCW, he then teamed up with his sister Stephanie who took control of ECW to form the Alliance and start war with the then WWF. So the match was set, five of the best guys from WWF against five of the best from the Alliance. Vince McMahon choose The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Kane, Kurt Angle and as captain the WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin.

A few months earlier, Austin had sided with his one time enemy (McMahon) in order to become the WWF Champion at WrestleMania X-Seven, since then the "World's Toughest S.O.B" as we knew became a kind guitar playing, hymn sining, hug giving kind of guy, but just a few short days before Invasion, Mr. McMahon begged to get the old Stone Cold back to captain the WWF to victory, eventually the old Stone Cold emerged unleashing hell on the Alliance and accepting the position of captain for what was being billed as the "Inaugural Brawl" at Invasion.

The WCW/ECW Alliance on the other hand choose WCW World & United States Champion Booker T, Booker the previous month nearly broke Austin's neck when he attacked him during the Rattlesnake's WWF Title defense at King of the Ring, teaming with Booker T was Diamond Dallas Page, a man who had spent month stalking and video tapping The Undertaker's wife (remember when he was a human?), and from ECW, the last ever ECW World Champion Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz. It was all set, a series of interpromotial matches throughout the show leading to the main event. War was happening inside a wrestling ring.

The first match of the night occurred just before the pay-per-view on Sunday Night Heat, Chavo Guerrero Jr defeated Scotty 2 Hotty to draw first blood for the Alliance. Team WWF won the first broadcast match on the pay-per-view when Edge & Christian defeated Mike Awesome & Lance Storm in a tag match. Awesome who had often nearly broken his neck many times performing his dive over the top rope let Christian have the honors, as Christian dived over the top rope he caught his foot (unintentionally) on the top rope and fell to the outside.

In an abysmal match—refereed by Mick Foley, WWF referee Earl Hebner defeated Alliance referee Nick Patrick to give Team WWF the 2-1 lead. WWF looked to be well on their way to victory before we even reached the main event when in a Champions vs. Champions effort the WWF World Tag Team Champions the Acolytes (Bradshaw & Faarooq) defeated WCW's best Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo. Three matches into the pay-per-view and Team WWF had won three, the scores lay at 3-1 due to the match on Sunday Night Heat but either way, you know Vince McMahon and everybody wearing WWF colours had to be smiling backstage.

The smiles weren't removed from their faces but doubt must of set in when the WCW Cruiserweight Champion and gimmickless beyond belief Billy Kidman defeated the WWF Light-Heavyweight Champion X-Pac. Following the beginning of the Invasion storyline every WWF superstar took on the role of playing babyface with the Alliance being the heels. X-Pac a heel before the Invasion was still booed at this event, not because he was good at being a heel or because of his god awful Unkle Kracker entrance music but because unless X-Pac was part of D-Generation X, he was pretty useless.

Raven evened the scores for the Alliance as he pinned William Regal following interference from Tazz, the scores were set at 3-3. Regal who was the acting WWF Commissioner at the time furious with Tazz's interference booked an impromptu match for later in the show between Tazz and Regal's sidekick Tajiri.

For the first time on the pay-per-view Team WCW/ECW took the lead when the mouth-watering team of Hugh Morrus, Shawn Stasiak and Chris Kanyon (no, I'm not serious) defeated Big Show, Prince Albert & Billy Gunn. The three losing members of Big Show, Prince Albert & Billy Gunn must of hated themselves. Yes, they were on pay-per-view but in a clearly thrown together match. Big Show a former WWF Champion would of been well used in the main event and an obvious choice if you ask me, Albert must of thought his stock had risen a few weeks prior when they put the Intercontinental Championship on him, obviously not and Billy Gunn had all the tools to be a main eventer but for whatever reason it never happened, the former King of the Ring & Intercontinental Champion had dropped his amazingly over gimmick of "Mr. Ass" in favor of this plain and simple "The One" gimmick for this.

In the match that was made earlier Tajiri again evened the score by defeating Tazz, Tajiri would have been the perfect choice to go to the Alliance, the Japanese Buzzsaw had been brought in as William Regal's assistant a quiet yet deadly guy it seemed, to have him turn and set up a match with Regal at this event would have been more entertaining that either Regal or Tajiri's matches I believe. Either way it was 4-4 and we were nearing the main event.

In the match of the night, Rob Van Dam who despite his best efforts couldn't be the heel they wanted him to be, he did everything right including taking out The Hardyz who were massively over but the crowd just loved Van Dam and cheered him every chance they got. He went up against Jeff Hardy and in this great effort from both men, a ladder match for the WWF Hardcore Championship. A classic and if you haven't seen it before I'd highly recommend it, a great way for Rob Van Dam to kick off his WWF career. Kind of topical too with the two feuding at the moment in TNA.

WWF had to win the next match to keep up the chance of winning come the main event. This match—also refereed by Mick Foley was the first ever Tag Team Bra & Panties match! As WWF were represented by Trish Stratus & Lita against the WCW duo of Torrie Wilson & Stacy Keibler. Trish & Lita managed to strip their opponents down to their essentials as Mick Foley loved his job of collecting the fallen garments, so heading into the main event it was five each. The Inaugural Brawl would decide it all.

A crazy hectic match to decide everything, interference from Shane McMahon who was on the outside with Stephanie and Paul Heyman and even Vince managed to get involved near the end. It looked to all be going the WWF's way as Kurt Angle had Booker T in serious pain trapped in an Ankle Lock and just as it looked as Booker T was going to tap out, WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin nailed Angle in the head with a boot and then hit him with a Stunner before placing Booker's arm over Kurt as the referee had no choice but to count the three. Stone Cold had done the unthinkable, he left the WWF and joined WCW and the Alliance. Shane McMahon and Stephanie were ecstatic. Vince couldn't believe it, Steve Austin had stabbed him in the back and taken the WWF Championship with him.