by Hatter X
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

“Be careful what you wish for!”
…Or
“What if the INVASION had worked?”  

“Checking the ratings on Tuesday mornings use to be fun…”
      -          Eric Bischoff, 1997

“I hold WCW’s very life in my hands…"
       -          Vince McMahon, 2001

“The name on the contract says ‘McMahon’, but it’s signed by ‘Shane McMahon’”
      -          Shane McMahon, 2001

“It seems to me that everyone has forgotten about the Tribe of Extreme!”
      -     Paul Heyman, 2001

“Allow me to introduce to you the new owner of ECW, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley”
      -          Shane McMahon, 2001

“It’s time to put an end to this Invasion crap!"
     -          Vince McMahon, 2001 

March of 2001 saw the WWF finalize a very one-sided deal to purchase WCW from Time Warner-AOL and effectively put an end to the Monday Night Wars. Vince McMahon then took complete control of WCW and gave it to his son to use as a pawn in the Shane McMahon/Vince McMahon father/son battle, currently raging in the WWF. Over the course of the next few months, the WWF creative team, headed by Stephanie McMahon and fueled by Vince McMahon’s need to prove himself the victor in a war already won, the entity of WCW was further tarnished to the point that McMahon and his creative team decided to try and resurrect the “Invasion” storyline by adding ECW to the mix. In a one night hot shot, the WWF/WCW war heated up enough to almost save the angle, however, that was not to be. Many point to the lack of opportunity given to the WCW and ECW stars, others point to the lack of “star power” on the part of WCW. But what if WCW came in hot, with the star power available to make a serious impact? What if Vince McMahon had no choice other than to make WCW a viable competitor? In this edition of Timeline, we explore the question: “What if the Invasion had worked?”

Timeline: February 2001
Location: Atlanta, Georgia & Stamford, Connecticut 
(Conference Call)

Vince and Linda McMahon, along with a team of attorneys and legal assistants, participate in a conference call with Time Warner-AOL, Ted Turner and WCW executive Brad Siegel finalize a deal to purchase WCW from Time Warner-AOL for a sum of around $1 million with a few exceptions. The WWF must take over all Time Warner AOL contracts. McMahon is hesitant to take on the expensive AOL contracts, but with the low price of $1 million, he doesn’t make too big a deal out of it. So the stage is set for what would be the biggest event in pro wrestling history.

FAST FORWARD

March 26, 2001, Panama Beach, Florida

Vince McMahon opens WCW Nitro with a cryptic message to WCW stars, saying that he holds their lives in his hands. Through out the 2-hour broadcast of Nitro, and the 2-hour broadcast of Raw, Vince McMahon plays with the emotions of WCW fans and insults WCW as an entity. Finally the night ends with Vince McMahon in the ring on Raw, speaking to both companies simultaneously. Vince claims to be finalizing the deal at Wrestlemania, while Shane McMahon makes a surprise appearance on Nitro and says that he has finalized the deal already. Shane says that under his leadership, WCW will overtake the WWF once more. Then things turn bad. Without notice, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, Shane Douglas, Booker T, Ric Flair and Sting hit the ring and beat down Shane McMahon. Meanwhile the WWF fans get a huge surprise of their own as an unfamiliar voice calls out over the PA system, “Surprise Vince!” Then much to the shock of Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff walks out on Raw and presents a signed contract with Vince’s signature, stating that he is part of the WCW sale. Bischoff exposes to the crowd that Vince tried to turn WCW vs. WWF into a WWF storyline, when in fact it is very, very real. Vince tries to get security down to the ring, but from the crowd, Bill Goldberg runs in and spears McMahon from behind. Bischoff takes the microphone again and warns the WWF that WCW is alive and well! Although he writhes in pain on the mat, Vince secretly smiles on the inside, knowing that he just pulled off the biggest angle in the history of wrestling!

In the next few days, it is revealed that WCW will be given a 2-hour Saturday night prime time slot on TBS, with Eric Bischoff at the helm. While online fans are aware of the inner-workings of this new era in wrestling; the casual fan base, largely the bigger of the two, are shocked to the point of frenzied intrigue at the thought of company vs. company for real. Wrestlemania 17 comes and goes, with WCW making a serious impact as Shane & Vince McMahon put their differences aside to team with the Undertaker and Triple H to face off against Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner and Goldberg. The WCW quartet wins the encounter and strikes the second huge blow in the “Invasion” angle when Triple H defects to the WCW side and costs his team the victory. Meanwhile, Steve Austin defeats The Rock with help from WCW World Champion, Booker T. The question is put forth, is Austin turning WCW as well?

Over the course of the next few weeks, leading into May, WCW talent, lead by Bischoff and WWF talent, lead by Vince McMahon, begin to infiltrate each other’s shows, interfering in matches and furthering the “Invasion”. In an added twist to the storyline, Linda McMahon recovers from her “coma” and regains executive power. Linda forces a draft between WCW and WWF, since WWFE, as a parent company technically owns both entities. The May PPV, Judgment Day, sees the first ever WWF vs. WCW card, in which the company with the most winners of the matches will determine who gets first pick in the huge interpromotional draft to follow the next week on a WWF/WCW Special.

The card (consisting of non-title matches) comes out like this:

• Shane Helms (WCW) defeats Justin Credible (WWF)
• Rhyno (WWF) defeats Hugh Morrus (WCW)
• Mike Awesome & Lance Storm (WCW) defeat The Dudley Boyz (WWF)
• Torrie Wilson & Stacy Keibler (WCW) and Trish Stratus & Lita (WWF) fight to a No Contest when both teams abuse the refs and disregard the rules.
• Shane Douglas (WCW) defeats Tazz (WWF)
• Raven, William Regal, Hardcore Holly & The APA (WWF) defeat DDP, Kanyon, Shawn Stasiak, Mark Jindrak & Buff Bagwell (WCW)
• Scott Steiner (WCW) defeats Rikishi (WWF)
• Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit (WWF) defeat Sean O’Haire & Chuck Palumbo (WCW)
• Kurt Angle (WWF) defeats Sting (WCW)
• Kevin Nash & Triple H (WCW) defeat Undertaker & Kane (WWF)
• The Rock (WWF) defeats Booker T (WCW)
• Goldberg (WCW) defeats Steve Austin (WWF) when The Rock defects to WCW.

WCW= 6-5-1
WWF= 5-6-1

So the following weekend, on a huge WWF/WCW Special, Linda McMahon over sees a Draft, in which Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon take turns picking from a joint WWF-WCW roster to form new rosters. Bischoff, on behalf of WCW gets the first pick, and chooses the man who helped them achieve victory, The Rock. Vince McMahon counters with the man that he used to build the WWF around in an effort to over take WCW in the Monday Night Wars, Steve Austin. Bischoff follows with Goldberg, seizing arguably WCW’s biggest attraction. Vince counters by grabbing a huge WCW name, and a man he has sought after for years, Sting. The draft continues on and on with the rosters turning out like this:

(In no particular order)

WCW

The Rock, Goldberg, Kurt Angle, Booker T, The Big Show, Scott Steiner, Buff Bagwell, The Undertaker, Rhyno, The Dudley Boyz, Chris Jericho, DDP, The APA, Lita, Torrie Wilson, Billy Kidman, William Regal, Lash LeRoux, Kid Romeo, Lance Storm, Shane McMahon, Billy Gunn, Crash Holly, K-Kwick, Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak, Rikishi, Kronik, Godfather, Val Venis, Ivory, Molly Holly, Spike Dudley, Rick Steiner, Kaienti, Chyna, Mick Foley, Saturn, The Harris Brothers, D’Lo Brown, Maven, Jackie, Big Bossman, Terri & Edge

WWF

Steve Austin, Sting, Kevin Nash, Triple H, Chris Benoit, Kane, Tazz, Shane Douglas, Ric Flair, Sean O’Haire & Chuck Palumbo, The Hardy Boyz, Raven, The Wall, Shane Helms, Stacy Keibler, Trish Stratus, Kanyon, Hardcore Holly, X-Pac, Eddie Guerrero, Hugh Morrus, Rey Mysterio Jr., Jerry Lynn, Jamie Knoble, Mark Jindrak, Johnny The Bull, Mike Sanders, Justin Credible, Albert, Test, Bam Bam Bigelow, Disco Inferno, Mark Henry, Steven Richards, Bull Buchanon, Ernest Miller, Alan Funk, Lex Luger, Haku, Jeff Jarrett, Konnan, Shannon Moore, Norman Smiley, Too Cool, Al Snow, Christian & Curt Hennig 

Both rosters end up with 50 active superstars, with other members being added as more developmental talent begin to filter onto TV and injured talent begin to make their way back to TV.

The month of June sees the WWF begin to gain in the war against WCW, but it is difficult, as Kevin Nash, Triple H, X-Pac and Justin Credible use their “Clique” status to lure Shawn Michaels to TV, and begin a reformation of the NWO, loyal to Bischoff, while a part of the WWF roster. Meanwhile, Bischoff has a fight of his own to deal with, as Angle, Mick Foley, Undertaker, Jericho, The APA and Shane McMahon form a united front loyal to Vince and the WWF. King of the Ring is headlined by WWF Champion, Steve Austin, facing WCW Champion, Booker T in Title Match, the first interpromotional title match in over two decades. The match ends in disarray as Scott Hall makes his return, alongside the NWO, which is now 100% “Clique”; and causes a no contest as the NWO lays both men out and confirms the induction of WCW stars The Big Show (now once again The Giant), Scott Steiner, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, The Dudley Boyz and Shane McMahon into the NWO, making it a cross promotional stable and a pain in the ass of both Vince and Bischoff. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

July comes and the WWF and WCW are scheduled for a joint Raw/Nitro Special in Philadelphia. All the matches for the show are scheduled to be some pairing of WWF vs. WCW vs. NWO. During the main event, which had Triple H, The Giant, Justin Credible & The Dudley Boyz (NWO) vs. Goldberg, The Rock, Rhyno, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome (WCW) vs. Sting, Chris Benoit, Tazz, Shane Douglas and Raven (WWF), Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Steve Corino hit the ring, getting a huge reaction from the crowd. They wore ECW shirts, and as they hit, with all the other wrestlers stunned, Credible, The Dudley’s, Rhyno, Storm, Awesome, Benoit, Tazz, Douglas and Raven, simultaneously turn on their respective teams and beat them down. Paul Heyman gets up from the commentary desk and begins to verbally lead the assault with a house microphone from ringside.  On the ramp, we can see Perry Saturn, Spike Dudley, Chris Jericho, Jerry Lynn, Eddie Guerrero, Al Snow, Steven Richards, Rey Mysterio Jr., Konnan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Lita, Mick Foley and Steve Austin making their way out to the ring. WCW, NWO and WWF re-enforcements make their way out, only to be stopped dead in their tracks by the mob. Heyman then takes complete control and announces that while Bischoff may control WCW, Vince may control the WWF and Shane McMahon may have interest in the NWO… he, along with every major WWF, WCW and NWO star that came from the tribe of Extreme, has decided to take this war one step further and declare ECW a viable opponent! The crowd goes nuts and a fourth competitor enters the war.

Summer Slam 2001 comes and goes with the WWF, WCW and the NWO being severely out manned in the war with ECW. Heyman and his minions spend endless weeks infiltrating both Raw and Nitro, wrecking havoc and running amuck. Heyman holds a meeting via camcorder with Shane McMahon and they agree to begin working together to take down WCW and the WWF, and then split everything between themselves. Meanwhile Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley returns to TV alongside her father and convinces Vince to sit down with Bischoff and work together to take out the NWO and ECW. Vince and Bischoff hold an open meeting on an episode of Saturday Nitro, and agree to mount a united front at the September PPV, Unforgiven. So at Unforgiven, Vince McMahon & Eric Bischoff team up to take on Paul Heyman and Shane McMahon. The match ends in disaster for Heyman and Vince, as Bischoff and Shane McMahon double cross their respective partners and with the help of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, unite WCW and the NWO once more, with Vince McMahon’s off spring and his greatest foe at the helm!

October is a horrible month for the WWF and ECW as the combined might of WCW and the NWO is just too much to handle. Talent from ECW and the WWF begin to jump ship to WCW in droves with Ric Flair, Sean O’Haire & Chuck Palumbo, The Hardy Boyz, Trish Stratus, Kanyon & Hardcore Holly leaving the WWF… while ECW loses Steve Corino, Shane Douglas, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho. Finally, November comes around and Survivor Series sets the stage for a major match in the war. Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman agree to put their differences aside and put up their organizations control, against Bischoff and the McKid’s rights to WCW and the NWO. One match, 3 members of each roster teaming up for a 12 Man Tag Team Match. Sting, Kane, Steve Austin, Rhyno, Raven & Test represent the WWF/ECW side, while The Rock, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall represent WCW/NWO.  The match ends with Austin finally screwing McMahon and Heyman both, and helping the WCW/NWO side win, thus ending ECW and the WWF! Eric Bischoff wins the war and in his final act of anti-McMahon aggression, turns his entire roster loose on Shane and Stephanie McMahon, with Triple H even delivering the final pedigree to his wife.

The December PPV, traditionally Armageddon, will now be Starrcade.  RAW now becomes NWO RAW, while WCW Saturday Nitro remains the flagship show. The remaining WWF and ECW rosters are incorporated into the mix, and Paul Heyman is given a spot at the commentary table along side JR. The McMahon’s are forced out of the storylines and off TV for exactly one year. Vince and his clan would return one year later, almost to the day to challenge Bischoff again…

But that is another story.

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Amarillo, TX, is home to Hatter X, a wrestling fan for 25 of his 30 years.  He enjoys pure wrestling, but its the edgy drama and quality storytelling that really frosts his donut.  E-mail Hatter X at [email protected]. 

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