10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2001
2001. A year of great comedy, WCW failures and Vince McMahon losing his touch?!
2001 was the year Vince McMahon won pro wrestling's lottery.
His main competitor bit the dust and McMahon's WWF flexed their own muscles by putting on a thumping WrestleMania X-Seven (roundly considered one of the best supercards of all time) during the same quarter. Elsewhere, ECW finally croaked and Vince branched out as a promoter by launching the XFL.
It's actually mad that this was all happening around the same time, but...did split focus hurt the WWF's flagship TV product? Watching all 53 episodes of '01 Raw in 2022 is an eye-opening experience, not least because of all the comings and goings on the roster.
Several things got lost amidst the sea of controversy, excitement and drama at the time though - there are surprising matches you totally won't remember detailed here, and not every top star had a 12-month span worth boasting about. In fact, one of the biggest WWE names ever barely made an in-ring splash at all.
Illogical storylines, retrospective rewriting of history, genuinely great comedy, WCW involvement and more. Raw's 2001 was a blistering experience. Here's everything we learned from reliving it...
10. They Gave WCW No Chance
Pretty much everyone knows that WWE bungled the invasion angle. A sudden influx of incoming WCW and ECW talent oversaturated an already-heaving roster, and the lazy call to turn the thing into yet more McMahon family drama was a complete and utter stinker of a decision.
It all started so promisingly. No, wait, it didn't! No offence intended, but having lower-tier workers like Lance Storm and Hugh Morrus (both WCW midcarders) be the first ones to roll out on WWF TV in May/June was an almighty clanger that just didn't need to happen.
Booker T was waiting in the wings to debut at King Of The Ring, so the company should've held off until then. Instead, Storm put a shot across WWF bows by...attacking guys like Perry Saturn (who had only been in the fed for a year) and Steve Blackman.
Looking back, it's hard not to cringe for poor Lance. He made history, sure, but it was lower-key than it should've been.