Invasion Match Card and Build
July 22nd, 2001 from Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH
The Inaugural Brawl Team WWF *WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin Chris Jericho Kurt Angle and The Brothers of Destruction* vs Team WCW *WCW World and United States Champion Booker T DDP Scott Steiner Raven and Saturn*
– The night after King of the Ring on Monday Night Raw in MSG, Vince McMahon opens the show talking about the history of MSG and promises that tonight would be a night no one would ever forget before showing a video package of his father Vince McMahon Sr. Through out the night WCW Wrestlers Mike Awesome would retain his WWF Hardcore Championship defeating Test in a Hardcore Match and The Impact Players retained the WWF Tag Team Championship defeating The Brothers of Destruction with the help of Raven and Saturn and The Impact Players would even attack new King of the Ring winner Chris Jericho after he defeated Billy Gunn as Shane McMahon, DDP and the WCW World and United States Champion Booker T would invade WWF New York and Shane would brag about Booker T’s victory the night before as DDP would call out Stone Cold to come to WWF New York if he wanted a piece of the true “Peoples Champion”
– Vince McMahon who would be angry over WCW ruining the hallowed grounds of MSG by beating WWF guys tells Stone Cold to go to WWF New York to kick Booker T and DDP’s ass but Austin would tell Vince he has never done what Vince has said and that he is only going to WWF New York to kick Booker T’s and DDP’s asses for himself as Kurt Angle then enters and he is pissed about Lance Storm for costing him the King of the Ring leading Vince to tells Angle to go with Austin to kick the hell out of WCW and Austin before they leaves tells Angle to stay the hell out of his way as The APA would hold a locker room meeting rallying the WWF roster to stand up against WCW
– At the end of Monday Night Raw Vince McMahon came out and talks about how WCW has been ruining the legacy of MSG as we see Stone Cold and Kurt Angle arrive at WWF New York in Austin’s pick up truck as Austin and Angle end up entering WWF New York but are informed that Shane, Booker and DDP had already left a while ago while back in MSG, Shane McMahon comes out with Booker T and DDP as Shane tells Vince that he knew what Vince was planning and tells Vince that tonight is the night for WCW to officially start invading the WWF and as Shane/Booker/DDP are distracting Vince. Scott Steiner comes through the crowd and turns Vince around and hits Vince with a overhead Belly to Belly Suplex. The APA and the WWF Roster clear the locker room leading to more WCW Wrestlers coming out and a huge brawl taking place but WCW ends up outnumbering the WWF Roster and beats them down as Raw ends with Scott Steiner locking Vince McMahon in the Steiner Recliner before letting him go as Shane McMahon and WCW stands tall over Vince and members of the fallen WWF Roster.
– On Smackdown Shane McMahon and WCW opened up Smackdown as Shane would talk about how WCW destroyed the WWF on there home turf of MSG as Shane then talks about how “Fully Loaded” has been cancelled and will be replaced by a PPV fittingly called Invasion as Shane proposes a 5 on 5 tag team match between 5 members of WCW and 5 members of the WWF which leads to Shane calling out Chris Jericho. Jericho comes out on the stage with a steel chair in hand as Shane tells Jericho that he knows he and WCW have been hard on him but the fact is they actually want to offer Jericho a spot in WCW as Shane asks Jericho “Since you’ve come to the WWF from WCW how many WWF Title shots have you gotten Chris?” Shane says that it was WCW that got Jericho’s name on the map not the WWF and that he wants him to watch Booker T and DDP beat the hell out of Stone Cold and Kurt Angle later tonight and see why WCW is the real winners and not the WWF. Later in the night Booker T and DDP end up defeating Stone Cold and Kurt Angle when Scott Steiner knocks Angle out with a Steel Pipe with the ref distracted by Shane leading to DDP pinning Kurt Angle as Booker/DDP/Steiner beat down Angle and Austin until The Brothers of Destruction come out for the save as Chris Jericho stays in his locker room watching everything unfold to end Smackdown.
– On Monday Night Raw Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle open up Raw talking about Invasion and Vince accepts Shane’s challenge and he calls the main event the inagural brawl and announces that Kurt Angle will be on Team WWF which leads Angle declaring himself the leader of team WWF which leads to the glass shattering and Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out and telling Vince that he does not give a damn who is on Team WWF the fact is at Invasion he is going to stomp a mudhole in both Booker T and DDP’s asses and that if anyone stands in his way like Vince did at King of the Ring then he will stomp a mudhole in his ass too which leads to DDP coming out and DDP cuts a promo about how he was the reason Stone Cold lost at King of the Ring which leads to Austin challenging DDP to a match later tonight and DDP accepts as long as Austin agrees to put the WWF Title on the line which Austin accepts too. During Raw, Scott Steiner defeats The Undertaker with help from Raven and Saturn as they beat Taker down after the match and Raven almosts hits Sara with the evenflow until Kane comes out as all 3 end up going through the crowd to escape from Kane. Stone Cold ends up retaining the WWF Title by DQ against DDP after Austin had DDP locked in the Million Dollar Dream but Booker came out and hit Austin in the back with the WCW World Title as Angle came out to save Austin and was about to hit the Angle Slam on Booker until DDP low blowed Angle and hit the Diamond Cutter on Angle but at the end of Raw, Chris Jericho declares his intention to stay with the WWF when he is called out by Shane to make Jericho joining WCW official and Jericho seemingly joins WCW by shaking hands with Shane until Jericho locks Shane in the Walls of Jericho and lets go before going through the crowd when he sees WCW Wrestlers clearing the locker room to save Shane to end Raw.
– On Smackdown Shane McMahon opens up Smackdown and reveals that Team WCW at Invasion will consist of the WCW World and United States Champion Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Stiener, Raven and Saturn and Shane would also say that for what Jericho pulled on Raw that there will be hell to pay at the hands of WCW. Raven and Kane have a match as The Undertaker distracts Raven leading to Kane hitting Raven with the chokeslam to pick up the victory and was set to beat Raven down after the match but WCW Wrestlers come out and beat down The Brothers of Destruction and make The Undertaker bleed as some even have Sara which leads to Sara slapping Raven and Raven was going to give Sara the evenflow but Shane attempts to stop him until Shane decks Raven with a right hand to end Smackdown with the WCW Wrestlers checking on Shane while some are confused by Raven’s actions.
– On Monday Night Raw, Raven and Shane were set to have a Street Fight but The Undertaker comes out and says that there won’t be a Street Fight between Raven and Shane McMahon because Raven’s ass belongs to him tonightwhich leads to Raven coming out and a brawl occuring between Raven and Taker and Taker got the upper hand and set Raven up for the Last Ride until Shane McMahon came out and hit Taker in the back with the singapore cane leading to Sara low blowing Shane but then Raven lays Sara out with the evenflow DDT as Raven and Shane leave with smirks on there faces as Shane tells Raven to take the rest of the night off as Sara is taken to the hospial with Taker going with her. Booker T would end up defending the WCW World Championship against Chris Jericho and Booker ends up retaining the title after WWF Official Earl Hebner and WCW Official Nick Patrick get into a brawl which leads to Scott Steiner knocking Chris Jericho out with a Steel Pipe as Booker got the cover with WCW Official Charles Robinson making the 3 count. The WWF gets a victory over WCW when The Dudley Boys defeat The Impact Players in a non title match by DQ but in the main event between Kurt Angle and Kane vs Mike Awesome and DDP, WCW Wrestlers come out and destroy Angle and Kane and Booker T and Scott Stiener attack other WWF wrestlers with Steel Pipes backstage as Stone Cold is sitting in his pick-up truck watching and decides to drive away instead of saving the WWF wrestlers as Shane taunts Vince about Austin not saving him after all of the hell they have put each other through which leads to Shane announcing that since he is the owner of WCW he is going to appoint a president for WCW which leads to Shane revealing the new president of WCW to be…Eric Bischoff as Raw ends with DDP hitting Vince with the Diamond Cutter as WCW and Eric Bischoff stand tall triumphantly over Vince and the WWF as Raw goes off the air.
– On Smackdown Vince McMahon goes to The Brothers of Destruction wanting them to be apart of Team WWF at Invasion and they agree but Taker throws in the catch that he and Kane want a match with Raven and Shane McMahon tonight which Vince agrees too. WCW opens up the show led by Shane McMahon and Eric Bischoff as Eric Bischoff cuts a promo about how he was this close to putting the WWF out business and that when they said if you have a 2nd chance you better take full advantage Bischoff says he will just do that and be as dirty and ruthless as he was when he started WCW Monday Nitro and at Invasion, WCW will kick the WWF’s ass and he is going to be at ringside to watch it all happen. During a backstage segment Vince is talking with Team WWF Members Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and The Brothers of Destruction talking about how they need to be united which leads to Taker asking Vince about what is going on with Stone Cold which leads to Vince going out and calling out Stone Cold but Austin does not respond as Vince says words he never thought he’d say “Stone Cold…i need you to lead Team WWF at Invasion” and the glass shatters but Austin does not come out as his music is playing as Vince is frustrated and angry as he leaves the ring. During Smackdown DDP defeated Kurt Angle and in the main event The Brothers of Destruction defeated Raven and Shane by DQ when the WCW Roster comes out and attacks The B-O-D as Jericho, Angle and other WWF Superstars come out attempting to save them but they are outnumbered and beaten down as Smackdown ends with WCW standing tall over the WWF once again
– On the final Monday Night Raw before Invasion, through out the night Stone Cold is seen at The Friendly Tap drinking a beer with Vince McMahon and Tim White both trying to convince Austin to do the right thing but Austin does not a say word to either of them. Back at the arena WCW makes the WWF’s night a living hell as Lance Storm won the WWF Intercontinental Championship defeating Chris Jericho with the help of Justin Credible. Booker T retaining the WCW World Championship over Kurt Angle with the help of Scott Steiner. Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Hare retains the WCW World Tag Team Championship defeating Edge and Christian with the help of Mike Awesome and Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson beat down Trish after her match with Ivory and strip her to her bra and panties as they had beaten down Lita backstage before beating Trish down. The APA give the WWF roster a pep-talk and Classy Freddie Blassie comes into the room and gives a speech which pumps everyone up as Austin is watching this he ends up smashing a pool cube over the pool table and in the main event between The Brothers of Destruction and DDP & Scott Steiner it ends with The B-O-D winning by DQ after Booker T, Raven and Saturn come out and attack The B-O-D leading to Jericho, Angle and The Dudley Boys hitting the ring as WCW Wrestlers Mike Awesome, The Impact Players, Sean O’Hare and Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero, Gregory Helms and Billy Kidman come out and backstage Hugh Morris and Kanyon beat down The APA until Stone Cold arrives in his pick-up truck and beats them down with a tire-iron as Austin then beats down Mark Jindrak and Shawn Stasiak with the tire-iron as they were attacking Edge and Christian as WCW had the advantage over the WWF in the ring leading to Stone Cold coming out and raising hell Stone Cold Stunning Kidman, Palumbo, Chavo and Gregory Helms as The B-O-D double chokeslam O’Hare and Palumbo as Team WWF stands tall united as Raw ends with Stone Cold getting some beers and sharing a toast with the other members of Team WWF to end the final Raw before Invasion.
– On the final Smackdown before Invasion WCW led by Shane and Bischoff open up the show as Bischoff cuts a promo about how Invasion will change the face of Sports Entertainment forever and there is nothing that Stone Cold, Vince McMahon or anyone else can do about it as Bischoff says that at Invasion he will have no problem playing dirty just like he did during the Monday Night War. During the show Kurt Angle defeated Mike Awesome by DQ when Nick Patrick DQ’s Angle for knocking him down earlier in the match leading to Angle locking both of them in the Ankle Lock. The Dudley Boys cost Lance Storm a match against The Big Show with The Dudleys laying out Storm with a 3D but in the main event Stone Cold and Chris Jericho took on Booker T and DDP as Austin went for the Stunner on DDP but DDP was able to escape but Austin was able to hit the Stunner on Booker T but then Raven appears on the titantron screaming at Austin as Raven shows he and Saturn abducted Stone Cold’s wife Debra as Austin sprinted out of the ring giving Booker and DDP a count out victory as The Undertaker and Kane would attack Saturn and Raven backstage but members of WCW are there to save them and members of the WWF roster led by The APA are on the scene as a huge brawl breaks out as Austin arrives but Raven is able to pull away as Austin gets in his pick-up truck as Austin drives after Raven as the fight continues between WWF and WCW while back in the ring Chris Jericho is able to lock in the Walls of Jericho on DDP but Booker T and Steiner attack Jericho as Booker/DDP/Steiner beat down Jericho as Booker ends up hitting the Book-End on Jericho as Smackdown goes off the air with Shane, Bischoff, Booker, DDP and Scott Steiner standing tall over Chris Jericho to end Smackdown.
WWF Hardcore Championship Match WWF’s Jeff Hardy (c) defends against WCW’s Rob Van Dam
– On the July 9th editon of Raw, The Hardy Boys faced WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac and Albert and The Hardy Boys won the match but after the match as they were celebrating and as Matt was still celebrating. Rob Van Dam made his WWF Debut hitting Jeff Hardy with the Van Daminator and quickly getting out of the ring after Matt saw what happened but 3 days later the WWF scored a victory over WCW as Jeff Hardy won the WWF Hardcore Championship from Mike Awesome only for after the match Rob Van Dam to attack Hardy again by throwing the chair to him and hitting a springboard side kick to kick the chair into Hardy’s face as RVD did his signature finger point taunt but instead of saying “Rob…Van…Dam” he instead said “W…C…W”.
– On the final Raw before Invasion, Jeff Hardy would come out and would challenge RVD to a match at Invasion and that he would put the Hardcore Title on the line which RVD would come out and accept but then Hardy would be attacked from behind by WCW’s Hugh Morris and Shawn Stasiak as Jeff would attempt to fight them off but RVD would come down to the ring and lay out Hardy with a spinning heel kick as the three would beat Jeff down until Matt Hardy and The Big Show came out to save Jeff as the WCW Wrestlers bolted out of the ring and went through the crowd and on Smackdown, Jeff Hardy retained the WWF Hardcore Championship defeating Kanyon in a Hardcore Match and sent a message to RVD after the match by hitting Kanyon with a swanton bomb off the top of the ladder through the spanish announce table.
Bra and Panties Tag Team Match WWF’s Trish Stratus and Lita vs WCW’s Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler
– On The June 28th editon of Smackdown, Torrie Wilson made her official WWF Debut in a backstage segment introducing herself to The Hardy Boys and Lita who was kind of suspicous of Torrie due to her past WCW ties and how WCW has started to invade the WWF but Torrie wished all 3 of them luck in there match with the WWF Tag Team Champions The Impact Players for the Tag Team Titles. During the match between The Hardy Boys and The Impact Players after Matt Hardy and Lance Storm took each other out with a double clothesline. Stacy Keibler comes out making her WWF Debut and Stacy gets on the ring apron and does her hot little dancing distracting Matt which Matt seemed to be really enjoying which leads to Lita tripping Stacy off the apron making Stacy land face first on the ring apron which leads to Torrie coming out and attacking Lita leading to Lance hitting the superkick on Matt and getting the pin on Matt for The Impact Players to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship.
– On the following Monday Night Raw. Stacy Keibler was interviewed by Michael Cole about why she cost The Hardy Boys the WWF Tag Team Championship and Stacy says that she was just helping her WCW and that she just wanted to show that the WWF is not only the company that has the hottest women in town which leads to Lita interrupting and Lita would challenge Stacy to a match which Stacy accepted. later in the night Lita ended up defeating Stacy Keibler but after the match Torrie Wilson came down and attacked Lita from behind as Torrie Wilson and Stacy ended up beating down Lita until Trish Stratus came down to make the save as Torrie and Stacy bailed out but when Lita got up Trish and Lita had obvious tension due to there rivalry from the year before. On Smackdown Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler would be interviewed by Michael Cole where Torrie would do the talking saying that before Trish even came into the WWE she was the hottest thing going and that she and Stacy are going to prove why WCW had equally beautfiul women as the WWF has by challenging them to the first ever tag team bra and panties match at Invasion. Later in the night Trish Stratus and Lita would have a confronation backstage with Lita telling Trish despite them needing to be teammates at Invasion they have unfinished business and later in the night Lita and Trish have there match but they stop when they see on the titantron Torrie and Stacy flirting with The Hardy Boys and planting big liplocks on them as Lita and Trish looked pissed off after Torrie and Stacy left as Matt would say “maybe WCW isen’t so bad”.
– On the final Raw before Invasion, Torrie and Stacy would attack Lita backstage and they would attack Trish after she defeated Ivory as Torrie and Stacy ended up stripping Trish to her red bra and panties and on Smackdown, Torrie would face Trish in a arm wrestling contest as Torrie would win with help from WCW Official Nick Patrick which led to a big brawl with Torrie/Stacy/Trish/Lita/Nick Patrick/Earl Hebner as the Trish/Lita/Hebner end up clearing the ring of Torrie/Stacy/Patrick
WWF Tag Team Championship Match The Impact Players (c) defends against The Dudley Boys
– On the Smackdown after Invasion, Lance Storm defeated Spike Dudley in a singles match but after the match Storm and Credible started to attack Spike more and they even grabbed Molly Holly by the hair and Justin Credible was seemingly going to give the that’s incredible tombstone piledriver to Molly until The Dudley Boys came out and saved Molly as a brawl ensued as The Dudleys got the upper hand and were going to hit Storm with the 3D but Credible caught Lance’s foot as he was bouncing off the ropes and was able to drag him out of the ring to save him as The Dudleys stood tall as The Impact Players went up the ramp pissed off with the WWF Tag Team Championship on there respective shoulders
– On the following Raw, The Dudley Boys were in WWF New York and Bubba cuts a promo on The Impact Players saying that even though they and Spike are enstranged the only one who gets the beat the hell out there brother is them and family protects family no matter how dysfunctional but as Bubba is doing the talking he is laid out from behind by Justin Credible whacking Bubba in the back of the head with the singapore cane as Lance Storm then attacks Devon as Lance eventually hits Devon with the superkick as The Impact Players do there signature pose and on Smackdown, The Impact Players would challenge The Dudley Boys to a match on Raw but they would not put the titles as they are just going to prove they are better then The Dudleys
– On Raw, The Dudleys and The Impact Players had there match and The Dudleys had hit Storm with the 3D but Justin Credible gets he and Storm DQED when he whacks Devon in the back with the singapore cane and when Bubba got up Credible would whack Bubba with the cane as The Impact Players ended up beating down The Dudleys again as Credible would end up hitting a That’s Incredible on a steel chair to Bubba Ray but backstage WWF Commissioner William Regal confronted The Impact Players and informed them they would face The Dudleys again at Invasion but this time the WWF Tag Team Championship would be on the line and on Smackdown, The Impact Players would once again attack Spike and Molly to send a message to The Dudley Boys after Spike defeated WCW’s Dean Malenko as Storm hit Spike with a Superkick and this Credible would hit Molly with a That’s Incredible
– On the final Raw before Invasion, The Dudley Boys would return in the huge brawl between WCW and WWF at the end of the show as The Dudleys and The Impact Players would brawl out of the ring and into the crowd and eventually out of the arena and on Smackdown, The Dudley Boys defeated WCW’s Hugh Morris and Shawn Stasiak and The Dudleys sent a message to The Impact Players after the match as Bubba and Devon would 3D Shawn Stasiak through a table after the match.
Other Matches Include
Champion vs Champion WCW Cruiserweight Champion “Hollywood” Gregory Helms vs WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac
WCW World Tag Team Championship Match WCW’s Sean O’Hare and Chuck Palumbo (c) defends against The WWF’s The APA
WWF Official Earl Hebner vs WCW’s Nick Patrick
WWF’s Edge and Christian vs WCW’s Mike Awesome and Billy Kidman
WWF’s Billy Gunn, The Big Show and Rhyno vs WCW’s Kanyon, Mark Jindrak and Shawn Stasiak
WWF’s William Regal and Tajiri vs WCW’s Chavo Guerrero and Dean Malenko