· The InVasion Project · SmackDown! · June 28, 2001 ·

CHAPTER 4 - THE STORY SO FAR:

A Stone Cold Return to Prominence

Since returning at Unforgiven, 'the Texas Rattlesnake' had come back with much more intensity and aggression than we had seen before. Focused on revenge for missing eleven long months of his life, and being forced to sit on the sidelines and watch his livelihood pass him by, Stone Cold Steve Austin quickly found himself being public enemy number one in the rest of the WWF Superstars' eyes. Interrogative of any man or woman that came in sight, 'the Rattlesnake' was above all else committed to finding out who was responsible for running him down with a car at the 1999 Survivor Series.

Several leads merely led to dead ends, as Stone Cold Steve Austin begrudgingly was forced to cross Mick Foley, Shane McMahon, Triple H and even Kane from his list. Austin knew he was on the cusp of discovering who the perpetrator was, but one night removed from the hellacious Last Man Standing encounter with Kane at the 2000 Survivor Series, it was revealed to be none other than 'the Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels.

After immersing himself deeply in the bad blood that ran between D-Generation X and the Coalition, it served as the perfect front for the former three-time WWF Champion and future Hall of Famer to reveal himself as Stone Cold's so-called puppeteer. Geared on by vendetta, after having his own career taken from him by Austin at WrestleMania XIV nearly three years prior, HBK was dead set on putting an end to Austin's storybook career, and perhaps even his life. Shawn even made amends with Shane and Stephanie McMahon, allowing him to ambush Stone Cold via distractions. With a no-contact clause in place, they even ensured that 'the Rattlesnake' would lose his shot at Michaels if he touched him ahead of their Street Fight at Armageddon.

Armageddon came around, and it was hell on earth. To both Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels, in his first match in a World Wrestling Federation ring since meeting 'the Texas Rattlesnake' on March 29, 1998, it was the end as they knew it. They brawled far and wide throughout the arena. Through the crowd, with steel chairs, on car hoods and sunroofs, and to the backstage area. Austin proved he had a lot more in the tank, but HBK shocked everybody. His apparent career-threatening back injury that forced him to retire in 1998 was not holding him back.

It was the Shawn Michaels of old, gracing the ring with an arsenal of majestic and fantastical athleticism, mired in the gritty, rage-filled desire to watch 'the Rattlesnake' suffer. Even more shockingly, the founder of D-Generation X enlisted the assistance of a fellow friend from the Kliq, X-Pac. Setting a trap for Austin, Michaels had X-Pac lure him to the parking lot where Shawn waited and waited. He was going to commit a sinful act of deja vu on Austin, when Stone Cold appeared and struck him in a side-on collision. Shawn Michaels was a bloodied, broken mess. Paying for one year of misery in the eyes of 'the Rattlesnake', Stone Cold mounted Michaels in the cold of night, on the parking lot floor. Finally the police came to arrest Austin, but we would not see 'the Heartbreak Kid' again. 

Stone Cold kept making headlines even after Armageddon was over. With the investigation solved and closed, 'the Texas Rattlesnake' began pursuing the WWF Championship. Kurt Angle had grown despicably egotistic as the reigning WWF Champion, and despite Austin's advances, he would find himself stopped by other members of the Coalition. The Big Show made Austin taste his own blood, as the 500-pound 'Giant' debuted a new devastating finishing manoeuvre - the Final Cut. 

With a rocky relationship with the McMahon Family to begin with, 'the Texas Rattlesnake' would do himself no favors as he threatened Kurt Angle's girlfriend Stephanie McMahon, and her brother Shane McMahon. Forever on the outs with a cordial Vince McMahon, those two would never be friends.

But Stone Cold's pursuit of the WWF Championship in which he had been deprived of for going-on two years was shared. The Rock wanted the WWF Championship, Triple H wanted the WWF Championship, as did the Undertaker. Being shut out in a number one contender's Fatal 4-Way match to determine who would challenge 'the Megastar' at the Royal Rumble, Austin was left with only one other choice: to win his third Royal Rumble match for a guaranteed shot at the WWF Championship come WrestleMania.

The McMahon Family War

The entire trajectory of the World Wrestling Federation began to change once the bell sounded on the night of the 2000 Survivor Series. D-Generation X's team of Triple H, X-Pac, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg - accompanied by Shawn Michaels - represented Commissioner Mick Foley. With his job on the line, 'the Commish' was forced to rely on the same DX that contributed to the end of his in-ring career. Opposing them was the Shane and Stephanie McMahon-led team of Chris Benoit, Edge, Christian, and Shane O'Mac himself. It was DX against the Coalition, but it was also Foley against the McMahon children. The power of the company was in the hands of the winner, and with X-Pac's betrayal of Triple H - as well as Shawn Michaels revealing himself as Stone Cold Steve Austin's attacker - DX ceased to exist any longer.

Mick Foley was thought to be out of a job, as the Rock attempted to vouch for his longtime friend. Instead Mick found himself being demoted. 'The Hardcore Legend' mopped floors, hocked merchandise, scrubbed toilets and worked on commentary. The blackmail of having a pregnant wife and family to support kept Mick going, until he saw what the Coalition was doing to the Rock. 'The Brahma Bull' continued to lash out against the McMahons, and likewise overcame each and every obstacle in which Shane and Stephanie threw his way. Finally, Shane had had enough of the Rock. Once and for all, it would end at Armageddon where, in a three-on-one handicap match, the Rock had to defeat the forces of Edge, Christian and the Big Show to keep his electrifying World Wrestling Federation career alive.

As to be expected, Shane O'Mac would make himself known. The Rock fought insurmountable odds, and fringed his career being tarnished and wiped from history books forever courtesy of the unstoppably relentless Coalition faction. Help was on the way, as Mick Foley charged the ring with chair shots in revenge for Edge and Christian's inexplicable ambush three nights earlier on SmackDown. With potentially broken ribs from the Canadian brothers' Conchairto shot days prior, 'Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy' came to the aid of his Rock 'n' Sock Connection partner, and even gave Shane a Mr. Socko-riddled Mandible Claw for his troubles. Rock was able to overcome the odds once more.

On December 12, 2000 edition of RAW is WAR, the Coalition were moments away from firing 'the Hardcore Legend', as well as the Rock for yet again passing through the McMahons' set obstacles. What happened instead, was the return of Vince McMahon. The Chairman disapproved of Shane and Stephanie's attempts to harm his business, and not only granted Foley immunity, but declared any decision his children made could be overturned by their father himself. Despite the five-month long absence spent to focus on his marriage, as well as the launching of the XFL, the boss still prioritized his birth child. Vince loved the World Wrestling Federation too much than to let his kids ruin it. He also despised Stephanie's blossoming relationship with WWF Champion Kurt Angle. It drove his son and daughter insane that he refused to stand down, and grant them the creative freedom and throne of the company. 

A masterful plan was orchestrated. On December 25, 2000 - Christmas Day - the Chairman had announced Kurt Angle would defend the WWF Championship against Chris Benoit. The battle of the Coalition members had been weeks in the making, with 'the Rabid Wolverine's desire to become WWF Champion known. A highly competitive rivalry was set to culminate on the final RAW is WAR of the year 2000, all the while Stephanie McMahon strangely sided with her Dad. Organizing a boatload of paperwork was 'the Billion Dollar Princess's top priority, while her boyfriend reluctantly prepared for battle by himself. Vince brought in Mick Foley to be the special guest official, to ensure no Coalition interference. Naturally, of course, that did not go to plan.

It turned out to be a complete setup all along, a ploy to turn the tables on 'the Hardcore Legend'. The ex-Commissioner laid prone and bloodied in the ring, despite the best efforts of an aiding Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Coalition ran the house, when Stephanie McMahon came to the ring having shredded Mick Foley's immunity contract signed two weeks earlier. Bloodied and beaten, it was Christmas Chaos for the Foleys, as Vince's own children fired Mick before the boss's own eyes.

Weeks came and went, the McMahon Family War underway with verbal exchange after verbal exchange. It was a cold war for weeks, full of psychological and political battles over matches, until the Undertaker was named number one contender to Kurt Angle's title. Stephanie McMahon was at a breaking point, and confronted her father. To show the Chairman that 'Daddy's Little Girl' was all grown up, she snapped and slapped her Dad across the face. In turn, the hand played by Shane McMahon in costing Stone Cold Steve Austin a First Blood match against the Big Show pushed the Chairman over the edge. Vince McMahon came out and punched his son across the face so hard, he had a black eye for days.

Vengefully, Shane McMahon hyped himself up for revenge. Stephanie McMahon was vehemently appalled with her father, who had declared that he would be in the Undertaker's corner at the Royal Rumble. In order to counter Kurt Angle having Shane and Stephanie McMahon in his corner, it was always going to end in blood, sweat or tears. Shane McMahon's ingenuity and initiative saw him get in the ring with 'the Deadman' three nights before the Royal Rumble. A sneak peek of things to come, Angle tried to save his girlfriend's brother,  but Shane would take the Last Ride he would never forget. Nobody except the Coalition believed that 'the Megastar' had what it took to get the job done, and defeat 'the Deadman' responsible for over a decade of destruction.

January 21, 2001 saw 'the Megastar' go over the limit with 'the Big Dog' that ran the World Wrestling Federation's yard. The WWF Championship at stake, Kurt Angle was so committed to trying to prove a point, that he believed he could make the Undertaker tap out for the first time in his illustrious career. Undertaker hammered, battered and pummelled the life from the Olympic Gold Medalist, but the constant head games and interference in which Stephanie McMahon lent themselves to finally saw Vince McMahon get involved. There had been much distrust between the boss and his employee - 'the Deadman' had plenty to despise Vincent Kennedy McMahon for his years of service. Never wanting to be a soldier, Undertaker fought valiantly.

While Shane McMahon had arrived and spent the day in a neck brace and sunglasses - the effects of the Undertaker's Last Ride days before - it was all revealed to be a ruse. Shane O'Mac finally involved himself on behalf of 'the Megastar', and once his Dad's back was turned, the scrappy son of the Chairman struck. Mounting Vince with furious rights and lefts, the family deterioration was enough that Kurt Angle was able to use the title and slither out of the Royal Rumble with the WWF Championship, if anything, barely. The war between the McMahons looked to not end any time soon. What began as fatherly discipline quickly started the dispute. It went through psychological warfare and head games, to verbal exchanges. Now, it was personal. What moves would Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon have to play next? How would these family affairs impact the World Wrestling Federation?

The Road to WrestleMania Begins

The 2001 Royal Rumble match was shaping up to be the biggest in World Wrestling Federation history. Since its' first incarnation in 1998, twelve instalments that came before it set the stage of what to expect. The Royal Rumble was synonymous with the great, past victors such as two-time winners Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Even WWF Superstars like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Big John Studd, and even Vince McMahon himself were previous winners. The Rock was the reigning, defending Royal Rumble winner after his 2000 victory one year prior, but there was a lot to play for in the build-up to the first pay-per-view extravaganza of the new year.

The winner of the Royal Rumble match, much like in previous years, wasn't just for bragging rights. It was concrete evidence that the winner was the man to beat, but it also guaranteed them the opportunity of a lifetime. The winner would receive the chance to headline the Grandest Stage of Them All, the Showcase of the Immortals. At WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, the winner would challenge in the main event of the biggest spectacular in sports entertainment for the WWF Championship.

WWF Superstars threw their names in the hat at each and every turn. Everybody wanted to advance their careers to greater heights. Unfortunately, there could be only thirty participants. Stone Cold Steve Austin wanted to win the 2001 Royal Rumble to avenge missing a year of what he was most passionate about. What he lived and breathed was taken from him for a year, the result of Shawn Michaels running him down with a car, forcing 'the Texas Rattlesnake' to require neck surgery. The Rock was on a crash course to get back something he had been cheated and deprived of, ever since losing to Kurt Angle back at SummerSlam in August. Having overcome the odds of the Coalition time and time again, it was Vince McMahon who lifted the ban on 'the Great One's title opportunities. Rock wanted to walk in the footsteps in which Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Austin had, and win a second year in the row: back-to-back.

Triple H was on the greatest quest for redemption in a WWF Superstar's history. Betrayed by his now-ex wife Stephanie McMahon, who left him for WWF Champion Kurt Angle, 'the Game' had endured major loss following major loss. From the Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy, Triple H failed to help his old rival Mick Foley keep his job. Not only was D-Generation X left in shambles from the Survivor Series match with the Coalition, but 'the Game' tasted more betrayal - all thanks to X-Pac. Having swept the floor with his longtime buddy at both Armageddon, and in a Lumberjack match on SmackDown, it was still his ex-wife who stood in his way.

While 'the Cerebral Assassin' had declared his entry into the Royal Rumble match, 'the Billion Dollar Princess' declared there was another threat in which Triple H had to go through: Chris Benoit. 'The Rabid Wolverine' had forced Triple H to lose the Survivor Series elimination match, and had beaten him before. Triple H had similarly beaten Benoit, as well as Edge and Christian in days leading up to the thirteenth-annual event. Somewhere along the way, the Rock became intertwined in their hatred of one another. Triple H was so obsessed with Benoit that he received a Rock Bottom for his worries on RAW is WAR. In turn, Triple H returned the favor, planting Rock with a Pedigree three nights on SmackDown. 

The Royal Rumble match was filling up fast. The Big Show, Edge and Christian planned to represent the Coalition proudly. The seven-foot-two, 500-pounder was the final man eliminated in the 2000 Royal Rumble. Chris Jericho was devoted to once again challenging Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship, having been screwed out of the opportunity in a Triple Threat match at Armageddon in a match that also included Coalition member Chris Benoit. Y2J had missed two weeks of competition, thanks to stitches suffered from enduring battle with the Big Show, then challenging 'the Megastar' unsuccessfully for the gold that same night. 

Other WWF Superstars hoped and dreamed of making a name for themselves. William Regal, X-Pac, Billy Gunn, Tazz, Mark Henry, Lance Storm, Matt Hardy, K-Kwik, T&A, Too Cool and the APA all vied for their own opportunity to be in the Royal Rumble match. Again, however, only thirty men could enter. Scotty 2 Hotty generously granted Grandmaster Sexay the one slot they were allocated, wanting him to achieve his hopes and dreams. Hardcore Holly used his hardheadedness despite Crash Holly's own belief that he had a shot at winning the 2001 Royal Rumble match. Perry Saturn selfishly won a game of rock, paper, scissors against Dean Malenko to enter the match. 

Then, on the night of the Royal Rumble itself, everything came into play. The Royal Rumble match saw the return of Jeff Hardy from a two-month absence on account of a spinal injury. Kane shockingly re-emerged, having not been seen since falling twenty-feet from the Survivor Series stage against Stone Cold Steve Austin last November. Eddie Guerrero returned, having been absent for weeks clearing his head after being beaten at Armageddon by Chyna. The longest-reigning WWF Intercontinental Champion the Honky Tonk Man returned for the first time in four years hoping to perform a concert for the people, only to be clunked over the head by his own guitar and eliminated courtesy of Kane.

Triple H somehow had what it took to overcome Chris Benoit earlier in the night, but now had the unenvious task of overcoming twenty-nine men to win the Royal Rumble match. 'The Rabid Wolverine' however, was furious with the loss. Taking out Steve Blackman in a fit of rage, Benoit forced his own way into the Royal Rumble match. The Undertaker was not to be denied of a second chance, coming off of his own disappointing loss in the WWF Championship match earlier in the night to Kurt Angle. When Joe E. Legend was determined to walk out triumphantly as the number thirty entrant, it was 'the American Badass' who left him laying, and took his place.

Perhaps even more shockingly, the Royal Rumble match saw the unexpected World Wrestling Federation debut of the ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Rhyno. Goring everybody in sight, the ECW talent caught on fire, being seen by WWF fans for the very first time. He made an unforgettable impression, and wound up being a part of the final four participants until being eliminated by Kane.

It was every man for himself, explicably shown once Triple H surprisingly dashed the Rock's dream of headlining a second WrestleMania in a row, by tossing him over the top rope. Kane dominated the entire Royal Rumble match, eliminating a record-breaking ten WWF Superstars, and lasting fifty-four minutes before finally being eliminated last of all the participants. Dominant giants such as the Big Show and Mark Henry each tried their hand, and wound up eliminated by multiple participants. Tazz and Essa Rios faced humiliation with brief tenures in the Royal Rumble match, dumped with the greatest of ease. Ironman combatants such as Chris Jericho, who lasted thirty-five minutes, and Triple H - twenty-plus minutes - fought until they could no longer. 

When it was all said and done, the man to come out victorious was Stone Cold Steve Austin. Having won the iconic annual match for a third time in five years, 'the Texas Rattlesnake' had overcome the standard set by Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels. Stone Cold's dream was coming true. His story back to old graces was underway. In seventy days, in the gigantic Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas, the WWF Championship would be on the line. In the main event of WrestleMania X-Seven, Austin would challenge for the richest prize in the business. Would 'the Rattlesnake's ultimate quest back to the top of the World Wrestling Federation come true? Who would be the WWF Champion come April 1? The Road to WrestleMania had officially begun.

2001: An Odyssey 

The new year had barely begun, and yet it was clear from outer space that the industry was about to change the landscape of pro-wrestling forever. For as long as there had been wrestling, there had never one definite company. Constantly embroiled in friendly competition, or hostile war, the wacky world of politics behind the scenes had seen a battle for supremacy take place. Whether it was the territorial battles between promoters of the National Wrestling Alliance against outlaw promoters in the mid-20th century, or the emergence of a young Vincent Kennedy McMahon's national expansion against the Jim Crocketts, Don Owens and Sam Muchnicks of the world in the 1980s, wrestling wars had always been common place.

The same could be considered an understatement in regards to the wrestling wars of the 1990s. With famous, influential promotions such as Verne Gagne's National Wrestling Association and Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation gone under, there appeared to be only two prominent forces left standing: the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. With Vince McMahon at the helm of New York as always, and Eric Bischoff fronting the Ted Turner global force in Atlanta, it was a hot-headed battle driven by fearlessness.

They stole talent, filed lawsuits and boasted celebrity egos and mainstream stars to kickstart popularity. WCW produced Monday Nitro in September 1995, designed to go head-to-head against the forces of the WWF's weekly flagship shop, Monday Night RAW. Each and every Monday night, the battlelines were drawn. It was RAW against Nitro, WWF opposite WCW, USA Network - and later TNN - feuding TNT. 

Fired from WCW and free to do whatever he wanted, in 1993 a manager named Paul E. Dangerously would join forces with Todd Gordon. Paul Heyman would take a thriving regional promotion based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and create a revolution. Branding Eastern Championship Wrestling as Extreme Championship Wrestling, its cutting-edge, raw and unadulterated form of programming had never been seen before on such a wide scale. Hardcore through and through, ECW innovated the violence and brutality of weapon shots. Heyman emphasized blood and guts, and turned every day, run-of-the-mill talent and molded them into larger than life characters with edgy personas.

While the World Wrestling Federation strived to create New Generation talent such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Diesel, while using the exact same formula that once worked in the heyday of Hulkamania a decade prior, World Championship Wrestling were racing ahead in the ratings. Acquiring Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and the former-Diesel now known as Kevin Nash, Bischoff formed an evil new enterprise: the New World Order.

Stars such as Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Lex Luger, Diamond Dallas Page and Randy Savage would face off with the nWo week-in and week-out, and RAW's ratings would descend in numbers. While stars such as Bill Goldberg shot up the ladder, the WWF took a page out of ECW's book: christening a new period in history as 'the Attitude Era'. All grown up and full of attitude, New York became a high-budget alteration of the tropes and traits in which ECW innovated. ECW found itself gutted of their big names on multiple occasions, forced to start fresh with what names they had left. Raven, Tazz, The Dudley Boyz, Lance Storm, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko are just few that found themselves trading places. 

ECW found themselves facing a crossroads. While they innovated the violence and bloodlust, the gritty hyperreal storylines and the fast-paced, pure-wrestling style, both the WWF and WCW were replicating these ideas with deeper pockets and more visibility and exposure. In the year 2000, ECW was arguably at its financial peak. Merchandise had never sold better, with an action figure line and a video games library churning out. Attendance was at a peak, with one television taping in Canada in the Fall bringing in a record-setting seven-thousand strong.

The problem came with the World Wrestling Federation getting into bed with TNN. ECW had a national television deal with TNN to produce weekly content. It was a combination of miscommunication, malpractice and misbehavior which saw the relationship falter. Paul Heyman even came on live television and dared the network to throw ECW off the air. Once RAW is WAR came along in September 2000 - ECW on TNN was no more. Without a television deal, and without the interest of any namely network companies, ECW found itself on its last legs.

On January 7, 2001, ECW held Guilty As Charged from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York. The first pay-per-view event of the year 2001, it was also the last major event of the year 2001 to date. In passing weeks, Paul Heyman had remained unreachable to all talent and personnel in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Despite a house show several nights after Guilty As Charged - in which Heyman did not attend - there had been rumors of a "curtain call" situation going on in the ring at the end of the show. The locker room reportedly piled out to the ring to salute and party with the fans in attendance in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Another pay-per-view event, Living Dangerously, is scheduled to take place on March 4, 2001. ECW's syndicated television show Hardcore TV has not broadcast since December 30, 2000 in most areas. With ECW World Heavyweight Champion Rhino's debut weeks on at the 2001 Royal Rumble, it remains to be seen what remains from the highly-popular Philly promotion.

With ECW's status undetermined, business appeared to be on the rocks once again in World Championship Wrestling. Placed up for sale following the merger of AOL Time Warner, WCW was a quickly sinking ship. Attendances had dropped astronomically from their 40,000+ peaks merely two years previously, buyrates were at an all-time low, talents continued to plague the company's creative direction, and the company had reportedly lost a record high amount of money.

On January 11, 2001 an investment firm named Fusient Media Ventures were named publicly with plans to purchase World Championship Wrestling. It came on the same day that AOL and Time Warner's announced that their final steps to merging had become complete. Eric Bischoff headed a group of committed, professional investors to buy back into the brainchild he once operated full-time until September 1999. With the sale yet to go through, WCW's entity remains in TBS's hands. Ran on a tight budget, the ratings of Nitro and Thunder continue to pale greatly in comparison to the heights they once soared.

This left the World Wrestling Federation, standing tall and valiantly: the most dominant force in sports entertainment. Ratings remained strong as could be for the ever-prosperous revolutionary giant, and pro-wrestling continued to be in the headlines of mainstream media, for better or worse. When Vincent Kennedy McMahon purchased the WWF from his father, Vince McMahon Sr. in 1982, the Chairman had merely a north-eastern territory that had much credibility and respect across the United States. In less than twenty years, not only was it a brilliantly marketed profit-machine, but it had become more than a wrestling show. It had become something different entirely.

An action-adventure soap opera, with ten-plus hours of television content per week, fifty-two weeks a year. With brand outlets such as WWF New York in Times Square, celebrity crossover appeal in media and television such as Playboy Magazine and MTV, and a public option on the New York Stock Exchange, the World Wrestling Federation had never been more unstoppable. Now a billion-dollar global conglomerate, McMahon had built his empire, and was now looking at ambitiously pursuing his own football league, the XFL. Scheduled to begin on February 3, 2001, who knew what the reception would be to his next big concept.

The question remained, what would the landscape of the business resemble in January 2002 - if it even resembled January 2001 at all?