11 WWE Rivalries That Defined The 2000s

9. The Alliance Vs. The WWF

It's often talked of as being the most botched angle in wrestling history but, although there is a little bit of truth to that, it was also one of most noteworthy in recent WWE history.

The first few months of the year 2001 were a mighty interesting time for the world of wrestling. The WWF were on fire, producing some of their best television ever and running with big-money programmes like Steve Austin versus The Rock, Austin versus Triple H and Vince versus Shane McMahon. They were truly firing on all cylinders, producing critically and commercially successful shows in the Royal Rumble, No Way Out and WrestleMania X-Seven.

Elsewhere, the long-financially-suffering ECW ran their last show on January 13th and WCW folded in March after years of mismanagement. Vince McMahon picked up the scraps, purchasing both leagues with the intention of running WCW as its own show.

That idea was soon nixed, however, in favour of running the much sought-after Invasion. What followed was a middling six-month angle/rivalry that should have really lasted twice as long and been twice as good.

The major problem, as pointed out countless times, was that ECWCW lacked significant star power (many of WCW's top talents decided to wait out their guaranteed contracts) and it just turned into another McMahon versus McMahon storyline (Shane and Stephanie fronted The Alliance).

Yes, The Alliance were treated as something of a joke for much of the Invasion (poor DDP), but there was some good stuff there, too, and it helped add some guys and gals who would play major roles in the company over the next several years, such as Booker T and Rob Van Dam.

It was bungled, no doubt, but this rivalry helped define a period of the early 2000s.