Wrestling Rewind: This Week In History (July 17 - July 23)
2. July 22nd, 2001: WWF Presents The Invasion PPV
Ah, the Invasion angle. Where to begin...
While a lot of mud has been slung in the direction of the Invasion storyline from 2001, many forget that there were some genuinely exciting moments along the way; particularly at the very start of the angle going into the Invasion event.
Despite what would eventually deteriorate into a convoluted mess of missed opportunities and squandered storylines, the initial Invasion storyline had some real momentum behind it and a palpable feeling of unpredictably.
Although the angle was immediately missing some conspicuous key players – most notably Sting, Goldberg, Steiner, Hogan, Hall and Nash to name a few – the allure of a WWF vs. WCW event in name alone was enough to pique the interest of even the most jaded of fans. Add to that the top tier of ECW and the stage was set for the collision course known as the Invasion PPV.
Headlined by the “Inaugural Brawl” 10 man tag team war, the entire show revolved around the WWF fighting for survival against the combined forces of WCW/ECW (soon to be christened “The Alliance”). Matches were contested for bragging rights rather than titles, with each brand keeping score as the event wore on.
The one exception to this was the WWF Hardcore Championship match; pitting the defending champion, Jeff Hardy, against the re-debuting Rob Van Dam of ECW. Interestingly, RVD had originally debuted on WWF TV on May 12th, 1997 during the original ECW invasion amid the Monday Night Wars. His opponent that night? None other than a young Jeff Hardy, adding another layer of history to an already historic bout.
The Invasion match was a total show-stealer and the perfect exhibition of RVD’s skills for unfamiliar WWF fans. Their styles meshed seamlessly, the spots were jaw-dropping and the action was thick and fast; making this match alone worth the PPV price tag.
The star-studded main event ending with Steve Austin’s shocking defection to the WCW/ECW “Alliance” made for an exciting conclusion to the show and a huge hook for RAW the following night. Sadly, the Invasion storyline went downhill dramatically from there but the initial event itself was an undoubtedly memorable night; highlighted by a superb WWF PPV debut for Mr PPV himself, Rob Van Dam.