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00:17We are officially underway with my look back at the Invasion storyline 20 years later
00:23and this week we're looking at the storyline's namesake, Fully Loaded No More.
00:27I'm talking about WWF Invasion from July 2nd at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
00:32The same building, by the way, that Raw took place during the final Nitro earlier in the year when Shane
00:37bought the company.
00:38This show was nominated by Kyle Colagrossi, Jesse Sutherland, Jared Sedwick, Jack Hernandez, Dinobot2, Jason LaRaga, and Travis Shaver over
00:47at patreon.com slash wrestlingwithregret.
00:50Wow. A lot has happened between King of the Ring and this show here.
00:55And I'm going to do my best to try and catch everyone up and just, not just the storyline side
01:00of things,
01:00but also the reality and the real life situation, what was going on surrounding the storyline itself.
01:06So I'll do my best. Let's begin.
01:08On the Raw after King of the Ring, Shane McMahon officially declares the invasion of the WWF is on.
01:14Then things begin to fall off the rails pretty quick.
01:16So in storyline, Linda and Vince are still in divorce mode.
01:19Linda tells Vince to start hosting WCW matches on Federation programming.
01:23It all seemed like it was kind of a soft launch of what the Federation had originally planned with the
01:27WWF license once they got it.
01:29According to a lot of different interviews from people who were there during that time,
01:32the original plan was to make WCW its own separate touring brand and just kind of jumpstarting the company again.
01:37Kind of what Raw and SmackDown are now is two separate groups of talents and writers and everything,
01:42but it's keeping the WCW name.
01:44In fact, there were rumors that the WCW show was going to replace Raw's time slot on Monday night.
01:50So they were definitely seeming to be invested in that idea for a bit.
01:53And I guess the idea of having WCW matches on WWF programming was kind of that soft launch.
01:59But there were a lot of hurdles going against that goal.
02:01One of the biggest ones is all those big WCW stars like Nash and Goldberg and Scott Steiner and Sting
02:07were sitting out the remainder of their Time Warner contracts.
02:09They were not available.
02:10Another problem was a lot of the guys they did get in the WCW acquisition weren't necessarily household names.
02:16And there were some, you know, Federation loyal fans who honestly didn't know who these people were
02:20and didn't understand why they were important.
02:22And the Federation didn't do a very good job of building that side up either.
02:26And then a real big problem storyline-wise in kayfabe is that the WCW people are not people you really
02:30want to root for
02:31because they're constantly portrayed as cowards and cheats when they're doing stuff in the ring
02:36and they're buried on commentary, they're buried by other wrestlers as well.
02:39And it's this hostile thing where it's like, you know, it's hard to really get behind a group like this
02:44when you don't know who a lot of these people, well, you might not know who a lot of those
02:46folks are
02:47and they're not being portrayed in the best light.
02:49So when we go to Tacoma, Washington in early July to see Booker T defend the WCW title against Buff
02:54Bagwell,
02:55the fans turn on it immediately.
02:57Didn't help that the match was shit, but even if it wasn't, the fans didn't give them a chance.
03:00Buff Bagwell's gone from the company by the next week due to bad behavior,
03:04the divorce angle of Vince and Linda evaporates after this.
03:07Then Shane and DDP appear to be on the outs for all, like, three days before swerving The Undertaker.
03:12And on that same show, ECW joined the battle when Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer,
03:16and a bunch of Federation guys with ECW ties all defected.
03:20The ECW thing seemed to be some sort of last-ditch effort to inject some life and pizzazz into the
03:25storyline
03:25because it was dying a death so quickly with those live performances in Tacoma.
03:29And apparently, according to David Bixenspan, he did a report on this where Paul Heyman allegedly created all these burner
03:35email accounts
03:36to start this fake grassroots movement through wrestling journalists to get the ECW brand brought back in the invasion storyline.
03:43So the WWF adds the ECW element, but then it turns out, whoops,
03:47they don't have the legal rights to actually use the name because all that stuff is still tied up in
03:51bankruptcy courts.
03:52So a settlement's ultimately reached where they can use the ECW name, and then they ultimately buy the rights to
03:57ECW.
03:58Paul Heyman is shrewd, but he's very clever in how he basically got himself out of bankruptcy debt and everything.
04:03And, you know, no matter what happened with that as to how it all came together,
04:06I still argue it's a top five moment for me for the best Monday Night Raw moments.
04:12Also, I felt bad for Jerry Lynn in all this because he has to be the one guy with the
04:16ECW ties
04:17who was not brought into the storyline and also had nothing else going on.
04:20But anyway, on the same show where the ECW guys invade,
04:23the show actually ends with ECW and WCW joining forces to take on the World Wrestling Federation,
04:28and now Stephanie McMahon is the new owner of ECW.
04:32And Jesus wept.
04:33It's so wild to see this all play out in real time.
04:36Not even a week to week does the storyline change from King of the Ring to Invasion.
04:40From episode of Raw to episode of SmackDown, things change.
04:44It's so crazy because it seems that even they didn't know where they were going to go with this.
04:48The idea of them taking WCW and making it a separate brand,
04:52it's all good in theory, but it's hard to make the company look ready for prime time
04:55when you spent so many years disparaging them
04:58and you keep doing it in the early part of the storyline making everyone seem so bad.
05:03It's a storyline that could have and should have taken several months to play out,
05:06but they just ram everything through and speed through in the course of like four to five weeks.
05:11And just the rushed job, it just comes very clear as you watch this unfold.
05:15Anyway, on with the show, 17,000 plus in the Gund Arena,
05:19770,000 pay-per-view buys makes this the most bought pay-per-view of the year
05:23that was not WrestleMania.
05:25Jim Ross and Michael Cole calling the action here,
05:27and boy, they are laying on thick in this opening promo package
05:30with footage of FDR and Winston Churchill,
05:33all these World War II allegories.
05:35Like yes, this self-promoted conflict that you have kind of backed yourself into a corner
05:39with how you've booked it is just like World War II.
05:41Also in the package, Paul Heyman screams in Latin.
05:49I love the set design here.
05:50The two tunnels on stage for Team Alliance and Team WWF,
05:53very unique and it's something they haven't really done before or since.
05:56By the way, since I brought up the name The Alliance,
05:59they're not officially called that yet in the storyline.
06:01They're called The Coalition.
06:02The Alliance comes a bit after this,
06:03but for the purpose of simplicity,
06:05I'm just going to call them The Alliance on this show.
06:06We get the pyro and the crowd shots,
06:08then we teleport to the middle of Lance, Storm, and Mike Austin's entrance.
06:12The former Team Canada in the ring,
06:14Storm wants to get serious for a minute.
06:15Before we can get too far into it though,
06:17Edge and Christian interrupt.
06:18Edge, of course, won last month's King of the Ring,
06:20and Christian's been hogging all the time with a trophy ever since.
06:23It's a funny dynamic for Edge and Christian right now
06:25because the way that the invasion storyline is set up,
06:28basically if you're from WWF,
06:30you're automatically the baby face in the grand scheme of things.
06:33But looking at these two individually,
06:34Edge is very clearly a leading face,
06:36and Christian is still very obviously a heel.
06:39Austin begins with his strength,
06:40but Edge is able to use his quickness to outmaneuver he and Storm.
06:43Scary moment for Christian where he tries to go over the top rope,
06:46but he clips the rope and he goes tumbling.
06:47I love the offbeat shenanigans sign on the crowd.
06:49It's a reference to a promo Lance Storm cut on Edge and Christian
06:52a couple of weeks ago where he mocked them for their five-second poses
06:55and offbeat shenanigans.
06:56And Edge and Christian come out and Edge goes,
06:58offbeat shenanigans rule!
06:59Christian getting beaten up now,
07:01thrown chest first into the ring post,
07:03a chest breaker by Storm.
07:04Christian gets a moment of hope with a crossbody,
07:06but awesome gets to him.
07:07A big-ass splash off the top rope,
07:09but Edge breaks up the cover.
07:10Goes for a top rope awesome bomb,
07:12but Christian fights out.
07:13Big hot tag to Edge and he's on fire.
07:15Storm with a small package,
07:16but Christian helps out Edge.
07:17We get a kick out.
07:18Storm jumping over a spear attempt by Edge,
07:21but Edge hits awesome instead.
07:22Mike goes for an awesome bomb on Edge,
07:24but Christian spears him.
07:25Edge falls on top of Mike,
07:27the cover in the win,
07:28and the WWF draws first blood
07:29if you don't count the match on heat earlier
07:31when Chavo Guerrero beats Scotty Tuhati.
07:33I give it three and a half stars out of five.
07:35Pretty exciting opening matchup here.
07:36Everything's well executed,
07:38had a couple of great moments,
07:39especially that finish.
07:40Also, I love the crowd being as excited
07:41as they were for the whole time, pretty much.
07:43They're almost full throat
07:45for the entirety of this show.
07:46It's really cool,
07:47and it really improves the experience,
07:48in my opinion.
07:49Backstage, Vince is over the moon
07:51about Edge and Christian's win,
07:52saying they reek of awesomeness.
07:54Commissioner Regal lets him know
07:55the old Stone Cold has returned.
07:57Vince makes a vivid comparison
07:59to the Revolutionary War,
08:00and William doesn't like hearing
08:01about all that British bloodshed.
08:03By the way,
08:03it's the night of pep talks on this show,
08:05because you will see
08:06at least one pep talk
08:07from either side of the coin
08:09between every single match.
08:11Well, here's something we all wanted to see.
08:13It's a good old referee fight,
08:15as the WCW's Nick Patrick
08:16takes on the WWF's Earl Hebner
08:18with special guest ref Mick Foley.
08:21This war has gotten so bad
08:22and so pervasive,
08:23so we have referees fighting now,
08:24fighting over locker room space,
08:26fighting over costly calls,
08:27and so forth.
08:28I will admit, though,
08:29I love me a good Nick Patrick flop,
08:31because when he takes ref bumps,
08:32the way he sells it
08:33is so amazing and hysterical,
08:35so if we get a few of those
08:36in this matchup,
08:37we could have a banger on our hands.
08:38We have the opposing referee crews here,
08:40but what's a young Brian Hebner
08:41doing in the WCW team?
08:43At two, Brian?
08:44JR says Earl bleeds WWF blood,
08:47which sounds gross.
08:48Earl starts out hot against Patrick,
08:50Nick taking a hellacious bump
08:51out of the corner
08:52with that slingshot,
08:53get a lot of rolling around,
08:54Patrick yoinks Earl out of the ring,
08:56back in the ring,
08:56Hebner back on top,
08:58we get some corner punches,
08:59but a low blow.
09:00Patrick with a baseball slide,
09:02WCW refs get to stomp in on the outside,
09:04but then the Federation crew
09:05makes the save,
09:06Foley ejects the WCW crew,
09:08Nick's upset about this,
09:09but then Earl just runs up
09:10and checks him,
09:11pins and wins,
09:12Patrick gets back up
09:13and he gets in Foley's face,
09:14and Nick responds
09:15with the mandible sacco.
09:16I give it one star out of five,
09:18you know,
09:18it's a goofy referee fight,
09:20there's not really much
09:20to expect from this,
09:21at least the match
09:22wasn't too long,
09:23and a match with these
09:24kind of circumstances
09:25is the best you could hope for,
09:26and again,
09:27the crowd was into it.
09:28We get a promo
09:28for that inaugural season
09:29of Tough Enough on MTV,
09:31then we get a recap
09:32of the last SmackDown
09:33where DDP abducted
09:34Austin's wife,
09:35Debra,
09:35then backstage,
09:36Debra is still traumatized
09:37over what happened to her,
09:39Sarah,
09:39The Undertaker's wife,
09:40empathizes with her,
09:41and both ladies agree
09:42that their husbands
09:43will get the job done tonight
09:44in the inaugural brawl.
09:45Up next,
09:46the APA take on
09:47Sean O'Hare and Chuck Palumbo,
09:49the WWF Tag Champs
09:50versus the WCW Tag Champs
09:52for Symmetry.
09:53The APA have been
09:54some of the most vocal leaders
09:55in the Federation's resistance
09:56against WCW's invasion,
09:58leading many rallying cries
10:00and pep talks every week.
10:01Palumbo and O'Hare,
10:02of course,
10:02are the cocky young invaders.
10:04The match starts out
10:04as a big brawl,
10:05a cheap shot behind Bradshaw,
10:07allowing Palumbo and O'Hare
10:08to take over.
10:09Sean showing some more
10:09of that ridiculous athleticism
10:11that got him over in WCW,
10:12but honestly,
10:13it comes off a bit rushed at times.
10:15Bradshaw getting worked over,
10:16but he hits a DDT on Chuck.
10:17Farouk tags in,
10:18but then he gets beaten up
10:19for a while.
10:20Bradshaw comes back in.
10:21There's some nice teamwork
10:22by the young guns.
10:23The assisted dropkick
10:24into the corner.
10:25Palumbo with the superkick
10:26to Farouk,
10:26but walks into a clothesline
10:27from hell by Bradshaw.
10:29The APA wins,
10:30and the Federation's
10:30now up 3-1.
10:32I give it 2.5 stars
10:33out of 5.
10:34It's a pretty good matchup,
10:35and I think Palumbo
10:35and O'Hare did a pretty good job
10:37keeping up with the APA.
10:38It feels like one of those scenarios
10:39where the APA's
10:40giving the young guys
10:41like a test
10:42on big pay-per-view setting
10:44and everything,
10:44kind of a sink or swim
10:45sort of thing,
10:45and I think the WCW guys
10:47did really well
10:48for the most part,
10:49but they weren't really able
10:50to show up a lot
10:51of what brought them
10:52to the dance
10:52and got them so popular
10:53in WCW.
10:55We got a small fraction of it,
10:56but not enough for my liking.
10:58Vince chatting
10:58with Chris Jericho backstage.
11:00Jericho talks about
11:00having worked for WCW
11:02and ECW before.
11:03Takes a lot of shots
11:04at Paul Heyman here.
11:05Makes fun of his looks
11:06and calls him a big white Shrek.
11:07Jericho says that Team WWF
11:09is going to get,
11:10get, get even.
11:12One of the failed catchphrases
11:13that Y2J tried out
11:14and he and Vince
11:15share a catchphrase together.
11:17Never,
11:19ever,
11:20be the same.
11:22Elsewhere,
11:23Shane and Stephanie
11:23are frustrated
11:24with the current score,
11:25but Paul Heyman
11:26gives Kidman a big pep talk.
11:27Kidman's confident,
11:28though,
11:28and says he will prove
11:29why everyone says
11:30X-Pac sucks.
11:31So we go to that next match now,
11:33light heavyweight champion
11:34versus cruiserweight champion,
11:35X-Pac versus Billy Kidman,
11:37and these two belts
11:38have been changing hands
11:38a little bit in the last month.
11:40One night after the odd ending
11:41to their match
11:41at King of the Ring,
11:42X-Pac beat Jeff Hardy
11:43in the rematch
11:44to become the champion.
11:45Jeff rebounded nicely
11:46by winning the hardcore title
11:47a couple weeks later.
11:48Man,
11:49Jeff picks up a lot
11:49of singles gold in 2001.
11:51Meanwhile,
11:52Kidman won the cruiserweight title
11:53from Shane Helms
11:54on SmackDown
11:54a couple of weeks ago.
11:55We get another match
11:56here with a very interesting
11:57kind of face heel dynamic
11:58because,
11:59you know,
11:59by association,
12:00Kidman should be the heel
12:01because he's with WCW,
12:03the invaders and everything.
12:04Meanwhile,
12:05everyone still hates X-Pac.
12:06Like,
12:06he's not received well
12:07as a baby face
12:08in this match at all.
12:09So it's a very interesting dynamic.
12:10They do overcome that
12:11with some great cruiserweight action.
12:13Very fast-paced and clean.
12:14I love the sliding face buster
12:16off the apron
12:16onto the floor.
12:17X-Pac using Kidman's momentum
12:19against him
12:19and Billy flies outside.
12:20X-Pac with the dive.
12:21I do love JR on commentary
12:23in this matchup.
12:24Particularly,
12:24this one seems to be
12:26the best I hear him
12:27all night
12:27in terms of breaking down
12:28these little intricacies.
12:29Talks about X-Pac's history
12:31in WCW.
12:32Talks about the psychology
12:33of light heavyweight matches.
12:34Really good stuff here.
12:35X-Pac slows things down
12:36with a sleeper
12:37and the fans are all over him
12:38for that.
12:38X-Pac goes for a top rope
12:40flipping senton
12:41but he gets none of it.
12:42BK with the comeback.
12:43Going for the corner punches
12:44but shock of shocks,
12:45X-Pac hits him
12:46with a powerbomb
12:46but he can't do it
12:47twice in a row.
12:48When will you learn
12:49to not try and powerbomb
12:50Billy Kidman?
12:51Kidman dies
12:51but X-Pac catches him
12:52in midair
12:53with an X-Factor.
12:54There's a kick out.
12:55Bronco Buster attempt
12:56turns into a super dick kick city.
12:58Kidman with the shooting star press.
12:59He wins
13:00and WCW gets another win
13:01on the board.
13:02I give it four stars
13:03out of five.
13:04It's one of my favorite matches
13:05on the night.
13:05Very fun to watch.
13:06It's funny for all the great lengths
13:08that WWF goes to
13:09to try and erase
13:10all of what made WCW cool
13:12and different and interesting.
13:14This match really captures
13:15the spirit
13:16of that old cruiserweight style
13:17that actually made
13:18WCW cool and different
13:20and interesting for a bit.
13:21DDP chats with the McMahons
13:22and Heyman.
13:23Shane tells them
13:24to concentrate
13:24on the inaugural brawl
13:25and not Debra or Sarah.
13:27Elsewhere
13:27Tori Wilson
13:28and Stacey Keebler
13:29with some very organic convo
13:31about their breasts
13:32and their legs respectively
13:33and they can't wait
13:34to hit on the Hardy Boys later.
13:35Yes sir
13:36the crack writing team
13:37strikes again.
13:39Stace
13:39you do have a firm ass.
13:42I know.
13:43Up next
13:43Commissioner
13:44William Regal
13:45takes on Raven.
13:46Remember when they gave
13:46that guy storylines?
13:47Good times.
13:48Some aggressive strikes
13:49between both guys
13:50to start things off.
13:51Raven dumps Regal outside
13:52and does an interesting
13:53baseball slide
13:54before the Russian leg
13:55sweep into the barricade.
13:56Raven goes for a clothesline
13:57but Regal doesn't quite
13:58get out of the corner enough
13:59so Raven's got to
14:00beat him halfway.
14:01He attacks the midsection
14:02and that allows him
14:02to take over.
14:03Raven try all manner
14:05of ways to beat Regal
14:06but the Commissioner
14:06keeps fighting back.
14:07The Regal Cutters
14:08counter into a DDT attempt
14:09and we get a collision
14:10in the ring.
14:11Then Taz shows up.
14:12The occasional friend
14:13of Raven
14:14runs down to the ring
14:15and hits a suplex
14:15on Willy Riggs.
14:17The Raven effect DDT
14:18and Raven wins.
14:19I give it two and a half
14:20stars out of five.
14:21I love the aggression
14:22and the physicality
14:23in this match.
14:24It wasn't clean
14:25100% of the time
14:26but it certainly
14:26was not boring either.
14:28As far as Taz's involvement
14:29in this match
14:30there will be a payoff
14:31to this a bit later.
14:32Backstage
14:32Vincent Mann
14:33with another pep talk
14:34to The Undertaker
14:34and Kane.
14:35Vince bringing up
14:36DDP's stalker videos
14:37but that causes
14:38the dead man to snap.
14:39Tells him we'll be seeing
14:40the best of The Undertaker
14:41tonight.
14:42On we go to a hastily
14:43thrown together
14:43six man tag
14:44as The Big Show
14:45with his terrible new t-shirt.
14:46Billy Gunn
14:47and Intercontinental Champion
14:48Albert
14:49takes on Sean Stasiak
14:51Hugh Morris
14:51and Chris Canyon.
14:53What an odd six man
14:53this match is on paper.
14:55Albert is in the middle
14:55of his brief
14:56and heatless run
14:57as IC champion.
14:58Billy Gunn
14:59has recovered
14:59from being a bitter Billy
15:00about not being
15:01in the King of the Ring
15:02tournament
15:02and is a face
15:02once again.
15:03The match begins
15:04with triple press slams
15:05a cheap shot
15:06by Stasiak
15:07allowing Canyon
15:07to hit some of that
15:08classic innovative
15:09offense against Gunn.
15:10The crowd pops
15:11for something going on
15:12but it's not Albert
15:13and Stasiak
15:13hitting the ropes
15:14that's for sure.
15:15Gunn tags in
15:15and beats up Morris
15:16hits the Famouser
15:17Canyon gets involved
15:18Stasiak hits Billy
15:19with a reverse DDT
15:20Morris covers
15:21and wins for his team
15:22but he soon pays for it
15:23as The Big Show
15:24chokeslams the WCW guys
15:26in a rage
15:26but saves the devastating
15:28alley-oop for last.
15:29I give it one star
15:30out of five.
15:31Like I said
15:31at the top of this match
15:32I think it was
15:33kind of thrown together
15:34last minute.
15:34There's no real heat
15:35to this other than
15:36the fact it was
15:36us versus them
15:37and you know
15:38the match itself
15:39was pretty short
15:39and nondescript.
15:42Backstage
15:42Shane and WCW's
15:44double champ
15:45Booker T
15:45get in sight
15:46for the main event.
15:47Shane looks as if
15:47he's going to break
15:48any second
15:48as we cut to Tajiri
15:49in William Regal's office.
15:51Regal gets in Tajiri's face
15:52and tells him to take out
15:53that miserable
15:53little gobshite Taz
15:55up next.
15:55So we have that match here.
15:56Taz is one of the many guys
15:58who defected
15:58from the Federation
15:59to ECW
16:00and I love that
16:01the commentary team
16:02is just so heartbroken
16:03and disappointed.
16:04Taz had a promising future
16:05as a broadcast
16:06here in the Federation.
16:07He's thrown it all the way
16:08to be part of this alliance.
16:09Meanwhile, Tajiri earning
16:10some brownie points
16:11by staying with the Federation.
16:12In fact,
16:13there was a bit of a misdirection
16:14on Smackdown
16:15when Tajiri was wearing
16:16an ECW shirt
16:17but it was a ruse.
16:18Tajiri lights up Taz
16:19with some kicks
16:20but Taz laying him out
16:21with a clothesline.
16:22Some back and forth
16:22showcasing Tajiri's strikes
16:24and Taz's judo
16:25and submission work.
16:26Tajiri comes back
16:27with a springboard back elbow
16:28but Taz slows things down
16:29on the outside
16:30talks some trash.
16:31The tarantulas locked in
16:32we get the big buzzsaw
16:33kick but Taz kicks out.
16:35Taz blocks another kick
16:36and hits a suplex.
16:37Shoves the referee
16:38out of the way
16:38but Tajiri hits
16:39the green mist
16:40another kick
16:40and Tajiri wins.
16:42I give it three stars
16:42out of five.
16:43It's a pretty entertaining match
16:44in a relatively small window.
16:46I love the combination
16:47of Tajiri's strikes
16:48and Taz's suplex.
16:49It's a really fun combo
16:50and the ending
16:51was pretty clever as well.
16:52Matt and Jeff Hardy
16:53are backstage.
16:54Matt warns Jeff
16:54about how good
16:55a competitor Rob Van Damme is
16:57when suddenly RVD
16:58whacks Matt
16:58from behind with a chair
16:59warns Jeff and flees.
17:01Meanwhile,
17:02at WWF New York
17:03hardcore Holly
17:04assaults a fan
17:05for wearing a WCW shirt
17:06and security does nothing.
17:08Does Bob not realize
17:09that that guy's money
17:09works there too?
17:10On we go to the only
17:11title match of the night
17:12as Jeff Hardy
17:13defends the hardcore
17:14championship
17:15against RVD.
17:16The action between
17:17these two is swift
17:18and sudden from the word go
17:19and I keep bringing up
17:20the crowd element
17:21in this show
17:22but I will bring up again
17:22the dynamic of the crowd
17:24feels different
17:25in this match
17:25compared to literally
17:26everything else
17:27before or after
17:28this matchup.
17:29A bit wilder,
17:30a bit louder,
17:31and a bit more raucous
17:32than the rest of the show.
17:33I mean these guys
17:34move so fast for a while
17:35it's hard to really recap
17:36what happens here.
17:37RVD goes up top
17:38but Jeff shoves him
17:39onto the floor
17:39and starts taking over.
17:40Jeff goes onto the barricade
17:41but RVD meets him
17:43there as well.
17:43I love that.
17:44Fighting on the outside,
17:45RVD with a moonsault
17:46off the barricade
17:47hits the spinning leg drop.
17:49Jeff responds
17:49with a sunset flip
17:50powerbomb on the floor.
17:52Jeff is the first one
17:53to grab a weapon,
17:53a tall ass ladder,
17:55goes up at the top
17:55but Van Damme shakes
17:56the ladder
17:57and Jeff comes tumbling down
17:58and JR with a line
17:59you've probably heard
18:00several times
18:01in all those
18:01don't try this at home PSAs.
18:02How do you learn
18:03to fall off a 20 foot ladder?
18:05A chair comes into play
18:06on the ramp.
18:07Jeff wants to swing
18:08but RVD hits the Van Damminator
18:10and Hardy flies off the stage.
18:11Back in the ring
18:12RVD goes for the split legged moonsault
18:14but Jeff puts the knees up.
18:15Jeff goes for a swan tom
18:17but RVD rolls out of the way.
18:18Van Damme with the five star frog splash
18:21with the belt assist.
18:22RVD pins
18:23and wins the hardcore championship.
18:25I give it four and a half stars
18:27out of five.
18:27Easily the match of the night here.
18:29These two just put on
18:29a hell of a spectacle
18:31in this thing.
18:31Just very fun
18:32and entertaining
18:33throughout the entire thing.
18:34Really putting RVD
18:36on the map
18:36in the federation
18:37in terms of where
18:38he would ultimately rank
18:39and I think there was
18:40a big jumping off point
18:41for him as to why
18:42he was so popular
18:43during the invasion
18:43and why he was such a babyface
18:45in the heel group
18:46of the alliance.
18:46I think this performance
18:47really had a lot to do with it.
18:49Vince is backstage
18:49with Kurt Angle
18:50and Vince tries to motivate Angle
18:51with some USA stuff
18:52but Kurt says
18:53enough of this Americana bullshit.
18:55Whoa!
18:55He's working red,
18:56white, and blue tonight.
18:57Kurt says he's not just
18:58doing it for his country
18:59or for the federation.
19:00He's doing it for himself.
19:02A great babyface promo
19:03by Angle here
19:04as he's building himself up
19:05as a more legitimate
19:05kind of like top guy
19:06leader position
19:07as the storyline progresses
19:09and also kind of separates him
19:10a bit from the goofier side
19:11of what he was doing.
19:12On we go to our
19:13braw and panties tag team match
19:15as Stacey Keebler
19:16and Tori Wilson
19:16take on Trish Stratus
19:18and Lita.
19:19The gals from WCW
19:20have thrown down the gaunt
19:21for this monumental matchup
19:23and meanwhile
19:23Trish and Lita
19:24still have a bit of a beef
19:25not just stemming
19:26from their time
19:27fighting each other
19:27in the year 2000
19:28but also more recently
19:29Trish has been hitting
19:30on both Matt and Jeff
19:32then the WCW ladies
19:33start hitting on the boys
19:34and now Trish and Lita
19:35are both mad.
19:36Tori by the way
19:37had famously debuted
19:38on Raw
19:39to try and hit on Vincent Mann
19:40but it was all a setup
19:41to make Vince look bad
19:42in front of Linda.
19:43God bless Tori
19:44for having to put up
19:44with all this
19:45on like her first day
19:45on the job.
19:46Mick Foley is back out
19:47once again to officiate
19:48look at Stacey
19:49with the superwoman slap
19:50to start things off.
19:51Tori and Trish
19:52are the first two
19:53working here
19:53Trish goes to the top
19:54but Stacey cuts her off.
19:56Tori and Stacey
19:56can't agree on
19:57who should wrestle next
19:58and Stacey goes in
19:59the hard way.
20:00Lita not getting paid
20:00by the hour
20:01and immediately
20:01takes off Stacey's shirt.
20:03Keebler and Wilson
20:04do some trickery to Lita
20:05and now Lita's top
20:06has been removed.
20:07Tori attacking Trish
20:08with some hair mayors
20:09and hair pulls.
20:10Trish with a
20:10scintillating reversal
20:11as JR puts it
20:12and within seconds
20:13Tori is out of the match.
20:14Moonsault to Stacey
20:15the pants come off
20:16and Team WWF win.
20:18Mick Foley's got all
20:18of Tori's clothes
20:19stuffed in the front
20:20of his pants.
20:20Trish and Lita are so happy
20:22they almost fall off the stage.
20:23I give it one star
20:24out of five.
20:25Honestly, I'm not sure
20:26how they were able
20:27to pull off having
20:27essentially two comedy matches
20:29in one pay-per-view.
20:30The referee fight
20:31and this one.
20:32And by the way
20:32three-fourths
20:33of those competitors
20:34in the combined two matches
20:35aren't trained wrestlers
20:37by the way
20:38but they made it work
20:39for each of them.
20:39The crowd was into it
20:41each time.
20:42You know, the commentary
20:42on this was pretty funny
20:43between JR and Cole
20:44so listen to that if you like.
20:46There you go.
20:46Vince goes to Steve Austin's
20:48locker room
20:48but Stone Cold
20:49doesn't need any motivating.
20:50He's not here to play guitar
20:51or sing or hug.
20:52He's gonna whoop
20:53somebody's ass
20:54and that's the bottom line.
20:55The score is all tied up
20:56between the Alliance
20:57and Team WWF
20:58and now it's time
20:59for our main event.
21:01The inaugural brawl
21:02as Team Alliance
21:03that's DDP, Booker T,
21:05Rhino and the Dudley Boys
21:06take on Team WWF.
21:07Steve Austin,
21:08Kurt Angle,
21:09Chris Jericho
21:10and The Undertaker
21:11and Kane.
21:11As the Alliance
21:12runs roughshod
21:13and really threatens
21:14the very fabric
21:15of the makeup
21:16of the foundation
21:17of the World Wrestling Federation
21:19something has got to be done.
21:21We need to look
21:21to a hero.
21:22Fred Blassie
21:23standing up out of his wheelchair
21:24can only do so much.
21:26They need the WWF champion
21:27Steve Austin
21:28but Vince does not want
21:29the current Steve Austin
21:30that hugs him.
21:30He needs the old
21:32Stone Cold
21:33but Austin just gives him a look
21:34says no
21:35and he walks off
21:36despondently.
21:37He's drinking in the bar.
21:38Finally on the Go Home Raw
21:39Austin famously saves
21:41the Federation
21:41from an Alliance beatdown
21:42coming back
21:43as the old Stone Cold
21:44one of the biggest pops
21:46you've ever done see
21:47as he raises hell
21:48and helps save the day.
21:56The McMahons
21:56and Paul Heyman
21:57are introduced first
21:58then the wrestlers.
21:59Booker T comes out
22:00and JR goes
22:00he's no Ric Flair
22:01he's no Sting
22:02like damn
22:03he goes out of his way
22:04to just bury the fuck
22:04out of Booker T
22:05on commentary here.
22:06DDP comes out
22:07laughs for the Alliance
22:08which is kind of weird.
22:09The brawl begins early
22:10then Stone Cold
22:11comes out to a massive ovation
22:12to help even the odds.
22:13It's Austin's first match
22:14since getting injured
22:15by Booker T
22:16at King of the Ring.
22:17Austin with a superplex
22:18to Rhino
22:18almost right out the gate.
22:19One by one
22:20the members of Team WWF
22:21get lots of shots
22:22in on their opponents.
22:23Undertaker gets a little
22:24over Zell's fight
22:25in the Alliance
22:26and gets cut off.
22:27DDP takes advantage
22:28and probably gets
22:28the most offense
22:29he's gotten on Taker
22:30in weeks.
22:31Booker takes quite a beating
22:32then it's Chris Jericho's turn
22:33as the Dudleys work him over.
22:35Angle goes on a run
22:35for a little bit
22:36but gets cut off.
22:37Angle valiantly fighting
22:38DDP into the corner
22:39but get the tag to Austin
22:40or Dewey
22:41the referee does not catch it.
22:43Diamond Cutter
22:44on Angle
22:44shoulders back
22:45chest out
22:45leads to a big brawl
22:47with everyone.
22:47The ref's letting a lot
22:48of this go.
22:49WCW referee
22:50Charles Robinson
22:51gets in Taker's business
22:52he takes the last ride
22:54for his efforts.
22:55Still a lot of minutes
22:56left in this match folks.
22:57Austin appears to have
22:58injured his knee
22:59and is getting looked at
22:59as the brawl continues.
23:01Kane choke slams
23:02Devon through the announce table
23:03Rhino and Bubba Ray
23:04suplex Kane
23:05through the Spanish announce table
23:06Jericho dives off the apron
23:07onto Rhino
23:08through another table
23:09bodies everywhere.
23:10Back in the ring
23:11Kurt Angle on fire
23:12as he takes on Booker T
23:13Vince throws the WWF title
23:15into the ring
23:16Shane intercepts it
23:16and decks Vince
23:17Angle slam on Booker T
23:19the ankle lock
23:20Booker's tapping
23:20but there's no ref
23:21Austin gets in the ring
23:22but he attacks his own teammate
23:24helps Booker cover Kurt
23:25makes the referee
23:26make the count
23:26Team Alliance wins
23:28in a shocking turn of events.
23:29Booker's music plays
23:30for all of 10 seconds
23:31before we go to Austin's theme
23:33as he and Steph
23:33Shane and Paul
23:34celebrate in the ring
23:35Jim Ross screaming
23:36over this betrayal
23:37as we fade to black.
23:39I give it 3 stars
23:40out of 5.
23:41My biggest knock
23:42with this match
23:42is it just goes
23:43a little too long
23:44for my taste
23:44but I understand
23:45the need for everyone
23:46involved to get their shit
23:47in at different points.
23:48I did like the overall
23:49story of the matchup
23:51and I think that
23:51the escalation near the end
23:52when everyone's doing
23:53the big spots
23:54to get knocked out
23:54that was a pretty cool
23:55moment to see.
23:56As far as the twist
23:57at the end
23:57with Austin joining
23:58the Alliance
23:59man I'm still
24:00I still don't know
24:01how to feel about that
24:02because you could justify
24:03the storyline reason
24:04for Austin
24:05not wanting to work
24:06with Vince
24:07still being kind of
24:08ultimately against him
24:09and he wants to be
24:09with the Alliance here.
24:10He does explain this
24:11more on the next Raw
24:13and everything.
24:14I can explain
24:15I can understand
24:15part of that
24:16but just the timing
24:17of it's so bad
24:18because you could tell
24:18when the old Stone Cold
24:19came back the previous week
24:21and how the fans
24:22just exploded for it
24:23I think the Federation
24:25needed a top baby face.
24:26Angle wasn't quite ready
24:28to be that yet.
24:29I think one of the biggest
24:30problems we'll see
24:30as the storyline goes on
24:32is the Angle I think
24:32was put into that spot
24:33of it prematurely.
24:34So you have this top baby face
24:36people want to see
24:36be a top baby face again
24:37but instead he joins
24:39the heel side of things
24:40which honestly
24:41didn't need help
24:41getting heat
24:42because I think
24:43you had enough elements
24:44there that people
24:45hated the Alliance
24:46no matter what.
24:47I think Austin
24:48being in part of the group
24:49like yeah
24:50many people hate him
24:51a bit more
24:51but they didn't need help
24:52in that department.
24:53I think the Federation
24:54needed Austin
24:55to be in that spot.
24:56Obviously Austin
24:57has gone on record
24:58multiple times
24:58saying he hates this run
25:00because he hates
25:00work and heel and everything
25:01but there it was
25:03Austin is now
25:04joining and leading
25:05the Alliance
25:06and we're just gonna have
25:07to wait and see
25:07how it all unfolds.
25:09My grade for the
25:10Invasion pay-per-view
25:11is a B-
25:12though on second thought
25:13it's up to a solid
25:14B grade
25:15just on the strength
25:15of the crowd alone
25:16because those folks
25:17were superb all night.
25:18I gotta admit
25:19I went into this show
25:20expecting a lot more
25:21bad matches
25:22than there ended up
25:23being here
25:23like the referee fight
25:25and the bra and panties
25:26match were
25:27objectively the worst
25:28matches on the show.
25:29If you turn your mind off
25:30and just kind of enjoy
25:31the goofiness that they were
25:32like listen to the crowd
25:33reacted and the commentary
25:34having fun with it
25:35like on that level
25:36it's enjoyable
25:36but those and the
25:38six-man tag match
25:39left a lot to be desired
25:40I think in terms of
25:41overall show cohesion.
25:43Yeah but there were
25:44some surprising kind of
25:45sleeper hits on this show
25:46for me like the opening
25:46tag match with
25:47Edge and Christian
25:48and Team Canada
25:49X-Pac versus Kidman
25:50better than I remember
25:51RVD and Jeff Hardy
25:52was the standout match
25:53of the whole thing.
25:54I thought it was just
25:55going to be a one show
25:55pay-per-view
25:56but there's a lot more
25:57to it than that.
25:58But yeah Austin's betrayal
25:59kind of puts a sour finish
26:01on this show.
26:02The rest of the match
26:03was okay the main event
26:04but yeah Austin's
26:06going back to Healdom
26:07after the brief flirtation
26:08with being a face again
26:09really you could just tell
26:11took the wind out of the sails
26:12of the storyline
26:13and made it kind of more of a
26:14ugh we have more
26:15to suffer through now
26:16with this already kind of
26:19belabored storytelling
26:19and where it's going to go
26:20from here
26:21we are going to have to find out
26:22but I think for this
26:24pay-per-view
26:24the one and done
26:25Invasion
26:26I think it was
26:27an above average way
26:28to get this storyline
26:29going into the next chapter.
26:31A couple things
26:32could have improved on
26:33but I think overall
26:34it was entertaining.
26:35It was never a boring show
26:37lots of fun throughout.
26:38Well I hope you enjoyed
26:39this review folks.
26:40Now as I am reviewing
26:41the Invasion storyline
26:42all the way through
26:43to December
26:43once a month
26:44I have to pad it out
26:45I can't be doing these
26:46WWF and 2001
26:47pay-per-views
26:48back to back
26:49every two weeks
26:50so gotta stretch it out
26:51a little bit
26:51and break it up a bit
26:52by doing different shows
26:53from different places
26:54in history
26:55and the next time
26:56in two weeks
26:56I'm reviewing
26:57WCW Spring Stampede 1997.
27:01I'm Brian Zane
27:02and I'll see you next time.
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