Wrestling Matches That Didn’t Meet the Hype
WWE.com
No. 3: WWE Invasion 2001: Team WWE vs. Team Alliance (WCW and ECW)
The match that all wrestling fans dreamed of happening but thought never would happen. What could have been the single greatest moment in the history of professional wrestling if the stars would have been aligned and not sitting at home.
The WWE vs. WCW that fans dreamed of with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting, Lex Luger, and Goldberg vs. Stone Cold, Undertaker, Rock, HBK, and Triple H only had the Undertaker and Stone Cold in this match. A WCW that was not even a shell of what they used to be and a partial ECW roster vs. WWE is what we got instead.
Team WWE lead by The Undertaker, Kane, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and WWE Champion Stone Cold vs. Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, Rhyno, and the Dudley Boyz. Triple H was out with his quad injury and in the beginning stages of his rehab. The Rock was in Hollywood busy with his rising movie career.
The build up started with Shane buying WCW out from under Vince and soon joining forces with Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman as they brought back ECW from the dead. With a hostile take over in front of him, Vince pleaded with Stone Cold to become the “Old Stone Cold” and not the newer and nicer one that was Vince McMahon’s best friend.
The go-away show on Raw was one of the best endings for a pay per view as the ring was filled with WCW and ECW guys beating down WWE guys. In the back the same was happening to those who didn’t make it out to the ring. Segments of Stone Cold at a bar shooting pool while throwing back a few cold ones kept playing throughout the show.
When the fighting started, Stone Cold pulled up in his black truck, and with cue stick in hand started hitting any WCW or ECW wrestler in sight. Stone Cold made his way to the ring after beating through everyone in his way – the glass shattered and the crowd popped the roof off. Stone Cold BMF walking his way to the ring cleaned everyone out – dishing kicks to the gut and stunners to anyone near him. Jim Ross put everything he had in his voice into selling the moment as only JR can.
The match felt very rushed and while the build up was great, the match was just okay. The ending came off awful as Stone Cold had to join WCW and ECW to help give them the star power they needed to make the threat legit for the story to continue.
The rematch at Survivor Series that added the Rock into the mix was better because you had his star power on one side and Austin’s on the other.
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