Invasion 2001: The Biggest Possible Wrestling War Arrives With One Giant Problem

The opener is a sensible way to start because all four wrestlers can work quickly without needing a complicated story. Storm and Awesome isolate Christian for the middle portion, giving the match a conventional tag structure before Edge gets the hot tag and the pace opens up. The finishing sequence is compact and well timed, with Storm's superkick accidentally catching Edge before Christian's spear creates the pin on Awesome. The crowd is invested in the WWF side, and the match establishes the company-versus-company theme without overplaying it. It never becomes spectacular, but it is clean, energetic and one of the night's more dependable undercard matches.

The referee match is pure storyline novelty and almost impossible to evaluate as normal wrestling. Hebner throws punches and knees while Patrick works heel shortcuts, and the surrounding WWF and WCW referees provide most of the atmosphere through their ringside involvement. Mick Foley eventually ejects the WCW officials, which gives Hebner the opening to hit a flying shoulder block and score the pin. Foley then adds the Mandible Claw after Patrick argues with him. The segment gets the desired crowd reaction and reinforces the factional theme, but it is closer to comic relief than a pay-per-view match and contributes little athletic value.

The tag-team champions matchup has a clear purpose but never finds enough time or rhythm to feel important. Bradshaw and Faarooq rely on power while O'Haire and Palumbo bring more athletic movement, yet the contrast never develops into a strong team-versus-team story. The match spends most of its six-plus minutes moving toward short bursts rather than building a sustained control segment. O'Haire's superkick and Palumbo's offense briefly give WCW momentum, but Bradshaw ultimately catches Palumbo with the Clothesline from Hell for the pin. The WWF victory is predictable, and the bout feels more like a television attraction than a pay-per-view showcase.

Kidman and X-Pac give the undercard one of its better pure wrestling matches by keeping the pace high and avoiding the heavy factional interference surrounding much of the show. Both men trade quick counters, aerial offense and powerbomb reversals, and the crowd gets enough time to invest in the possibility of a clean WCW victory. X-Pac's X-Factor near the end creates the strongest near-fall, but Kidman escapes the Bronco Buster attempt and responds with the shooting star press. The clean pin is important because it lets a WCW wrestler win on ability rather than through a run-in. The match is short, but it feels complete and benefits from having no extra story clutter.

Raven and Regal have enough personality to make a six-minute match watchable, but the bout is built more around interference than around a sustained singles contest. Regal controls the early exchanges with suplexes and rough positional offense, while Raven shifts the match outside and uses the barricade to make the fight feel less formal. The final stretch begins to improve when Regal counters the Raven Effect into a Northern Lights suplex, only for Tazz to appear at ringside. Tazz suplexes Regal while the referee is occupied, and Raven immediately follows with the Raven Effect for the pin. The finish advances Alliance cohesion, but it prevents the match from finding a satisfying conclusion of its own.

The six-man tag is a four-minute sprint with too many wrestlers and almost no room to establish a structure. The opening gorilla-press spot gets an immediate WWF reaction, but the match quickly turns into short tags and isolated moves rather than any coherent control sequence. Kanyon and Stasiak provide the most movement for the WCW side, while Big Show is barely needed before the finish arrives. Stasiak's interference allows Hugh Morrus to pin Billy Gunn, giving WCW the point, and Big Show destroys the winners afterward with chokeslams and an Alley Oop. The post-match domination leaves the actual result feeling even less consequential.

Tajiri and Tazz work a compact match that benefits from stylistic contrast. Tajiri uses kicks, movement and the Tarantula, while Tazz answers with suplexes and grounded control, giving the five-minute bout a simple but readable identity. The crowd reacts well to Tajiri's speed, and Tazz's physical offense keeps the match from feeling like an exhibition. The finish is suitably chaotic for the storyline: Tazz shoves the referee aside, giving Tajiri the opening to spray green mist and follow with the Buzzsaw Kick for the pin. The interference element is minor enough that it does not erase the wrestling that came before it.

Van Dam and Hardy give Invasion its best match by wrestling with the urgency of two performers trying to make an immediate impression on a massive audience. The match moves constantly between the ring, barricade, stage and weapons without becoming random, and both wrestlers take risks that fit their reputations rather than simply escalating for shock value. Hardy's ladder involvement and sunset-flip powerbomb create major swings, while Van Dam's Van Daminator and stage offense make him feel instantly distinct from the WWF roster. The finish is perfect for his introduction: Van Dam places the Hardcore Championship on Hardy and lands the Five Star Frog Splash onto the belt for the pin. He leaves as champion and one of the few Alliance wrestlers the crowd clearly wants to cheer.

The women's tag is a period-piece gimmick that has aged poorly because the match is structured around stripping clothing rather than presenting the performers as wrestlers. Lita and Stratus handle most of the athletic offense, while Wilson and Keibler are positioned primarily as characters inside the stipulation. There are brief wrestling sequences, including Lita's Litasault and Stratus' bulldog, but the match repeatedly returns to the clothing-removal objective. The WWF team wins after stripping Keibler and Wilson to the required state. The crowd responds in the way the company intended in 2001, but the segment contributes little to the competitive tone of a show supposedly built around promotional supremacy.

The Inaugural Brawl has enormous atmosphere and enough star power to survive a sprawling structure that is rarely elegant. The opening minutes establish the WWF advantage, then the Alliance isolates Undertaker and later Kurt Angle as the match grows increasingly chaotic. Once all ten wrestlers spill into the fight, the bout becomes less a tag match than a series of violent set pieces around the announce tables and ringside. Angle appears ready to win after the Angle Slam and ankle lock on Booker T, but Stone Cold Steve Austin turns on Team WWF and hits Angle with the Stunner. Booker pins Angle, and Austin celebrates with Shane, Stephanie and Heyman. The twist is historically huge even if the betrayal makes the event's core WWF-versus-Alliance premise more complicated than it needed to be.