WWF King of the Ring 2001 Review | Wrestling With Wregret

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It's the start of the infamous Invasion storyline ... we take it back to 2001 to review KING OF THE RING!
02:58 Diamond Dallas Page opens the show
05:16 King of the Ring Semifinal: Kurt Angle vs. Christian
08:04 King of the Ring Semifinal: Edge vs. Rhyno
09:30 Tag Team Championship: The Dudley Boys vs. Spike Dudley & Kane
13:22 King of the Ring Finals: Kurt Angle vs. Edge
15:58 Light Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. X-Pac
19:02 DDP calls out the Undertaker
20:17 Street Fight: Shane McMahon vs. Kurt Angle
25:00 WWF Championship: Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit
28:47 Final Thoughts
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[@exquisitelemonade3039]

Rhyno getting injured when he did late 2001 is probably the saddest bit of timing ever. My dude was having an absolute stellar year, then his momentum was stopped and it took him over a year to recover.

[@ehhhhhhh6141]

When he gored Jericho through that Smackdown screen 🥴 or when he gored The Rock in half (kudos for that sell) I thought damn he’s gonna be special. Too bad.

[@Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa669]

He could've been a champion easily if nor for the injury

[@surferguy1974]

I felt after his feud with Y2J he was dwindling down by the time he was sidelined at the end of 2001.

[@barrodexteriit.9301]

The Shane McMahon vs Kurt Angle street fight was one for the ages.

[@chrisortiz8072]

People hate on Shane sometimes but he always puts his all into his matches. Its always entertaining and more than what you should do lol

[@claymathewselevator8121]

THE BEST IN THE WORLD

[@derrickbailey1714]

@@chrisortiz8072 When he was in his prime he definitely was the underrated McMahon when it came to in ring performance. Now he just breathes heavy and sweats profusely lol.

[@nicholasiannaccone6423]

You didn’t know he’s the best in the world?

[@Stampistuta]

True.

[@TrunksEDTW]

Controversial take but I think Angle’s performance at 01’ KOTR is up there with Foley’s Hell in a Cell as a testament to how far the body will go to entertain the audience, guy went nearly 50 MINUTES worth of wrestling between 3 matches with 2 injuries! Legit wrestling machine.

[@pasta1169]

Angles performance on this show and brets performance at king of the ring 93 are definitely the two best one night performances of any wrestler in the wwf/wwe

[@tinotica]

@@pasta1169 id throw Triple Hs performance the night after judgment day when he tore his quad and still finished the match

[@pasta1169]

@@tinotica different circumstance, that’s talking finishing a match after getting injured and I’m talking about working numerous matches in one night

[@codewordafl5850]

Bret Mania 10? Bryan mania 30 or Beniot 2004 RR

[@tinotica]

@@pasta1169 ahh. Well then definitely Bret at RR 1994

[@BreadHart]

I want to watch a Dark side of the Ring style mockumentary based on Big Hoss McGraw.

[@Vesperitis]

I can just picture the slow motion face-blurred reenactments of important moments in history!

[@HorrorMetalDnD]

Yes!!!

[@matthewlane518]

That would be amazing!

[@DashingPunkSamurai]

My god yes. Brian could do a hour plus movie with all his characters included along with some cameos. I’d kick the heck out of that Kickstarter if this was a thing

[@IIMoreGoreII]

He better have the mask on in his baby photos

[@toptenguy1]

The show-long psychology from Shane was so great. He knew he wasn't at Kurt's level, so his goal was to make sure Kurt was on his 3rd match of the night so it would be more even. Loved it.

[@Eidenhoek]

...Why *did* he want to face Kurt? Edit: Oh, he was going to do that regardless. Ah.

[@wisewolftony]

Remember when I was younger back in like 2006 this was the wrestling tape that I rented by far the most from my video store. I never got to watch WWE until about 2003 right around the time Kane took off his mask. As I was to young to watch the Attitude era wasn't until I turned 13 in 03 that my parent finally let me start watching WWE. So I would rent the old PPV that my store had. And this was by far my favorite one. Mainly just for the Angle vs Shane match.

[@nicholasiannaccone6423]

You do know he’s the best in the world right?

[@jackburton2680]

Still not believable that Shane could compete with him. They needed to have had Angle get injured or something in an earlier match. As is, it's cheesy and unbelievable and makes Angle look weak.

[@CoralCopperHead]

@@jackburton2680 TIL: Concussions aren't injuries.

[@dbone3356]

This version of Saturn gave me a quote I will still randomly use to this day: "Puppies eat apple sauce to help save the ozone layer."

[@num1Jaysta]

You're welcome

[@jesterr7133]

You said it all about Shane. He might not be trained, be the best striker, or get in the ring very often, but he makes it count when he does. He usually does something memorable every time he wrestles. He definitely gives it 100%, and isn't afraid to put his body on the line. He definitely takes it seriously, and respects the business.

[@TheLandofObscusion]

I swear I remember reading once that Undertaker really didn't want to have anything to do with the WCW talent at the time ("We fought for our lives against them for six years, & now we have to work with them?!" was his reasoning), and when combined with DDP's obsession for planning everything out (only rivaled by Randy Savage), Taker apparently just hated working with DDP during this time. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if Taker pushed for him to just absolutely dominate DDP at this show, and from what I remember Taker's involvement during the whole Invasion was rather lackluster (*shudders at the thought of the KroniK match*). It wouldn't be until his match with RVD at Vengeance that Taker finally started returning to form with that Hardcore Title reign. On the bright side, DDP has since credited his inability to say "No" to the Stalker angle for teaching him how to be a better businessman, and feels that DDP Yoga's success comes from this learning experience.

[@undertakernumberone1]

From what I've heard it was also that DDP basically immediately started to plan out the match without Taker's involvement and, iirc, basically threw "we'll do this and that" at Taker. That gave a bad first impression. It was seen as a lack of respect to the (WWF) Veteran Undertaker.

[@SonBlackHeart22]

Yeah Taker was so boring during the invasion stuff and that Kronik match was very bad thankfully the heel turn did make Taker interesting again.

[@chrisortiz8072]

It didnt help that they put ddp in such a stupid storyline and tried to make taker look like a punk

[@chrisortiz8072]

@Awesome Sauce because ddp was stalking his wife etc and I feel like taker didnt like how it made him look. Yeah you dominate but you couldnt protect your wife from all the drama type of thing. Everyone knows ddp was misused. They only had him and Booker from wcw side and wasted it.

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

Doesn't help that Undertaker, in recent years, has been revealed to be an absolute diva, complaining nonstop about the industry, and 2000-2002 was the absolute peak of him being a total asshole. So, it doesn't surprise me that he was uncooperative with Page or any of the WCW guys. Hell, according to Chuck Palumbo, guys like him, Bradshaw and Hardcore "Horse's Ass" Holly were the worst when it came to their mindset regarding the WCW talent. And, it's funny that Bradshaw & Holly were particularly abrasive about their spots, given both had spent years at the bottom of the WWF in go-nowhere gimmicks and weren't exactly in any position to climb the ranks anytime soon in mid-2001. Given that, in the Ruthless Aggression series on the Network/Peacock, the WWE retroactively blamed the WCW talent for the failure of the invasion because they weren't stars, absolving all blame on their end, I don't think you can look back on that if you were there as one of the WCW contracted wrestlers and go "It was a good time".

[@olliebol77]

DDP should never been a heel in his debut

[@jackcarraway4707]

He should have feuded with The Rock. WWF's People's Champion vs WCW's People's Champion. In fact, DDP pitched this to Vince and it got rejected.

[@juanpena1921]

WWE screw him up

[@The_General_Zubas]

@@jackcarraway4707 Cuz Vince wanted to bury WCW.

[@kael2450]

That chair shot Benoit did on Jericho was just nasty, IIR Jericho in his book said that chair shot knocked him silly for a few seconds.

[@enigmaskull3495]

26:20

[@GLCinematics]

He got one similar in TLC 3 that just shook the arena. Can’t remember who it was that hit him (think it was Christian) but he got absolutely wrecked from it

[@num1Jaysta]

@@GLCinematics He took a similar chair shot from Austin on Smackdwon back in 2000.

[@WCWThunderRosa]

@@GLCinematics yeah Christian wrecked his shit with a chair in TLC III

[@chayden153]

@jabroni destroyer definitely

[@Kallabronn]

Is it bad I had the same face as Big Hoss McGraw when Butterfinger changed their recipe gimmick?

[@speedwaynutt]

King of the ring 2001 The night Kurt Angle almost Killed the Bosses Son.

[@fc775]

The boy wonder - Jim Ross

[@TakerKaneanite619]

The night that the Bosses son showed he too owns the massive grapefruits made famous by his old man.

[@bluengold3443]

The night when the boss's son was swearing and screaming to kurt angle put him through the glass

[@enigmaskull3495]

@@bluengold3443 Because the McMahon kids were fed madness instead of breast milk.

[@christopherbenoit5585]

@@enigmaskull3495 nah but probably surge

[@tinotica]

This might be Brian’s best and funniest retro review. Impersonations were so on point here. Can’t wait to see him cover the entire invasion story. He will have officially covered all of 2001s ppvs except for one. (in Jerry Lynn’s voice) JUDGMENT DAAAAYYY!!!!!

[@comixproviderftw_02]

“HOW DO I FEEL? THAT’S PATHETIC!” -Billy Gunn, 2001

[@stfi7566]

“The None” Billy Gunn.

[@tinotica]

Zane’s impression of it was so spot on!!!

[@hulk6785]

You can see why they chose to stop his push from that quote.

[@tinotica]

@@hulk6785 they stopped his push 2 years before he said this quote 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@hulk6785]

@@tinotica But, he wasn't that good at promos in 1999 as he was in 2001.

[@jfx316]

That Tazz impression tho…….

[@deebow_fat]

Say what you want about Austin's character arc in 2001, but, as far as his in-ring work goes, it was probably one of his best runs.

[@GorditoCrunch343]

Best in-ring run ever since Shawn Michaels in 96 IMO. From January to December the guy didn't have a single bad match. Easily one of, if not the best championship reigns too. He treated losing the title even worse than death.

[@noname8710]

Absolutely! He was (mostly) healthy for the entire year and he had better opponents to work with as well (Angle, HHH, Rock, Jericho, Benoit, RVD, etc.)

[@Devypocalypse]

@@GorditoCrunch343 I'd say Bret in 97. He Killed it that year. But man, what a time to be a fan that era was.

[@GorditoCrunch343]

@@Devypocalypse Fair point. Bret in 97 was a beast too, his feud with Austin and the whole Canada vs. USA angle that year carried the company.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

10:36 I can't get enough of Zane's Tazz Impression, Cole! :) But sorry, Z-Man, Hoss McGraw's intros are always the bright spot of the Classic PPV Reviews.

[@southern_puma]

are you a time traveler?

[@comixproviderftw_02]

@@southern_puma Pateron

[@southern_puma]

@@comixproviderftw_02 oh right. i forgot he puts them up early on patreon, my bad

[@tinotica]

I like him referencing Joey Numbas; an actual wrestling reviewer

[@kenterminateddq5311]

@@tinotica Wrong Joey Numbas but Wrestling Soup is cool

[@venomousnate7263]

I swear every time I see Kurt Angle suplex Shane McMahon into the glass where his head makes that disgusting thud on the concrete it makes me cringe every single time. Hell of a match though.

[@chriskidwell8595]

I still think the DDP stalker angle could’ve worked if DDP explained that he didn’t care about Sara, in fact, he thought she was ugly and worthless. This would’ve taken the “creepy” out of it making Taker DDP’s only target. It also would’ve pissed off Taker. Then, DDP has to be competitive in the matches instead of basically being squashed by Taker. If DDP at least wins one match with Taker, DDP can then say he’s proven he can beat him, so he’s ready for the next man up.

[@ryankeefe6222]

Yeah if it was just he was trying to get Undertaker’s attention then from there they just have a feud then ok but they decided to make DDP one of the more over babyfaces in wcw into this creepy pervert heel that made no sense

[@tafua_a]

Here's the thing: he did say something similar in his first promo, saying he only stalked Sara to get in Taker's head, but then the creative team said "screw that" and wrote him as actually having a thing for Sara.

[@reallyretro]

Lets not all forget that Billy Gunn ate a meatball sandwich at WWF New York during this show.

[@coreylineberry8557]

Sounds tasty.

[@enigmaskull3495]

12:56 Great Billy Gunn Impression

[@sazrulsazli]

I was just literally thought it would be cool if Brian Zane do the KOTR 2001 review and there you go… 👏👏👏

[@WrestlingFace]

Loved this show, i remember being 12 years old and asking all my friends at school if Stone Cold retained the WWF championship.. everyone back then watched wrestling. Good times.

[@AverageJane222]

Sames!!

[@hellokittybebop]

In hindsight I can see why angle was addicted to opioids for a sec

[@dereklee778]

People in the comments are impressed he did three matches... im thinking... I saw the dude with 3 belts around his waste, do three matches, on 33 percs, & he was 13 years older then he was in this match. Kurt Angle is something else..

[@hellokittybebop]

@@dereklee778 perc angle a legend XD

[@porkchopexpress84]

If youve ever tried opiates its very easy to see why😅

[@geddoe316]

It never fails to impress me that shane mcmahon, who is filthy rich and would never have to step in the ring if he didn't want to, puts more into his performances than a large chunk of the people the wwe employs.

[@andrewburgemeister6684]

Could have just worked a cushy office job, but chose to put his body on the line. From what I’ve watched, he seemed really good for someone with minimal wrestling experience!

[@adamcahn9315]

Booker T had real heat with Austin after his run in broke Steve’s hand. Word is Booker never checked to see if Austin was ok which pissed 3:16 off. Hence the infamous supermarket assault on Smackdown.

[@waterdrinker90]

Man, those Austin impersonations are spot on

[@TheCamSays]

I find it interesting how Brian didn’t mention the stage setup. It’s still one of the greatest setups of all time.

[@omegaman6494]

Re-used the following year

[@thebenalvarez]

“He’s the main eventer of the theme restaurant.”

[@kjpierson1152]

The Angle/Shane match, for everything that happened during it will be one of those that should live in history. The toll that both of them went through for what could be described as a non wrestlers gimmick, was insane.

[@edyoung2621]

19:32 "WORLD STAR!" MY SIDES ARE KILLING ME THAT WAS FANTASTIC

[@mrs6968]

Classick

[@KadeemG61]

I still can’t get enough of the “Billy Bitchcakes” line from Edge.

[@ghostfac3182]

X-Pac was born too early. If he was clean and in his prime today he would be the face of a company

[@pepito2847]

Edge and Bret Hart are pretty similar Both Canadian, both started off in a tag team, won The IC Title, went on to become WWE champ and at one point won The King Of The Ring Tournament and didn’t really make it part of their gimmick No wonder WWE All Stars pitted them against eachother in the Fantasy Warfare Mode

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

If I remember correctly, Bret also trained Edge and Christian in the infamous Hart Family Dungeon, for a brief time.

[@CHARSA93]

Watching the Kurt/Shane match makes me think "Damn, Shane should've been ECW Champion in '07 instead of Vince!!"

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Would’ve he wore a doo rag too?

[@CHARSA93]

@@claymathewselevator8121 Mmmm.........nah, let Vince keep the doo rag. It kinda worked for him, since he was bald at the time.

[@slashandbones13]

I have always said that they could have done the exact same storyline but have Umaga be the champion with 2 on 1 matches with Shane.

[@Jerry_Freestyle]

*Could y’all imagine how much history would’ve had to change had Benoit won the championship given the circumstances??*

[@Jerry_Freestyle]

@TheDreamSmasher 2 Actually, he was also the inaugural (2002) SmackDown WWE Tag Team Champion with Kurt Angle

[@rman2562]

In my opinion this is one of the most underrated wwe ppvs

[@chrisortiz8072]

I was a fan of king of the ring but for whatever reason it didnt sell as well as others. I guess it could be the lack of buildup for matches.

[@pasta1169]

Think part of the problem was Benoit and Jericho had much better matches with Austin the weeks prior to this show

[@GorditoCrunch343]

@@chrisortiz8072 This one was pretty successful on PPV, did about 440k buys total which was above average. In fact, PPV business for most of 2001 was pretty good until the last 3-4 months.

[@Tizzandor]

"which is Vince McMahons voice" in a stalker angle? yea, checks out

[@stfi7566]

Come to think of it, the audio in those clips sounds a lot like Bruce Prichard’s Vince impression whenever Vince talked about boobs.

[@heyyoitsmebrian]

other than jericho, DDP was the ONLY guy from wcw i was a huge fan of, and to see him go to wwe i was so excited. i stupidly thought he would be in the world title picture. ppl over use the phrase but that was a DAMN BURIAL !!!!! HUGE !!!!!! wtf man?

[@iamthurnis745]

it’s crazy that Rhyno, Edge and Christian are still wrestling but now they’re the old timers that’s freaky to me

[@iamthurnis745]

@nemo pouncey …ok

[@zeospark9715]

@nemo pouncey Don't need to be rude. It is crazy because those 3 can still put on good matches. Though, all three are still in their mid to late 40s so I wouldn't call them "old" just yet.

[@CheezusChrist1776]

People age, what a concept

[@iamthurnis745]

bruh literally y’all getting mad because i’m commenting on people aging is pretty weird 😂😂 it’s never that serious

[@PaceBreaker]

Right? It's great to see them still able to do what they do decades later without any severe wear and tear we can see.

[@jeffg2189]

Wow the Spike & Molly romance brings me back

[@princesstamika]

One of my favorite angles ever

[@CDpanda365]

The impressions in this video are so great

[@brianhall4182]

I loved DDP in WCW. A great babyface and foil to the NWO. Turning him into a creepy stalker in WWE just felt like a slap in the face and really showed you where McMahon stood on the incoming WCW stars. As in, he didn't want them to be stars.

[@dexenationgracey1979]

The stalker gimmick probably could've worked if it was Raven, that seems like some shit he'd do.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Also if it wasn’t so one-sided. Taker just beating the guy’s ass over and over for months just made the whole thing so boring to watch.

[@bennygilbert8764]

Actually a Raven vs. Taker feud (Especially with possible context of Raven trying to bring out the Deadman again) could have been awesome.

[@chayden153]

I mean he did crucify The Sandman so yeah....

[@Steezboy3000]

No one should have done it

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Yeah, Raven was always an incel.

[@Anon42063]

X-pacs In ring ability was very underrated

[@LunarNightstrider]

I come for the Big Hoss McGraw ads I stay for the reviews.

[@187alan]

It's amazing to see how many injuries that these people suffered during this PPV. In a way I'm glad that we may never see an era like this again.

[@mindyourbuisness8104]

A few years ago they were missing a huge chunk of their main event roster from injuries. Wrestling will always have them

[@KingKhanate1997]

Man you gotta give DDP credit, the angle sucked but it seems he really gave his stalker gimmick his all.

[@michaelbandada9887]

WrestleMania X-Seven: Shane McMahon crashes to an announce table Backlash 01: Shane McMahon jumps from the titantron KotR 01: Shane McMahon gets suplexed through glass “Stop trying to get yourself killed, damnit!” -Mr McMahon

[@ryanprior1294]

I feel the Jerry Lynn idea, if you wanted to you can make it a theme and call it shorts or something.. I'd watch that, that sounds tough

[@scotthardie5141]

He could also do Eric Escobar, Kronik, Jesus (the one that was Carlito's bodyguard), Big Bully Busick & other guys who came and went amazingly fast.

[@num1Jaysta]

The Flying Hawk

[@tafua_a]

Also, I feel that when the Flying Nothing connects, it should be renamed "the Flying Something", or "the Flying Whatever"

[@victoryusmc]

I came for the content but stayed due to Brian's charisma. Good friend to have during quarantine time.

[@arashi86]

I've been a New Jersey resident for years and was massively into wrestling around this point in time, and I forgot this PPV was held so close to home.

[@Stampistuta]

The Shane V Kurt match is on incredible. Huge effort from them both.

[@JustJames83]

When you said “It all feels so stupid knowing it’s going nowhere in 24 hours”… We felt that. The WWE universe felt that

[@enigmaskull3495]

Between KOTR 2001 and No Surrender 2007, Kurt Angle truly is a machine for wrestling three matches in one night.

[@JTC545]

The DDP storyline/burial is so aggravating, it hurts to watch any of it.

[@ShadowWing7439]

King of the Ring 2001 was actually the first WWF PayPerView I had ever watched, and I can say that that Angle/McMahon Street Fight did get me hooked as a kid.

[@seanjahns3238]

I truly felt that Saturn's "goofball" gimmick was a punishment for injuring Mike Bell 🤷‍♂️

[@Slick5150]

It was, Saturn himself said he hated it

[@disfiguringthegoddess1102]

Fuck Saturn. He had it coming if he's gonna injure people. Legit no reason to EVER hurt someone

[@machravens]

He had a brain injury and a drug addiction, *maybe* not the best idea to turn the idea of chronic head injury into a literal joke?

[@DevilLobster82]

@@disfiguringthegoddess1102 In his defense, he did say that he got his bell rung in that match, and shit canned Bell to the outside so he could get his head right and de-escalate the situation, and he didn't realize that he hurt him.

[@superrobz]

Sat watching this really makes me depressed for DDP, that crowd reaction when he unmasked still to this day gives me chills it was so so loud.. then instead of capitalising on that popularity he went from potential star to glorified punch bag Jobber.

[@MGSBlackCat17]

@Awesome Sauce I’d say Booker T and RVD were probably the only ones to have big success, and even then it took them probably too long to get where they deserved to be.

[@superrobz]

@@MGSBlackCat17 problem is, Booker for a long time was looked at and treated like inferior.. I think it’s pretty much unanimous from wrestling fans that Booker should have gone over at Wrestlemania and won the belt, it wasn’t just WCW either like you say. I recall Taz and Raven getting thunderous ovations when they debuted

[@devonAFC]

@@MGSBlackCat17 it took time though

[@dominickdarpino5584]

RIP to the airlines arena. went to many raws there back in the day

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

It's ok, The Rock (Pru Center) has us covered

[@EphPhaThaINC]

The problem with DDP being revealed as being “the stalker” isn’t so much the motive going in as I dug it and was invested into it, the problem was that there was such a disconnect suspension of disbelief because after this ppv happened and they kept it going and beating it into the ground because of it and that was how Sara was such a step down compared to Page’s real life wife, being that of Kimberly Page, who was a a former playboy playmate. Yeah, you know your really hot wife in real life, that was unveiled on WCW? Yeah we’re just going to completely ignore and pretend that she does not exist.

[@stephenbianchi7141]

8:33 one of the greatest moments in WM history. I'm still bitter about the crowd not reacting. When he stood up and hit another variation. Come on, man. It was probably the most smark-pandering thing that's ever happened without breaking the fourth wall.

[@thesprock5270]

It’s still baffling anyone thought the stalker gimmick was a good idea aand believable. DDP was with Kimberly, Kimberly!! Why would he stalk Sara who is at best a 7/10.

[@12thLevelSithLord]

Because, usually, somebody engaging in those sort of activities isn't doing it because the other person is a total bombshell. It's a power thing. It's a stupid gimmick, for sure, but the reason isn't "he had a bangin' wife at home".

[@thesprock5270]

@@12thLevelSithLord Still stupid af

[@thesprock5270]

@@ToxicKingMad lol I was being nice

[@rickyrosay33977]

True if I had a wife like kimberly why would I stalk a woman like sarah what I have waiting at home is more attractive heck my actual girlfriend is more attractive than sarah

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

7:31 You know WWE is in a place they aren't happy about when they mention the arena name but not the actual name of the city. If they're in a large metropolitan area, they'll be happy to bombard you with stock footage or outdoor camera shots (back in the day) with the city name, but if it's a smaller locale, they refuse to give the area the time of day, which was ironic considering at one point, those places were the only areas WWF ran TV tapings and back then, they didn't have any hubris in telling you it's from Bushkill, New York. Many years later, they would scorch earth smaller communities like Lafayette, Louisiana (I'm sorry, "Cajundome") after failing do to their homework when they introduced all those NXT stars and instead blamed the town for not caring.

[@stfi7566]

New Jersey’s always been “in the shadow of New York City” according to WWE.

[@darrenhigham753]

Tbh I didn’t even notice Benoit wasn’t involved in the invasion. That speaks out to the fact that wat we got took our minds off missing people Yes they dropped the ball but the invasion is criminally underrated

[@chrisortiz8072]

We got some interesting matches out of it but that's about it.

[@darrenhigham753]

@@chrisortiz8072 not that getting over with an inanimate object ain’t interesting lol

[@tafua_a]

The problem with the Invasion is, it would have been a fine enough storyline if it weren't meant to be the climax of the Monday Night War. All of the shoot promos, all of the booking changes, all of the questionable business practices, all of the talent raids all of the screwjobs, all the paranoia and all of the shots fired for THIS?! It's like going to a party and being reminded every time that the main course is gonna be great, and every conversation of the party being around the main course, and the main course ends up being a box of Chicken McNuggets. Sure, it's a tasty snack, sure some people go to McDonalds to eat those in particular, but as the main course of a big party, it's kinda disappointing.

[@darrenhigham753]

@@tafua_a but from a nostalgic purists point of view… they really didn’t care about all that stuff no body knew about properly till the days of the internet spoilers

[@tafua_a]

@@darrenhigham753 A nostalgic purist would have wanted Goldberg vs Austin, the nWo vs DX, Sting vs Taker, and instead they got DDP getting his ass kicked by the Undertaker all the time, Austin vs Rock (again), Austin vs McMahon (again), the McMahon family drama (again) and admittedly a few gems like Booker T vs The Rock and RVD being the best hardcore champion since Raven and Crash Holly

[@veeetox]

4:40 Maybe Benoit would be the one who would join WCW, but he was injured at the main event, so I think that's why the plans changed

[@benespinosa6725]

Stacy Keibler's debut on Smackdown was great

[@FIXTREME]

Was it, though? Just to have 4 years of lackluster matches with her 3 moves of doom (cartwheel, roundhouse kick from an irish whip, boot to the neck in the corner.) She could sell, and wasn't as awful as Torrie Wilson. But that's like saying soft craps are better than constipation/diarrhea...

[@benespinosa6725]

@@FIXTREME I mean She Had Them legs though

[@heyyoitsmebrian]

@@FIXTREME shes not good in the ring but people like Stacy can be great contributors to SD without ever havin a match. im fond of her being the dudley boyz manager (remember that??)

[@benespinosa6725]

@@heyyoitsmebrian I do she was awesome as the Dutchess of Dudleyville

[@heyyoitsmebrian]

@@benespinosa6725 my man!!! thank you. she was fun as vince's assistant too. her interview is the basis for the vince McMahon meme where hes falling out of the chair

[@EmmaBonn96]

I loved the spot of Kurt going in the down position. It showed skill, set up, menace, and comedy payoff

[@tans8351]

Nothing starts the day off better than a Big Hoss McGraw spot!

[@claudioibacache5371]

Since the begining, the Spanish team explained that Shane helped Kurt in his fight against Christian, so that Kurt will fight two fights, and thus he will arrive more tired, to the fight between them.

[@TheCeltic91]

Ive always wondered what it would have been like if guys like Guerrero, Beniot and triple h had been around during the invasion

[@jaycerrito3142]

All three of them would've been apart of the Alliance especially since all three of them were in WCW before but I bet one of them would've been like Kurt Angle turning face at the last minute or something. That's just my personal assumption

[@BrettStormXWP]

I just realised, this is the second show you've reviewed where Kurt Angle wrestled three times in one night.

[@jmw20watch]

Billy Gunn actually was the winner of the King of the Ring from 2 years(1999) before this. The previous year's(2000) winner was Kurt Angle.

[@coryhinchey5741]

So stoked to watch you journey through probably my personal favorite year of WWF: 2001. Despite the debacle that was The InVasion/The Alliance, I will always maintain that it was the funnest year of the company and very hard to beat match quality wise. Paranoid, insane Steve Austin is one of my favorite characters in wrestling history and the stuff between him, Vince and Kurt is absolutely priceless. It's also amazing how often the card shuffles between PPVs that year. Guys go from Main Eventers to off the show entirely and in both directions. It's also really fun watching the influx of ECW and WCW talent. It's true that 2001 didn't become the year that we saw Austin face Hogan, The Rock square off with Goldberg or The Undertaker fight Sting but taken in a vacuum it's a blast of a year to watch... outside of anything involving KroniK.

[@Deathstroke4200]

Loved the main event when the Walls of Jericho and the Crossface was applied to Austin. Looked so cool watching it live.

[@misfyt_mcfly3084]

Another great review, thanks again for all the time and effort that goes into your content.

[@mrs6968]

Lmfao love that surfshark promo HAD ME ROLLING DA WHOLE TIME I wouldn't mind commercials as long as folks make them that hilarious

[@Kaltagstar96]

This might've been the first PPV that I ever watched on my older cousin's VHS and it's so awesome to see you taking a look at this one, Brian. Also. it's bonkers how WWE took one of the most over babyfaces in the industry in DDP and turn him into...well, what they did here.

[@ZJP]

"Listen up punk!" Fun with Big Hoss!

[@scottaznavourian3720]

'Shane's always ready to perform' Wrestlemania 39 says hi....

[@IntrovertedOreo]

You have the best Austin voice impersonation ever 😂😂😂

[@lionhearted7450]

This I Mmmm is honestly one of my favorite PPV’s…but the way Brian breaks this down is always just amazing…especially in this video.

[@cubah1]

Man I love this channel and the way this dude reviews. He throws in jokes but plays it straight. Like when Benoit using the belt and him saying, “classic babyface move”

[@jcace13]

I don't think I ever knew Spike and Molly were a thing before, have you ever considered a Top 8 Romantic Storylines video?

[@latterdaydude6125]

1) Billy and Chuck

[@bryanmarschall4183]

Brian, I just want to say, one of the things I look forward to each week is your classic PPV reviews. Thank you very much!

[@LoganProductions54]

What's great is, during the first failed glass break, on the original airing you can see the ref go to stop the match on the orders of Vince, and you can hear Shane shout something like "Don't stop the fight!" and to Kurt "PUT ME THROUGH THAT FUCKING GLASS" I remember trying to re-watch it on the Network and it was bleeped out.

[@GummyDavidson]

Always been one of my favourite PPVS. One of the best King of the Ring Tournaments, fun undercard matches, Shane and Kurt delivering a classic and an underrated main event.

[@arrowdave646]

Heyman and DDP, former AWA managers

[@EmmettXIV]

Fun fact: Molly Holly started using the theme song to this show as her entrance theme about a year after this when she became wholesome.

[@iiTzDelta]

I’m excited for these cohesive invasion reviews. Can’t wait!

[@SmoothMoveRave]

My mom bought this for me on vhs and I swear I watched that thing until the tape fell apart. One of my all time favorites for that street fight alone.

[@domalom9454]

This was the first PPV I ever watched, so happy you reviewed it!!

[@kyleshiflet9952]

I love the giant electric chair entrance way its just perfect

[@SonBlackHeart22]

I think that Booker T did injure Austin's back breaking three ribs there not his hand when he slam him through the announce table so that is the reason to why Austin didn't wrestle that much and did more backstage segments. and Booker was led to believe he did injure his hand actually which Austin said is not true as his hand did not broke there but Booker was punished a bit there Austin doesn't hold any grudge with that actually.

[@jamminmusicman]

Awesome review Brian 💯 ... When the invasion angle happened in 2001 I thought this was going to be the best time for wrestling as a fan looking back 20 years later I think the WWE purchase of WCW & ECW hurt the wrestling business for many years

[@UmpireHass1991]

Dude....anyone else realize big hoss McGraw and Zane have the same tattoo on their right arm?! Either they are matching or I’m missing something lmfaooooo

[@RubyRoks]

I don't know if it was as hot in your area as it is mine (100+ F) when you recorded this, but even in an air conditioned room, keeping the track suit gimmick going in the summer heat is honestly incredible

[@mmrion0]

Great review Brian! I remember being 13 years old and watching this show live. I was always confused on the finish of the triple threat match. I remember being like "Benoit gives Jericho the suplex off the top rope, but it's enough to put Benoit down?!". Then I saw this show years later and with the power of hindsight seeing Benoit hardly moving after he pretty much re-aggravated his neck is rather scary to watch.

[@bradedgell2571]

I have always considered Angle v. Shane to be one of my favorite matches. I knew about Kurt breaking his tailbone on that suplex but did not know he was concussed against Christian. That just adds to the lore.