An Undisputed Champion is Crowned! WWE Vengeance 2001 Review

The Alliance is no more ... now, it's time to merge the WWE and WCW titles to crown an UNDISPUTED CHAMPION! Plus, my final wrap-up on the good and the bad of the Invasion Storyline, 20 years later!
00:00 Intro
02:04 The Vince McMahon Kiss-My-Ass Club, Ric Flair & more
03:33 Scotty 2 Hot & Albert vs. Test & Christian
05:39 Intercontinental Championship: Edge vs. William Regal
07:19 Kurt Angle tells Ric Flair he's going to win
07:45 Lita reminds Matt she has to be unbiased
08:04 Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy
10:22 Trish Stratus & The Rock have a chat
11:17 WWE Tag Team Championship: The Dudley Boyz vs. Kane & The Big Show
12:44 Hardcore Championship: Rob Van Dam vs. The Undertaker
15:34 Chris Jericho promises to win it all
15:41 WWE Women's Championship: Trish Stratus vs. Jacqueline
17:07 Rikishi is back; the Quest for the Undisputed Championship
18:15 WWE Championship: Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle
19:32 Test barges in on Trish Stratus
19:54 World Championship: The Rock vs. Chris Jericho
22:10 Undisputed Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Steve Austin
24:48 Final Thoughts on Vengeance
26:14 My Final Thoughts on the Invasion Storyline
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[@chrishowell6469]

Regal, The Dudleys, Test & Christian. That feels like a GM Mode Faction.

[@enigmaskull3495]

Or a Road To WrestleMania Mode Faction.

[@MrTray301410]

Considering that it lasted a month, yeah.

[@Nickles4]

You guys ever think we’ll get another game like SVR?

[@olschoolTonyCarter]

@@Nickles4 no

[@Eminem200183]

Unlock characters

[@nujabeez6573]

Even tho the title reign was mediocre, nobody can take away Chris Jericho becoming the first undisputed world champion, and to beat the rock and stone cold in back to back matches made him a legend

[@fattiger6957]

On paper, it's good. But if you were watching and remember that Jericho was treated like a joke when he was champion, you would feel differently. The build to WM was all about HHH and Steph with Jericho being the 3rd wheel and like the idiot henchman to Steph. They literally had Jericho, the Undisputed Champion, pick up Steph's dog's crap on TV. That moment perfectly encapsulates how WWE viewed Chris Jericho.

[@lewisaino]

From No Way Out to WM 18 the Jerijcho reign started to go down

[@jb888888888]

I know you meant "the first undisputed world champion" _in the WWF_ but George Hackenschmidt was the first "first undisputed world champion."

[@nujabeez6573]

@@fattiger6957 nope not all to me, like I said the title reign was mediocre, yes he was treated poorly as champion. But like I said the history books show him beating The Rock and Austin in back to back matches to be the undisputed champion. That to me is his signature moment in the WWF/WWE

[@williamerazo3921]

@@jb888888888 no The WCW and WWF tittle

[@kyleolson8977]

The intro is a reference to Federico Fellini's "8½". Referencing a surrealistic 1963 movie from an Italian director might be a little high-brow for the WWF audience, but they did it anyway.

[@Mellino438]

David Zahadi (The director for these video packages, and also a friend of Jeff Jarrett who helped improve TNA production quality since 2005) was definitely ahead of his time

[@dontgotocollege5232]

We make movies pal

[@jackmanochs7085]

I was rushing in to be the first to show that I passed film 101 but then this guy beat me

[@lilnutty6821]

Would have gone straight over all those fans' heads

[@donkeygat93]

And what scene in 8 1/2 are u referring to? If it’s the style then well yea this could be like ten different directors but what makes it that exact movie from that exact director. Jw where u got this from

[@Piemanthe3rd]

Angle selling the stunner by standing straight as a board and just slowly falling backwards is beautiful

[@intransit3451]

Underrated sell

[@michaelsinger4638]

Jericho winning was a really cool surprise. Pity that they booked his actual title reign so poorly.

[@Nickles4]

Thanks for the spoilers

[@SlingMeAWeb]

@@Nickles4 Spoilers? This PPV is over 20 years old. That's like being angry Hogan beat Andre after he slammed him.

[@thesfdoctor3603]

Spoilers from a 20 years old PPV?

[@TheForeverRanger]

The title was booked like crap. No one held it longer than one PPV cycle. Jericho would lose to HHH who would lose it to Hogan who would lose it to Taker.

[@Nickles4]

@@thesfdoctor3603 it was a joke homie

[@toptenguy1]

It was weird that for the entire summer/fall of 2001, Austin COULD NOT beat Kurt Angle.. Then a quick double turn, and he pins him. I guess the crowd support was the main difference in this rivalry! lol

[@outlawrip-offartist4161]

That’s the power off the WWE universe right there.

[@jackcarraway4707]

Austin pinned Angle to get the belt back right after Unforgiven.

[@toptenguy1]

@@jackcarraway4707 Yes but with interference from Regal. I meant beat him man to man basically.

[@RazorChampion99]

Fun fact: Regal once said on WWE Table For 3 with Barrett and Sheamus that the brass knuckles he had were rubber ones and he would always fly with them when doing shows. One time, he got stopped by airport security and had to explain why he was flying with brass knuckles since many US states (as well as the UK where Regal is from) deem them as illegal.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Table For 3 is such a great show

[@dannyhipolito817]

Well how is Drew McIntyre able to sneak Angela the gigantic ass sword through TSA without getting a court case?

[@MAXIMILLIONtheGREAT]

@@Alsebra just another reason nobody respects or follows the law.

[@AGxAG]

@@dannyhipolito817 Ornamental Sword ,which is probably in its own case that goes in the hold. Hes hardly sneaking it onboard up his arse is he

[@speedwaynutt]

The Big Return Pay Per View for Triple H. The guy was on the poster,The stage design had his sledgehammer and the only thing missing was the man himself Triple H.

[@michaelbandada9887]

“Hey-uhhh, why am I not on the show-uhhh?! I got my face on the poster-uhhh and the set’s got my hammer-uhhh but why am I not on the show-uhhh!”

[@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb]

So was he meant to be in bookers place

[@jcace13]

It's a shame to see Jeff Hardy starting to fall apart in 2001 and now 20 years later he just got fired for the same issues.

[@LouSassoleSledgecock]

Almost like he’s never had it together in the first place, isn’t it?

[@miketait116]

Little fun fact: Previously, the December pay per view was called Armageddon. This name was scrapped due to 9/11.

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

Kinda crazy about that. To be fair it was a good call to scrap the event. Still weird to see the Fully Loaded 2000 Stage represent “Armageddon 2001” in Shut Your Mouth though! 😂

[@salamisumo2]

That’s also why Raw stopped being called RAW IS WAR and the WARZONE

[@jsigversion1]

Is it really a "fun" fact?

[@dontmatterbecause1009]

@@jsigversion1 yeah it is

[@marcohavokkhaos]

Brian Zayne said that on one of his videos.

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

It’s a shame that the match between angle with Steve Austin wasn’t included in 2k16 because Kurt was in Impact or not with wwe

[@czujowy]

Was't RVD once in WWE game as a legend while still being active wrestler under Impact contract?

[@jayharv285]

@@czujowy I know he was in smackdown vs raw 2011

[@lmaouh1698]

@@czujowy Also, Hogan appeared in All Stars literally right smack in the middle of his TNA tenure lol, Same with 2K14. It was in development towards the end-ish of his run there, but he was definitely still under contract with them when the deal was made to bring him in to 2K14. So weird lol

[@JC-wn3ig]

Wwe games always screw us with Kurt Angle not in the game. Could’ve been in the attitude era WWE ‘13 & 2k16, Classic WM matches 2k14, & recently w/ some of his best matches w/ Mysterio 2k22

[@oliverquach9614]

😢that fact wasn’t fun at all.

[@michaelsinger4638]

It was really cool seeing Austin using more wrestling moves during this time. A little reminder that he was one of the best workers in North America prior to his neck (and numerous others) injury.

[@quentinkaasa47]

He was one of the best workers in 2001. This year had the greatest concentration of Austin's best matches from his career.

[@chrishowell6469]

The two times in WWE that they unified two different world titles, it happened at December B PPVs. I'm amazed they've never unified the belts at a Mania.

[@lewisaino]

The closest thing was IC vs WWF Title lol

[@toptenguy1]

Yep they HINTED at it at WM 6, Champion vs Champion, Title for Title but... Nope! lol

[@chrishowell6469]

@@toptenguy1 But that wasn't a Unification. The IC Title was vacated shortly after and just continued on afterward. I'm talking combining two titles into one. Specifically, two WORLD titles.

[@toptenguy1]

@@chrishowell6469 Yep that's what I'm saying. BEFORE Mania, they didn't make it clear so it was sort of implied that they MIGHT be unified.

[@fattiger6957]

Yeah, I always felt that they rushed the unification. Should have spent a few more months building it up then done it at WM. I think maybe that was the plan, then them signing Hogan, Nash and Hall might have thrown a wrench in those plans and made them fast-track the unification.

[@AdamBibilo]

So glad you threw a special spotlight on how good Austin’s Invasion heel run was! I think a lot of us get hung up on Austin’s own personal opinion that the heel turn was a bad move professionally and forget just how entertaining this period was. It was so amazing to see the toughest and most popular badass in the business suddenly dedicate himself 110% to being an absolutely unhinged and paranoid comedy jackass. Even if it was a bad business move and Steve himself hates it in hindsight, it still created great TV and took serious guts to even consider.

[@WrestlingWithWregret]

When you guys first made that observation on your podcast, I didn't want to believe it 😄 but then as I watched the weekly shows I found Austin to be the most consistently entertaining part of the product!

[@clearlyme6104]

@@WrestlingWithWregret we need fully loaded 01 please

[@LimaKiloRomeo]

And not only from an entertainment factor, but a working factor. He had classics all year long. The Rumble, vs HHH at No Way Out, vs The Rock at Mania X7, the Two Man Power Trip tag match against Benoit & Jericho on RAW, the WWE title match with Benoit the following Smackdown, & the SummerSlam match with Kurt Angle.

[@e93sports80]

@@clearlyme6104 there was no Fully Loaded 2001. It was replaced with Invasion 2001.

[@clearlyme6104]

@@e93sports80 detail police I’m sorry 2000

[@joecarroll3371]

I like Undertaker regardless of if he's a heel or babyface. Even in his worst matches, he is still my favorite.

[@TheGreatDevlin]

Ministry Taker is the best for me. But heel, Big Evil Taker was my dude. Battering David Flair in a bathroom and destroying Maven.

[@joecarroll3371]

@@TheGreatDevlin Ministry Taker had a cool entrance theme but I agree that Heel Taker was better. His entrance theme during that time was cool too.

[@usamazahid3882]

Me too.

[@enigmaskull3495]

“What am I doing? I’m kicking your ass what do you think I’m doing?!” - Undertaker to David Flair 2002

[@princealigorna7468]

@@joecarroll3371 Was that "You're Gonna Pay" or the version of that song without the vocals? Because "You're Gonna Pay" is my second favorite Taker theme besides the original death march (Ministry Taker's theme deserves props too. Especially the whole speaking in Latin part. Spooky AF, in a legit way. But "You're Gonna Pay" is just a fucking blast to drunkenly bellow out at the top of your lungs)

[@MrDp115]

"He wants to hit the Rock with his own bottom.... That didn't come out quite right" 😂😂 LMAO

[@JDjade1]

In hindsight, I wish that Vince had brought in Ric Flair sooner as the head of the alliance as opposed to Shane and Stephanie. It would've given a bit more credibility to have some WCW guy heading the alliance. I get that the Turner contracts played a factor in Flair, among other wrestlers, not showing up in WWE until much later, but Vince had enough money to at least eat one of those contracts.

[@TJSpyke]

That also requires the talent to agree to it. Flair has said that he wasn't ready to come back yet, heck he still didn't feel ready to come back once he did come back. Basically Flair had lost a lot of self confidence because of how he was treated in WCW.

[@JDjade1]

@@TJSpyke Oh well. What could have been

[@quentinkaasa47]

You have to remember, even though the WWF was doing record business at the time, this is the same year that the XFL abruptly ended and WWF New York in Times Square was a big financial drain for the company.

[@enigmaskull3495]

A lot of my early wrestling memories came after Vengeance 2001: - Triple H returning to a huge pop - Maven debuting, eliminating Taker from the 2002 Rumble, and winning the Hardcore Title - Undertaker beating up David Flair (“What am I doing? I’m kicking your ass what do you think I’m doing?”)

[@joshuatorres7766]

2002 was a great year. HBK vs HHH Rock vs Taker vs Angle Triple Threat at Vengeance Rock vs Hogan First ever elimination chamber Brock's great first year The Smackdown Six Great year Except on Raw when we get the reign of terror...

[@joshuatorres7766]

@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852and dropped it back to HHH at Armageddon. That was his only world title win throughout his 2nd run. He won a couple of tag titles, but never the world title ever again. Just like the undertaker, he didn't need it. He's f*cking HBK.

[@RoyStantz]

2002 also gave us the WWE debuts of Jamie Noble and John Cena.

[@joshuatorres7766]

@@RoyStantz And Randy Orton. Orton Debut before Cena did.

[@RoyStantz]

@@joshuatorres7766 Oh yes, I forgot about Orton. Thank you for that.

[@HeinerGunnar]

Calling a team with Albert dancing "Honkadactyls" is weirdly prophetic by Lawler considering his team with Brodus Clay and the Funkadactyls

[@jrcarter9175]

Now I've got "Somebody Call My Momma" playing in my head.

[@spykeso9]

It’s funny cause Jericho has said that after he won the Undisputed belt there was no one to congratulate him or celebrate with him in the back since they all had left the building so it was an anti climatic celebration after winning the biggest honor at the time

[@Taranchula]

And to add further insult to injury: Jericho couldn't order anything from his hotel restaurant because the kitchen was closed by the time he got there and then he got locked out of room when went to pick up the Domino's Pizza he ended up ordering instead and then got into argument with the front desk clerk who needed proof that Jericho was in fact a guest at the hotel despite checking in an hour before. All that bad luck was almost like a sign of things to come with Jericho's first title reign.

[@ShinRyojin]

Man, now it makes his celebration when he won the AEW title a lot more meta. Lol

[@claymathewselevator8121]

@@ShinRyojin A little bit of the bubbly

[@lewisaino]

@@Taranchula With all the bad luck he should have declined.

[@possiblyinsane6995]

@@attiepollard7847 no you wouldnt have you would of taken the belt and the money. and vince is right who wants to watch little guys, the ratings speak for themselves

[@fattiger6957]

This should have been the beginning of Jericho being a main eventer. Unfortunately, his time on top only lasted a few months and he was shoved back into the midcard by HHH. TBH, I don't really consider WWE giving Jericho a true main event spot until his short hair and suit heel run. IMO, it was clear as day that HHH was supposed to be the first Undisputed Champion and Jericho was only given the belt to hold as HHH was healing up.

[@kamaljoseph7001]

I heard rumours that original plans were for Kurt Angle to become the first Undisputed Champion and have him drop the championship to Triple H at Wrestlemania X8. However they went with Chris Jericho apparently last minute. Looking back at the history of the WWE from that point, I have to say it would have been better if Kurt Angle got the nod at Vengeance 2001. Chris Jericho wouldn't truly be booked as a serious world champion until 2008 when he won the WHC.

[@venomousnate7263]

Chris Jericho beat Rock and Austin in the same night to become the Undisputed Champion. He might have mentioned it before, but I can’t recall.

[@JoseJoseC626]

Jericho won the wcw world title more times in one year in wwf than he did in his ENTIRE actual wcw run

[@dmichael1172]

Because he wasn't nwo or Hogan or Goldberg so he would never ever win a world title in WCW

[@marcohavokkhaos]

All my friends were discussing who was going to be Undisputed champion. One picked Rock, one picked Austin and one picked Angle. I picked Jericho. They all laughed at me. I thought it was his time. I'm glad, he got his moment. My friends were shocked.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

26:15 It's really cool to see Zane give a mini-review of the Invasion angle (or him channeling the spirit of Jerry Springer) on this review. I'm surprised the Z-man didn't give his final thoughts on the Invasion on the Survivor Series 2001 review but either way, Zane's mini-review is really intriguing. :)

[@monkeyman5866]

Now all I can picture is a crowd of people chanting Brian like they used to chant Jerry!

[@kenterminateddq5311]

@@monkeyman5866 Or a "Z-man" chant.

[@michaelbandada9887]

Chris Jericho became the Man… Until he became the third wheel in the McMahon-Helmsley family drama

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

Yep, he got done dirty as time went on.

[@michaelbandada9887]

@@kyokugenryudisciple9349 it took six years for Chris Jericho to win another World title

[@JM1993951]

I was legitimately sad when the Hardyz were feuding. But I sided with Matt. Even as a kid (8 at the time) I felt that Matt was the more responsible, less reckless member of the team. And that was before I knew anything about Jeff’s substance problems.

[@addi543]

I don’t have the most favorable opinion on Matt considering Jeff’s current issues (imo, I’m starting to think Matt egged Jeff into walking out and is enabling him), but I understand where you’re coming from considering that Jeff recklessly cost them the titles the month prior

[@robertnathan5250]

I hope some WWE 2008 gets covered, what a year! Especially Edge vs Taker and HBK vs Jericho arcs

[@outlawrip-offartist4161]

I feel like Albert needs his own episode.

[@TheGreatDevlin]

*his own movie. Into the Albert-verse can definitely be an animated WWE movie. Albert, A Train, Giant Bernard, and Matt Bloom team up to stop the villainous Tensai from destroying the WWE. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@jeremyhegg9367]

Even if it was a relatively minor team, it was fun to have Test interact with both Albert and Trish here since they all had history together as T&A the year before . I feel like we don't get former tag team partners interacting with each other as much these days, at least on Raw/Smackdown, to really add more depth to their characters.

[@Joker_JAK]

I didn't start watching wrestling until 2001. So the Invasion storyline was my first real exposure to wrestling. So I personally loved it. Obviously, looking back, it could have been better. And since then I have gone back and watched wrestling from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but it hits different when you are watching it as it happens.

[@georgeh4171]

The Rock telling Trish to come back later where she can “smell what the Rock is cooking”. Sounds like there is going to be some 2 girls 1 cup kind of shenanigans in store for Miss Stratus.

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

I would say that the biggest fail was merging WCW with ECW ECW should have been against both WWF and WCW That broke my heart when the alliance formed

[@MrDp115]

I always say that, ECW hated WCW in the 90s and the feeling was definitely mutual so i have no idea why they would align against the WWF.

[@jayharv285]

@@MrDp115 cause WWF bought out WCW and ECW had issues with WWF so it was like the enemy of my enemy is my friend or something

[@MrDp115]

@@jayharv285 buying them both out didn't give them a commone enemy and what issues did ECW have with WWE before 2006?

[@jayharv285]

@@MrDp115 it was more of a guess really I was only 5 at this time so my memory is very hazy

[@MrDp115]

@@jayharv285 fair enough

[@sazrulsazli]

Holy hell… Gotta tell ya, 2001 was a good time… 🔥🔥🔥

[@dstaple3]

The dramatics for "Austin sees Vince"

[@chrisbreezy3048]

Brian's random Simpsons references always make me chuckle (cue Bill Cosby hippin', hoppin', bippin' and boppin'). Also, Flair playing the straight man and continuously saying, 'Great. That's awesome' while Kurt tells him everything he was going to do to Austin was hilarious.

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

And Finally, if there is a Story Arc I want you to do…there is two options. The Austin Whodunnit: - Survivor Series ‘99 - Backlash 2000 - Unforgiven 2000 - No Mercy 2000 (I wouldn’t mind if you threw in Freebies since you did Survivor Series 2000 already). Or The Austin Era: Royal Rumble ‘98 - Wrestlemania XV

[@TheJaguar1983]

1:10 "Banished to the Shadow Realm" Love the Yu-Gi-Oh (dub) reference

[@johnasbury3856]

That funky beat just dropped, you know what time it is! Wrestling With Wregret!!!

[@chrismecoy]

End of the weirdest year in WWE history until at least 2002 😂

[@austinsmith7731]

"Mr. McMahon enters the chat" was my biggest laugh of the video

[@fc775]

This was Y2J night beat the 2 biggest stars in company and 2 of the biggest of all time in the same night...If I was Y2J I was mention it all the time too lol

[@camschuster5947]

I was at this show…stunned silence when Jericho pinned Austin.

[@josephyoung1038]

As a kid this the first WWE) WWF pay per view I seen holds a special place in my heart ❤️

[@e93sports80]

Is it crazy that 2001 was the only year where there were no Hell in a Cell matches?

[@DropBombsInOctagons]

please never stop with these classic reviews they are gold thank you

[@southpawslim1]

Ah, the Power of the Punch. As a fellow lefty, you'd best believe I used it in SmackDown Shut Your Mouth

[@mrkipling2201]

Regal has to be one of the most underrated guys ever. One of my favourite wrestlers. He’s English as well which is even better!! One of the few English blokes who made it big in the business.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

His run as Raw GM was great

[@SteRDLK]

How is he underrated?

[@steveharvey2102]

He's a man! He's a man's man! Love all of Reagal, even thembad stuff :)

[@tannervangelder6902]

I’ve been watching bran WwW since late 2015 early 2016. This channel has grown so much and has been such a vital fan art of my life! Without this channel my love of wrestling wouldn’t be where it is today

[@Spitatra]

This was right before I started watching WWE all the time. What a time to be alive.

[@dmichael1172]

Well there really not much else for awhile.

[@DoubleCrossRanch]

God the way Kurt sells that stunner. So good

[@ThirdEye3pic]

Imagine how different the Invasion would have been if Triple H, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit weren't injured at the time

[@marvellis6762]

Undertaker was such a master at working with smaller wrestlers like Michaels, RVD and Jeff Hardy...... a program with Eddie would have been magic!

[@salomore]

Brian, I just wanted to say that I really love your videos. I got into wrestling only in 2011 and dropped it in 2014, although I still have good memories of it. I got caught up in nostalgia recently and decided to rewatch some matches I remembered and a lot of classic fights that I had never seen like Lesnar v Angle, Jericho v Michaels, Hart v Austin. Naturally, I watched some youtube videos from all sorts of people and I have to say: you've got yourself the most compelling channel of all. The editing, the skits, the presentation and a thorough, just, mature critique: it all somehow reminds me of Nostalgia Critic back at his prime. Thank you for bringing back my love for wrestling I thought was long gone and all the great matches recommendations I wouldn't have found elsewhere.

[@jamesb1988]

You must be a CM Punk fan I take it? :)

[@salomore]

@@jamesb1988 Nah, Jericho. I love me some Punk, but Y2J encapsulates everything I love about wrestling. Can't even begin to tell you how many times I rewatched his WWF debut. Same goes for Angle.

[@alleahsasseville]

I just LOVE when you post these retrospective videos!!! 💪🍿

[@richardhenry5858]

18:57 Beautiful sell of the Stunner by Angle. Simple, yet still theatric, **chef's kiss** beautiful. God, Angle was such a gem.

[@tyrone5969]

Thank you for your work Z-Man. You've helped me get through so much these past few years, and your content always makes my day.

[@eddiecarter5366]

Loved the overview of the Invasion era, great work fella!

[@adamshiflett9845]

Always excited for a new episode of these

[@mrkipling2201]

I forgot how much of a huge deal that was. Jericho going over the Rock and Austin on the same show. I can’t imagine someone like Hogan doing that. “ doesn’t work for me brother !! “

[@silverback9572]

I know everybody shits on The Undertaker while he was The American Bad Ass/Big Evil, but personally, I loved his heel run. I thought that was the best part of those three & a half years. He was nastier, he was funny, he put over young talent, etc.

[@kylewebb1131]

This was awesome, thank you! 😁

[@michealdargue2985]

Love it. Great video. Can't wait until more of your work.

[@savmadetf866]

I’ve been waiting in this💯

[@faersy]

I remember watching this live in the UK; guess it would’ve been around 4am when it finished and, despite loving him at the time and still, the genuine shock of seeing Chris Jericho is still so clear in my mind. At the time you’re thinking it can only be The Rock or Stone Cold and the moment Jericho beat The Rock, I remember saying to myself: “Well, we know it’ll be Austin now then.” Although what’s interesting is I wonder if Triple H was supposed to be in Jericho’s spot, they simply just kept the plan and swapped Jericho for Triple H? Maybe, maybe not but it’s definitely plausible

[@fattiger6957]

I think HHH was definitely supposed to be the first Undisputed Champion. WWE certainly didn't think much of Jericho, based on how they booked him as champ and he was treated as an afterthought during the build to WM.

[@jamalwalker]

@@fattiger6957 actuallly it was supposed to be Angle but Vince thought Jercho needed the rub (plus it was easier to set up a feud between HHH and jericho sense in kayfabe it was Jericho who took him out of action)

[@AlexanderKahrs]

Oh man, I almost forgot about the Hip-Hop Hippo lol. Great vid, thanks for this!

[@RolfWrenWalsh]

WCW For Life!!! I bled for that company as a kid, and still do to this day. Oh and I never thought you could top "Him Bottom" but you did with "Own Bottom". I love it. Never change Brian.

[@Shank5ter]

The editing in this new video is amazing. The zoom ins on facial reactions is astonishing

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

I hope you didn’t pick up the phone Brian…BECAUSE I JUST F’ING CALLED IT! It’s great you wrapped this angle up. I hope you do more Classic PPV’s in order like this, going over a specific angle.

[@vciotoli2126]

This was right around me getting rabid about wrestling again (it'd last till about '08). Great memories, man.

[@spikelovecraft8812]

One of my favorite ppvs of all time. I’ve been waiting for this.

[@Eviltwin531]

Between Test, Albert, and Taker, this PPV has got me thinking about how leather pants seem like one of the most uncomfortable and impractical items of clothing to wrestle in.

[@christianhafer9819]

Hey, Brian. Haven't watched one of your videos in a while. Glad to see you again, brother. I resubscribed as well.

[@TheLandofObscusion]

In regards to a long-term story arc to cover via Classic PPV Review, I think covering the "ECW on TNN" era would be interesting, i.e. August 27, 1999 to October 6, 2000. ECW didn't have monthly PPVs like WWF & WCW did, so this would only cover 7 PPVs, from Anarchy Rulz '99 to Anarchy Rulz '00. In fact, Zane's already covered two of them with AR '99 & Living Dangerously '00, so he'd only have 5 more to do.

[@grahambarlow9415]

As far as a classic period to cover - Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyskow & Beautiful Bobby; The Dangerous Alliance! Running roughshod over WCW from the End of 1991 into 1992. My favourite faction of all time and an interesting period of WCW to say the very least! Chamber of Horrors, Lethal Lottery and of course, War Games 92! Keep up the great work!

[@HotStormProductions]

Just watched all the invasion playlist today. Great job Brian a great series you’ve made here. I enjoyed from start to finish.

[@WrestlingWithWregret]

Thank you for going on the journey!

[@HotStormProductions]

@@WrestlingWithWregret I stuck it on because it is when I was most into wrestling. Being 11 at the time of the invasion and liking both WCW and WWF (although preferred WWF and was even at the Rebellion PPV). But alas I digress, I put it on and a couple of hours later I was like ‘I can’t believe I’ve watched the whole playlist and it’s just flown by’. Honestly Brian and if there is a W3 team well done on this excellent set of retrospectives!

[@Rocker21344]

I think story arcs are much more engaging than one off ppvs. I've been on the edge of my seat every other week waiting for the next part to come

[@limitlessandy1117]

Referencing the shadow realm? I knew Brian was a man of culture but that seals it.

[@heisenberg8934]

I remember that storyline playing out as it happened live and played a big part of my childhood and was a fun awesome time to be a Wrestling fan. It was cool to follow along and hear your take on it and you did a great job covering it thank you. But as this was the end of the attitude era The Ruthless Aggression era would take off.

[@antonioiessi590]

34 minutes, thank you Z-man

[@DoctorProfessorPablo]

I think you should cover more long archs like these its fun going through the journey with you.

[@danhighlander]

This in-depth look at the Invasion was fantastic. I feel like it could be interesting to do the same for the Reign of Terror, if you’re interested in a similar project.

[@victoryusmc]

I hear that retro music and it makes my head bounce

[@nickpearson890]

Been waiting for this all day 👍

[@mrnaughtycat]

I liked the Intro with Freddie blassi dancing to hall of the mountain king

[@JJUniverseChannel]

Awesome video man 😎!

[@TheNaturalPatHarris]

4:58 “Cause they don’t know what the JAZZZ is ALLL ABOUT!”

[@TheThickThor]

Loved seeing you on commentary this weekend BZ!

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Mr McMahon kissing rikishi ass was so funny

[@lewisaino]

When they said that Rikishi would swallow Vince

[@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb]

Austin whipping vinces ass with a belt was funnier

[@Rafman316]

I miss when different shows had different color ropes. Raw had red ropes, Smackdown blue and PPVs black. Instead of all shows and PPVs having white ropes like they do now.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

205 Live’s Purple Ropes

[@chandlertrotter1560]

My very first live event. Brings back memories.

[@cocopuffgames]

I was such a huge HHH fan at this time (pre-reign of terror so gimme a break) and was so disappointed when he didn’t show at this event.

[@jimsoczka9668]

Thanks Z man, I'll always love hearin "the him bottom". 😆

[@monkeyman5866]

"He's not at his best point here and I'm thinking oh (snaps) that explains the hat" -Brian Zane, 2021

[@METAL-ADDICT]

Fuck yeah! Thanks dude. My day started out pretty crappy, but NOW it's getting betterrrr. \m/

[@badyacht]

loved hearing your revamped thoughts on the invasion Zane

[@joemax4]

Even if Vince bought out the AOL contracts, I doubt the storyline improves. We saw what he did with the WCW stars that came in over the next few years, and I think nothing changes had they come in sooner. Test and Christian were highlights for sure. Just a shame Test went back to doing nothing following Survivor Series. Guy had so much more potential.

[@williamerazo3921]

I thought Test was going to be top star when Triple H went out

[@joshuaarthur6043]

These Classic Reviews never disappoint me, keep up the 🔥 work Z man. #W3

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Brian just needs to cover judgement day and insurrection in order to cover all 2001 ppv

[@gustwynns7977]

The "Him Bottom" is wonderful! lol