8 Times WWE Turned Trash Into Treasure

5. The Invasion - Subpar Nonsense To Chris Jericho's First World Title

Chris Jericho WWE Undisputed Champion
WWE.com

The WCW/ECW Invasion of the WWF was crap. There, we said it. If that seems harsh, then cast your mind back to seeing Steve Austin fight The Rock for victory at Survivor Series 2001. As two WWF stalwarts fought it out, top WCW stars like Booker T had already been eliminated and others (like DDP) weren't even involved in the finale at all.

Less than a full month later, there was a silver lining for this particular cloud. After months of increasingly-tiresome 'Us vs. Them' fare without the 'Them' to back things up on the WCW side, one World Title push saved the day. Finally, Chris Jericho was promoted to the top position and became the first ever Undisputed Champion by holding both the WWF and WCW Titles.

Y2J's reign wouldn't quite be the best of his career, but at least it was something completely different. As 2001 ended, the dreary Invasion had come to a close and the WWF boasted a champ fans had never seen on top before.

That was a refreshing twist when the alternatives were Rock and Austin.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.