WWE InVasion (2001)

RATING LEVELS: 

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings 

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

InVasion - July 2001

The Gund Arena (now Quicken Loans Arena), Cleveland, Ohio

COMMENTATORS - Jim Ross and Michael Cole

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN - Heading into tonight's event, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is the reigning WWF World Champion while Booker T holds the WCW Championship and US Championship. The APA are the WWE Tag Team Champions (Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo are the WCW Tag Team Champions), X-Pac is the WWE Light-Heavyweight Champion, Billy Kidman is the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, and Jeff Hardy holds the WWE Hardcore Championship. Oh, and Albert is the Intercontinental Champion because, I'm guessing, they didn't have anyone else to give the belt to.

Kicking things off is Edge and Christian vs. Lance Storm and Mike Awesome. The crowd takes a minute to warm up, as do the workers, but once the participants start hitting the big spots, the responses are there. All four guys work hard, though I'm not sure this match wouldn't have benefitted from a couple more near-falls and an extra 2-3 minutes to  play up the idea that Storm and Awesome are not just two thrown-together singles guys, but a formidable duo with experience (which JR does allude to on commentary). The finishing sequence is probably the best part of this 10-minute sprint, which is not a knock against the rest of the match - it's just noticeable that this match hits its apex right as it ends. (2.5/5)

Mick Foley arrives next to a warm ovation from the Cleveland crowd. He is serving as guest referee for a WWE first - a Ref vs. Ref match, with Earl Hebner taking on Nick Patrick. Not too much to this one, which runs under 5 minutes. Meaningless. (0/5)

WCW Tag Champs, Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo, take on WWE Tag Team Champions, Bradshaw and Simmons, in a grudge match next. This match is probably as good as you would ever get out of a O'Haire and Palumbo vs. APA match. After 8 minutes of stiff action, you can tell the crowd is losing interest and the workers prep to take it home. This match just seems one sequence too long and, again, it is the same side of the WWE vs. WCW war that gets the victory. Not the worst match I've ever seen, but noticeably lacking a single great performer - the fact is, no one involved in this is at their peak in 2001. The saving grace is probably Bradshaw's devastating clotheslines, but in no way does the rest of his time in-ring allude to him being a major singles star 4 years later. Simmons is solid, but not explosive. O'Haire and Palumbo carry themselves well, but certainly weren't show-stealers. Decent to average, but not any steps higher than that. (2/5)

After a series of interviews, WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman takes on WWE Light-Heavyweight Champion, X-Pac. The crowd is indifferent to this one - unable to boo X-Pac (as the whole show has been built with the WWE guys as heroes and the WCW/ECW Alliance members as villains), but not willing to go the extra step and actually cheer him either. There are some good sequences, but the overall effect doesn't register as anything more than average. The finish gets the biggest reaction of the match, but it's plain to see that neither guy is as explosive or engaging as they were at their career peaks. (2/5)

Raven vs. William Regal is next in a fairly odd match. Regal tries to raise things beyond just a back-and-forth clash of styles, using a variety of throws and attempting to lock in his submission specialities, while Raven dishes out his repertoire of brawl-based offense. It never seems like they capture the audience's attention, though. Part of the confusion is that I'm not sure which guy is supposed to be getting fan sympathy - Regal is a pure heel fighting for the honor of the WWE, while Raven, rarely a fan favorite, is the turncoat that rejoined the ECW/WCW Alliance out of loyalty to Paul Heyman. With the crowd confused as to what to do, they sit on their hands and occasionally chant "Boring." The screwy finish hurts things even more as the execution of the "fatal blow" is not nearly as devastating as it should be. (1.5/5)

Big Show, Billy Gunn, and Intercontinental Champion Albert are challenged by Kanyon, Shawn Stasiak, and Hugh Morrus next. That sentence pretty much tells you everything you need to know about how bloated the WWE roster was during the InVasion. The WCW contingent arrives to the sound of Mr. Perfect's music for some reason. The best thing to say about this contest is at least it is kept short. (0.5/5)

Backstage, Booker T holds the WCW United States and World Heavyweight Championship and is talking with Shane McMahon. This is followed by Tajiri milling about in Regal's office. Regal comes in, screaming, telling Tajiri he needs to get revenge on Tazz in the next match.

On paper, this looks like it could be one for the ages as these two ECW alum are very respectable talents in terms of in-ring ability - Tazz vs. Tajiri. This match really proves what many have said over the years - against the right opponent of the right size, Tazz's act could work, but in the land of the giants, Tazz's unique blend of vicious strikes, suplexes, and ahead-of-its-time MMA-inspired submissions was not enough to overcome the fact that he barely stood taller than the top rope. Tajiri's offense is a breath of fresh air as well and the crowd gets fully behind him for his comeback. A few more minutes would have made this match a show-stealer, but one can understand why they didn't get more time considering how "outside the mainstream" these two personalities were. The best match of the night so far. (3/5)

Rob Van Dam challenges Jeff Hardy for his Hardcore Championship in the next bout. RVD gets a noticeable face pop from the crowd, though, it's not as if Hardy is getting booed out of the building. Right from the start, these two show off a variety of their trademark moves and reversals in this No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere match. This one definitely benefits from its context - at this time, RVD's signature spots were still fresh to the WWE audience and the "RVD" and "Holy Shit" chants that are generated are impossible to ignore. Hardy pulls out the Super Ladder at one point, which leads to a very risky spot where Jeff Hardy basically free falls onto the ramp feet-first, potentially shattering his ankles in the process. This leads to an even cooler spot where, on the ramp, RVD connects with a jump kick to a chair-wielding Hardy and the Rainbow-Haired Warrior takes a spill onto the arena floor. When Van Dam connects with a Van Daminator, one gets the feeling that this match should be over - but it isn't and the crowd is thankful. The actual finish, coming a few minutes later, gets a great reaction and is the kind of definitive end to a very brutal match that one wants to get. And just as quickly as I named Tazz/Tajiri the best match of the night so far, this one came along and took its place. Meltzer gave this one 4-stars but I'm not as huge of a fan of it due to its "spot fest" nature. (3.5/5)

Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson vs. Trish Stratus and Lita in a Bra & Panties Match is next. Before the match, we get a video recap of the events that led up to this match. Again, Mick Foley arrives to serve as the guest referee. A match like this may "have its place," but that doesn't mean I have to like it. In fact, I'd take just about any Divas match of the current era over these sort of "contests." Say what you will about the various times we've seen untrained talents like Stephanie McMahon wrestle or the early work of the Bella Twins, at least their matches were promoted as some sort of physical contest. This match, like most of its kind, is about nothing more than seeing women getting their clothes ripped off to reveal the same outfits that one would find in any one of the hundreds of photo spreads they did routinely for Maxim or WWE.com. There is zero replay value in this, but I'd argue there is also zero initial viewing value aside from the slim possibility of a wardrobe malfunction. In an attempt to pander to the dumbest of the male demo, the Attitude Era was filled with garbage like this that made no storyline sense, resulted in forgettable "matches," and only weakened the star attraction of the divas involved - two of whom were over, popular, and proven enough in-ring workers to deserve better story lines. The other two, while arguably less known to WWE fans and completely untrained as "wrestlers" ended up being respectable C-listers outside of the WWE and could also have been utilized in a variety of better ways. Awful booking, awful presentation, awful, awful, awful. (0/5)

Vince arrives in Austin's locker room to give him a quick pep talk, but Austin doesn't want to hear it. What's interesting to me is that Vince (and Shane in a previous segment) mention how tonight's scorecard is "even," and while that may be true, it's not like any of the previous matches held any real weight. Austin gets a huge face reaction for the few brief words he says and we get a long video package promoting tonight's main event - including Vince's demand for a return from the old Stone Cold, the original Rattlesnake, the man who used to be the Toughest SOB on the Planet.

And the Inaugural Brawl is upon us - Team WWE, made up of Austin, The Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho versus The Alliance of WCW World Champion Booker T, The Dudley Boys, Rhyno, and Diamond Dallas Page. Before this one gets underway, we get an unbearable number of entrances, though, one can understand it - the reactions Jericho, Angle, Kane and Taker, Vince, and Austin get are incredible and would have been muted had all these characters come in together. Things start off with Austin dishing out an asskicking to Rhyno, including a superplex early on. Unsurprisingly, Jericho and Angle get big reactions when they get tagged in - more surprising is that Kane gets quite a nice pop himself, showing that there was a time when the Big Red Machine could elicit a crowd response beyond indifference. In fact, comparatively, it is the Deadman who gets the quietest reaction of his team until Taker sets up Bubba Ray for the Old School. On the WCW side of things, it's hard not to call Booker T the MVP of his squadron - his selling is very animated while his comebacks and reversals look like true desperation moves from a guy who might have come into this match a bit too cocky. What doesn't work about this match? Arguably it's the performance of Jim Ross on commentary. His ire towards WCW takes away from calling this match as a competition between two equal sides. At one point, he mocks Booker's Spinnerooni (as if no other WWE talent has ever incorporated a dance move into their work) and, at another time, refuses to acknowledge Booker T's WCW Championship reign as equal to those of Flair and Sting, the "real" WCW legends. These sorts of comments go too far in an anti-WCW direction for me - even if it is part of the storyline of WCW and ECW coming in to destroy the WWE and put Good Ol' JR on the unemployment line. When the Alliance does take control of things, the crowd grows even more rabid, chanting for Austin and clapping along with a cheerleading Jericho. As one might've predicted, all hell breaks loose at one point and, in the melee, "Lil' Naitch" Charles Robinson ends up the victim of a Last Ride while several of the match's participants brawl around the ring. While Booker and Angle lie prone in the ring, there are table spots galore and the Cleveland crowd is impressed. When the dust settles, Angle is double-teamed in the ring by Booker and Bubba, but somehow has the energy to gain the upperhand and connect with an Angle Slam. A ref bump later and, again, Booker and Angle are lights out in the middle of the ring with the audience on their feet. From here, we get the WWE doubling down on an idea that began at WrestleMania 17, but what might be overlooked in the questionable booking decision is that the actual execution is (again) genuinely shocking. Part of that shock comes from it making little sense that Austin would commit such a betrayal after wrestling a 25+ minute match against his new teammates, but the beauty of the Austin character is that he can't be trusted, he always looks out for number one, and it is completely within his character to wrestle 25+ minutes against the same guys he's secretly in cahoots with. (3.5/5)

With an average match rating of 1.85-out-of-5, WWE's InVasion pay-per-view is, regardless of the buyrate and the historical significance, a weak and (at times) insufferable show. The main event, Hardy vs. RVD, and Tazz/Tajiri matches are good (maybe great), but the rest of the card has so many misfires, it is a slog to get through. Two of the matches (the Divas match and the Refs match) are outright insulting, while the 6-man tag and Regal/Raven would fit nicely on a bad episode of RAW. Of the 15 WWE pay-per-views I had reviewed prior to this one, InVasion earned the lowest rating of all – even less than the 2014 Survivor Series, which I found to be a “one match show” and earned a pretty dismal 2.07 average match rating. The difference is that the Survivor Series main event was an incredible match that featured excellent  performances out of Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins as well as a thrilling finish featuring the WWE debut of Sting. Invasion’s main event was considerably less dramatic and wasn’t even the best match of the night. With all its glaring flaws, InVasion is almost impossible to recommend.

FINAL RATING – DUDleyville