10 Awesome Moments From The WWE Invasion
Twenty years on, let's look at what actual worked during the biggest let down in wrestling history
Twenty years.
It's unfathomable to think that this time two decades ago, WWE were in the midst of spoiling the biggest opportunity it ever had to present the fans with the biggest dream case scenario of all time.
Throughout the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars, the hottest topic of discussion is what would happen if the the, then-WWF and WCW were to genuinely collide. Wrestling had never been hotter and there were a plethora of superstars and dream matches that would have sent the fans crazy.
Unfortunately, a number of the biggest stars decided against signing up with Vince McMahon, wisely preferring to sit on the huge contracts that had helped drive the company into the ground. Essentially, it meant that WWE were about to book a war against WCW's lesser-known midcard. In effect, they were dealing with half a deck of cards.
What should have been monumental eventually landed like a wet fart in a space suit, lasting a disappointing four months before petering out. It still hurts to this day.
But amongst the wreckage, there was some genuinely great moments. Moments such as...
10. The Original Invaders
As a WCW fan at the time, seeing Lance Storm slide into the ring on Monday Night Raw in May 2001 and nearly decapitate Perry Saturn with a superkick was out of the seat stuff. It had been two months since Shane McMahon had purchased WCW but nothing had really happened. But then...shots fired!
Although throughout the duration of the whole Invasion the WCW guys were treated as cannon fodder for the most part, they initially felt like a viable threat. When Mike Awesome powerbombed Rhyno onto a ladder backstage and snared the Hardcore Championship, it genuinely felt like it had been hijacked.
Over the coming weeks, Chuck Palumbo and the phenomenally underused Sean O'Haire, the WCW Tag Team Champions laid waste to both The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz (in an attack that featured O'Haire's breathtaking Swanton!) Eventually, they were sacrificed at the altar of Vince's ego by getting obliterated.
It felt exciting - like an attack could come at any moment and we were just begging for the bigger names to turn up. At King Of The Ring that June, WCW Champion, Booker T assaulted WWE Champion, Stone Cold and put him through the announcer's table during the main event. The crowd went loopy.
It was a thrilling time and the possibilities felt endless.