How To Watch The WWE In A Focused, Fun Manner, Whether You're New Or A Long Time Fan, 6: The Invasion, and The Rise Of The Indies

Beginning with this season, we start to see mini-series pop up, in addition to stand alone episodes. This isn't necessarily because of a Golden Age Of Long Form Storytelling, but more that the current companies in wrestling started taking risks, some paid off (see next season's mini-series "The Summer Of Punk") and some were botches (see this season's "Invasion").

The Invasion Angle should have been gold. The WWE buys their competition and then integrates the two rosters for The Best Wrestling Era Ever. Instead, they trotted out mainly undercard WCW performers and completely squashed the two megastars they acquired, Booker T and DDP. And then once they wrung all the blood out of the invasion angle, THEN they brought Ric Flair into the picture. And then they brought in the NWO, and then they brought in Eric Bischoff. But it was mostly to punish them for Not Being WWE Lifers. It was disappointing.

But while that's going on, a plucky little low budget wrestling company called Ring Of Honor introduces the world to a new style of wrestling, and some future WWE Hall Of Famers. And Jeff Jarrett refuses to let wrasslin die, and creates a sort of updated WCW called TNA (which we will be calling Impact because that was its name when I started this project) where he integrates up and coming stars, including quite a few Ring Of Honor wrestlers, and the superstars cast away from the WWE. These competing companies slowly start to move WWE back into more creative storylines and pushing new talents as the Attitude era fizzles out, and we see the beginnings of Ruthless Aggression, which gets name dropped several times beginning in the middle of this season.

Season 6:
The Invasion & The Rise Of The Indies

Starring: Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Booker T, RvD, Chris Jericho, AJ Styles, Low Ki, Daniel Bryan, Christopher Daniels, Ken Shamrock, Jeff Jarrett, R-Truth, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon, The Undertaker, Shane McMahon, Triple H, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit

601. Invasion, 2001

I consider this the beginning of a five part mini-series to start off the season. It's WWE's Botched Invasion! Starring Booker T and almost nobody else from WCW, and Rob Van Dam, and almost no one else from ECW. It was a cool idea that, unfortunately, just became another way to have McMahon family drama, Steve Austin, The Rock, and Kurt Angle be the focus of the company.

I don't think very many people, when they first saw Kurt Angle enter the WWE, thought "Well, this guy is going to make all those Extreme McMahon Villainy Storylines hilarious, as opposed to their usual cringiness." But that's what happens. As Shane McMahon's WCW revolution bubbles up to the surface, we start to see more defectors. We also get to see Steve Austin the heel mostly fall flat, except for his interactions with Angle, which are delightful.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jonathan Coachman, Arn Anderson, Scott Hudson, Howard Finkel

​1. Rhyno (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs Test
2. Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon in a Street Fight
3. Steve Austin (WWE Champ) vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho
4. Booker T (WCW Champ) vs Buff Bagwell
5. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Edge & Christian vs Hardy Boyz vs Dudley Boyz in a TLC Match

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602. Alliance, 2001

Part two is a mostly multiple member tag team affair as the WCW/ECW Alliance attempts to overrun the WWE roster. Unfortunately, rather than trusting the WCW and ECW stars to this task, McMahon bolstered their ranks with WWE main eventers, thus shattering any ilusion of an actual invasion. At least we get to see RvD get the spotlight.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel

1. WWE/WCW vs ECW
​Farooq, JBL as Bradshaw, Hardcore Holly, Big Show, Test, Shawn O'Haire, Chuck Palombo, Mark Jindrak, Shawn Staziak, Kris Kanyon vs Taz, RvD, Rhyno, Justin Credible, The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer, Raven

2. Matt Hardy (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs RvD
3. Tajiri (WWE Light Heavyweight Champ) vs X-Pac (WCW Cruserweight Champ)
​4. Lance Storm (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Edge
5. Matt Hardy (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs RVD

6. Team WWF vs Team Alliance
Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Kane, Chris Jericho vs D-Von Dudley, Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, DDP, Rhyno

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603. Reprisal, 2001

At the beginning of the season, there were a bunch of fun little vignettes about Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle vying for the friendship of Vince McMahon. They were silly and entertaining but were clearly the setup to a major feud. Well, here it is. This is vignette heavy, as we see a lot of McMahon shenanigans, but the Austin/Angle feud is totally worth it.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel

1. Steve Austin (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Kurt Angle
2. Booker T (WCW Heavyweight Champ) vs The Rock
3. Steve Austin (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Kurt Angle

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604. Division, 2001

Much of the Invasion storyline hinges on the McMahons and their various betrayals of wrestlers and one another. Here we see some of the highlight matches of the constantly shifting sides before we get to the unification of belts in the next episode.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Mchael Cole, Taz, Jonathan Coachman, Lilian Garcia, Howard Finkel

​1. RvD (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs Chris Jericho
2. The Rock & Chris Jericho vs Raven & Justin Credible
3. Booker T vs Undertaker
4. The Rock (WCW Heavyweight Champ) vs Chris Jericho
5. Steve Austin (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Kurt Angle & RvD

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​605. Unification, 2001

After a Survivor Series match to end the conflict between The Alliance and the WWE, a tournament is held to unify the WWE and WCW heavyweight titles (the lower tier titles were previously unified), and the winner was actually a surprise.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel

​1. Team WWF (The Rock, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show) vs Team Alliance (Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, RvD, Booker T, Shane McMahon)

2. Steve Austin (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Kurt Angle
3. Chris Jericho (WCW Heavyweight Champ) vs The Rock
4. Steve Austin (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Chris Jericho (WCW Heavyweight Champ)

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606. Era Of Honor Begins, 2002

Announcers: Eric Gargiulo, Donnie B, Jeff Gorman, Ray Murrow, Mike Nulty, Gary Michael Cappetta, Stephen DeAngelis

Last season was almost all WWE. Mainly because the end of WCW was just depressing to watch, and because they didn't have any other real competition in the English Speaking portions of North America.  Now, a little indie circuit starts to creep into the scene to fill the void not of WCW but ECW. Welcome to the Ring Of Honor.

1. Super Crazy vs Eddie Guerrero for the IWA Intercontinental Championship
2. Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels vs Daniel Bryan
3. Christopher Daniels vs Daniel Bryan
4. Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels
​5. Daniel Bryan vs Low Ki

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607. A Flair For The Dramatic, 2002

The two owners of the WWE just can't seem to get along. And since they own a wrestling company, and one is a 14 time world champion, what better way to settle their differences than in a street fight. The 2002 Royal Rumble is also a creative high for the event with some stellar eliminations, and some solid returns from former Right To Censor members re-embracing their previous gimmicks. Oh, and the absolute delight of Steve Austin interrupting Booker T's grocery shopping to whoop his ass.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Mchael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel

​1. Steve Austin vs Booker T in the Supermarket Brawl​
2. Vince McMahon vs Ric Flair in a Street Fight
3. Chris Jericho (WWE Undisputed Champ) vs The Rock
4. The Royal Rumble
Rikishi, Goldust, Big Boss Man, JBL, Lance Storm, Al Snow, Billy Gunn, Undertaker, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Maven, Scotty 2 Hotty, Christian, DDP, Chuck Palumbo, Godfather, Albert, Perry Saturn, Steve Austin, Val Venis, Test, Triple H, The Hurricane, Farooq, Mr Perfect, Kurt Angle, The Big Show, Kane, RVD, Booker T​

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608. Oh NWO NWOt Again!, 2002

When last we left WWE, Vince McMahon got his ass beaten by his new business partner, Ric Flair. Given that McMahon's WWE just ended the official WCW invasion, he gets desperate to beat this new WCW threat, so he calls in the guys who destroyed WCW from the inside, the NWO. To break up the familiar megastar bouts (though, admittedly, apart from Triple H vs Kurt Angle, these are entirely new combinations of megastars in the ring together), I've sprinkled some hardcore "matches" throughout the back half of the episode.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Taz, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel

​1. Triple H vs Kurt Angle for #1 Contender at Wrestlemania
2. Chris Jericho (WWE Champ) vs Steve Austin
3. Maven (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs Goldust
4. Billy & Chuck (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Dudley Boyz vs Hardy Boyz vs APA
5. Spike Dudley (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs The Hurricane
6. The Rock & Steve Austin vs The NWO
7. The Hurricane (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs Molly Holly
8. The Rock vs Hulk Hogan​

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609. Totally New Attitude, 2002

In 2002, Jeff Jarret and friends created a Pay-Per-View only company called TNA that has since transformed into Impact, and is still around to this day, as of this writing, it's once again TNA. I will always refer to their titles as Impact titles because the stupid gag about it being T&A annoys me. They initially shared talent with Ring Of Honor, creating WWE's first real competition since the demise of WCW.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrarra, Jeremy Borash

​1. The Flying Elvises vs AJ Styles, Jerry Lyn, and Low Ki
2. Gauntlet For The Gold Match for the vacant Impact title
Jeff Jarret, Buff Bagwell, Lash Leroux, Norman Smiley, Apollo, R-Truth, Slash, Del Rios, Abyss, Konan, Lenny Lane, Scott Steiner, Malice, Scott Hall, Chris Harris, Gangrel, Devon Storm, Steve Carrino, Ken Shamrock, Brian Christopher

4. Four Way Elimination Match for the first ever X Champion
AJ Styles, Psicosis,  Jerry Lin, Low Ki

5. Ken Shamrock (Impact Champ) vs Malice
6. AJ Styles (X Champ) vs David Young

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610. Return Of The Undercard, 2002

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Taz, Howard Finkel 

As the Attitude Era approaches its end, we start to see the future of the WWE creep in. In this episode, Paul Heyman brings in Brock Lesnar who's impressive but not The Beast he will one day become. We also see the more recent main eventers, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Triple H being the focus instead of The Rock, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold (and Hulk Hogan again, somehow). Those three will keep popping up for a bit, but they're no longer The Entire F'n Show.

1. Al Snow (WWE Hardcore Champ) vs Maven vs Spike Dudley
2. Billy Kidman (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Tajiri
3. Jazz (WWE Woman's Champ) vs Trish Stratus
4. Brock Lesnar vs Matt Hardy
5. Kurt Angle vs Edge
6. RvD (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Eddie Guerrero
7. Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman vs The Hardy Boyz
8. Kurt Angle vs Edge in a Hair Vs Hair Match 
9. Chris Jericho vs Triple H in a Hell In A Cell Match

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​611. Get The F Out, 2002

WWF finally becomes WWE in this episode. We get more of the Bookdust sketches that started in the previous episode, and we get to see the difference in quality between a 2002 Hogan/Undertaker match and a 2002 Chris Jericho vs RvD match. Plus, Kurt Angle begins his infamous Open Challenges and his first opponent is a debuting John Cena!

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Taz, Howard Finkel

​1. Billy & Chuck (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Rico & Rikishi
2. Hulk Hogan (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs The Undertaker
3. Chris Jericho vs RvD
4. Eddie Guerrero (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs RvD in a Ladder Match
5. Kurt Angle vs John Cena
6. The Undertaker (WWE Champ) vs Kurt Angle vs The Rock​

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612. Declaration Of Independents, 2002

The grungiest company on the block gets some help from some Impact wrestlers, as Ring Of Honor does as much as possible to dazzle the dozens and dozens of fans who pack the high school gyms and auditoriums where they take place. The result is somehow some of the best wrestling of the early 2000s.
 
Announcers: Eric Gargiulo, Donnie B, Jeff Gorman, Ray Murrow, Mike Nulty, Gary Michael Cappetta, Stephen DeAngelis

​1. Low Ki vs AJ Styles
2. Doug Williams vs Daniel Bryan
3. Low Ki vs Amazing Red
4. Paul London vs Brian Kendrick
5. Iron Man Match for the ROH Title
Christopher Daniels, Doug Williams, Low Ki, Brian Kendrick

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613. The Next Big Thing, 2002

We open with yet another debut as Rey Mysterio shows up to take down Chavo Guerrero. Brock Lesnar begins his era of dominance, and a familiar WCW face joins the company as Raw's General Manager.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel, Tony Chimel

​1. Chavo Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio
2. Vince McMahon vs Ric Flair for full ownership of the WWE
3. RvD (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Brock Lesnar
4. Brock Lesnar vs Hulk Hogan
​5. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H in an Unsanctioned Street Fight
6. The Rock (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Brock Lesnar

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614. Totally Nonstop AJ Styles, 2002

Of course there were other acts in early days of TNA. R Truth was making his name as Ron Killings, Scott Hall, Curt Hennig (formerly Mr. Perfect), Brian Lawler (formerly Brian Christopher), and Jeff Jarrett were running around. America's Most Wanted were the tag team champs working to become one of the all time great teams. But during the first six months of Impact, the big story was AJ Styles putting out incredible match after incredible match. Here are several of his best matches (plus the R-Truth/Ken Shamrock Heavyweight Title Match) from Impact's early days. The last three seconds of this episode make me Very Angry.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara, Mortimer Plumtree

​1. AJ Styles (Impact X Champ) vs Low Ki
2. Ken Shamrock (Impact Champ) vs R-Truth
3. Low Ki (Impact X Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn
4. Low Ki (Impact X Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn in a Ladder Match
5. X-Pac (Impact X Champ) vs AJ Styles
6. AJ Styles (Impact X Champ) vs Amazing Red
7. R-Truth (Impact Champ) vs Jeff Jarrett

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6​15. Rise Of The Smackdown Six, 2002

Now that The Invasion is way in the rearview, Paul Heyman goes behind the scenes to build a floundering Smackdown roster into a powerhouse show by ignoring the glitzy superstars, and getting the scrappiest technical wrestlers. Thus, the Smackdown Six: Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and Edge.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jon Coachman, Howard Finkel, Tony Chimel

​1. Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio
2. Unamericans (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Bookdust
3. Chris Benoit (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs RvD
4. Unamericans, William Regal, and Test vs Bookdust, Kane, and Bubba Ray Dudley
5. Edge vs Eddie Guerrero
​6. Triple H (WWE Champ) vs RvD
7. Molly Holly (WWE Woman's Champ) vs Trish Stratus
8. Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle

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616. Glory By Honor, 2002

Even by 80s WWE standards, the vignettes of Ring Of Honor are pretty terrible, but the matches show the future of 21st century wrestling. While AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan (as The American Dragon) continue to be indie highlight reels, this episode sees the debut of Samoa Joe and The Briscoes.
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Announcers: Eric Gargiulo, Donnie B, Jeff Gorman, Ray Murrow, Mike Nulty, Gary Michael Cappetta, Stephen DeAngelis

​1. Low Ki (ROH Champ) vs AJ Styles
2. Jay Briscoe vs Mark Briscoe
3. Michael Shane vs Paul London in a Street Fight
4. Ikuto Hidaka vs Amazing Red
5. Low Ki vs Samoa Joe
6. Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles

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617.  Tag Team Turmoil, 2002

The focus on The Smackdown Six created a new tag team division, as Raw hosted the World Tag Team Champs, and Smackdown had the WWE Tag Team Champs. The Smackdown roster was much more fun, as they kept shifting the six main stars around into more and more interesting configurations as they put on some of the best tag matches since the Rockers/Hart Foundation/LoD/Demolition era.
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Announcers: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman, Terri Runnels, Howard Finkel, Tony Chimel

1. Jamie Noble (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Tajiri
2. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs Edge & Rey Mysterio for Smackdown Tag Team Championship

​3. Brock Lesnar (WWE Champ) vs The Undertaker in Hell In  Cell
4. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle (Smackdown Tag Champs) vs Los Guerreros
5. The Unamericans (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs Hurri-Kane
5. Edge & Rey Mysterio (Smackdown Tag Champs) vs Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs Los Guerreros

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618. Unscripted, 2003

The whole premise that The Prophecy was out to destroy The Code Of Honor is very silly by any standards, but the wrestling here, including the debuts of CM Punk and Colt Cabana are industry-shattering.

Announcers: Eric Gargiulo, Donnie B, Jeff Gorman, Ray Murrow, Mike Nulty, Gary Michael Cappetta, Stephen DeAngelis

​1. Daniel Bryan vs Doug Williams
2. Daniel Bryan vs Paul London
3. CM Punk vs Colt Cabana
4. Daniel Bryan vs Low Ki vs Samoa Joe vs Steve Corrino

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619. Crumbling Attitude, 2003

Only three matches on this episode but two of them are spectacular, and one is the annual Rumble. Not the best ever rumble, but a pretty solid one. The real stories, though, are the debut of WWE's Elimination Chamber, and the absolute masterpiece of Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jonathan Coachman, Howard Finkel, Tony Chimel

1. Triple H (WWE Champ) vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs Booker T vs RvD in an Elimination Chamber Match

2.Kurt Angle (WWE Champ) vs Chris Benoit
3. Royal Rumble Match

Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Christopher Nowinski, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Christian, Chavo Guerrero, Tajiri, Bill DeMott, Tommy Dreamer, Bull Buchanan, RvD, Matt Hardy, Eddie Guerrero, Jeff Hardy, Rosey, Test, John Cena, Charlie Haas, Rikishi, Jamal, Kane, Shelton Benjamin, Booker T, Prince Albert, Maven, Goldust , Batista, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker

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620. The Quiet End, 2003

​Say goodbye to the Attitude Era. Sure, many consider Stone Cold's heel-turn before The Invasion to be the end, but Stone Cold's last match ... umm, for twenty years, anyway ... is a true lights out for the beer drinking, eyebrow raising, crotch chopping sports entertainment that dominated the late 90s and early 2000s. The newer wrestlers from this season (including Randy Orton, who debuts here) fully take over for next season's Ruthless Aggression.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jonathan Coachman, Gene Okerlund, Howard Finkel, Tony Chimel

​1. Hardcore Holly vs Randy Orton
2. Steve Austin vs Eric Bischoff
3. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho
4. Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon in a Street Fight
5. The Rock vs Steve Austin