10 Wrestling Storylines That Started Hot But Ended Terribly

7. The Invasion

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As far as storylines go, The Invasion remains the biggest missed opportunity in WWE history. Vince McMahon was practically gifted the ultimate professional wrestling angle, and he couldn't have made a bigger hash of it. He botched the unique opportunity to finally pit WWE against both WCW and ECW, but while the Invasion's failings are almost too numerous to list, it actually got off to a pretty hot start.

Fans were so amped up at the prospect of finally seeing the companies collide that almost anything would've sufficed in the opening stages. Career midcarder Lance Storm fired the first salvo on Raw, and his debut drew a great response from the crowd. The likes of Diamond Dallas Page and Booker T followed before long, and the Invasion was underway.

Things started falling apart soon after. WWE were unable to follow through on their initial idea of creating their own WCW show. The bulk of the company's top stars - from Kevin Nash to Ric Flair - refused to come over. The ECW group was headed by Stephanie McMahon, and the storyline devolved into another overdone family feud. The list goes on.

By the time the Invasion concluded at Survivor Series 2001, Rob Van Dam was the only ECW/WCW original left on the Alliance side. This fact, above all others, ties the story's failings up in a nice little bow.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.