Finally … after months of waiting and delaying and plotting … it’s here.
What if the InVasion hadn’t failed?
Our story begins on Raw, the night after Judgement Day. Despite Steve Austin’s successful defense against The Undertaker, Vince has little to celebrate: his Two-Man Power Trip is in jeopardy of coming apart, and the threat of Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho as the #1 Tag Title contenders looms large. But Benoit & Jericho aren’t the only problems Vince has to worry about …
Raw: May 21st
The first Raw after Judgment Day opens with Stone Cold Steve Austin, proclaiming his superiority and will over the WWF locker room, until Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit come out to remind him of their status as #1 contenders to his and Triple H’s Tag Titles. The wild brawl that ensues results in the match being signed for later on in the night instead of at the King Of The Ring. So exhilarating is it for the crowd and Jim Ross that no one notices the simplest of changes to the surroundings: two men stride through the crowd and take seats in the front row. One black man, one white, dressed in street clothes, but much bigger then the average fan; both are donning sunglasses, and watch the show with a cool detachment.
The two strangers keep their composure, and somehow manage to fly under the radar of both security and WWE staff for almost an hour, when Shane McMahon interrupts Kurt Angles self-aggrandizing Olympic medal ceremony recreation. Kurt glares at Shane as he paces around the ring, obviously trying to choke back his rage. “Kurt, sorry for the interruption, but I was in the area so I figured that I’d stop by. Now Kurt, you said that time is precious here in the World Wrestling Federation and that is true, so let me get right down to it. Now Kurt, you have your three I’s but I also have three letters. And those letters are WCW. And Kurt, a lot of rumors have been going on about WCW, so me and the boys …” Shane points toward the two strangers, none other then Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page, who stand up and wave back. “Hey guys, whassup? So anyway, basically what I wanted to do is come out here to tell everyone that WCW is starting very soon, sooner than everyone thinks.”
Kurt gets right in Shane’s face. “So what? The WCW’s starting soon? Nobody cares! What people care about is my awards ceremony! So do you mind?”
“Actually, Kurt, I was finished,” says Shane, “but, since you don’t seem to understand, why don’t we take this time and let’s get into what WCW means. Let’s take the first letter. The first letter, W, meaning world. Now Kurt, we live in a great big world. A world where companies like IBM and Apple, and Sony and Panasonic stand side by side. Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? Then we have the letter C. C stands for championship, which obviously you do not have any currently at the moment. Championships are titles, pinnacles that mean someone has achieved a level of excellence above all else. When one entity stands victorious over another, such as WCW once did over the WWF years ago, it could be said it was the champion of the wrestling industry. Lastly, we have another W, which stands for wrestling, something you’re obviously very good at that. Wrestling is something that WCW was built on, for almost a hundred years.” Shane looks at Kurt, and starts to ascend the triple-raised platform Kurt has had erected in the center of the ring. “But W also stands for, I don’t know … water, whatever … and, in some cases,” Shane says, wiping a fake tear from his eye, “wussy.”
Kurt comes up behind Shane and hits an Angle Slam off the platform, leaving Shane laying in a pile of confetti. Booker and DDP immediately make to jump the guard rail, but security restrains them from crossing the border. DDP shoves the security guard, thus instigating an all-out melee between DDP, Booker and the guards. Angle fades back when DDP and Booker try to get a handful of him through the wall of guards, but this prompts the locker room to unload, with Albert, Kane, the Dudleys, the Hardys, and The Undertaker all standing side by side as back-up for the security force. Vince McMahon comes down to witness the guards ejecting the WCW wrestlers. When Booker and DDP disappear into the sea of humanity, Vince gets in the ring and tosses his son out to the arena floor, to be ejected with his employees.
Smackdown: May 24th
Smackdown opens with Vince in the ring, looking particularly perturbed. “Tonight,” he says, “I promise you … no, I’m not gonna promise you; tonight, I guarantee you a historic night for the World Wrestling Federation! And you might say that history was already made last Monday, because, well, let’s face it: we all witnessed the first miracle in WWF history when Benoit and Jericho defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H to become the Tag Team Champions. And speaking of Triple H, due to the intensity of that match, unfortunately, Triple H suffered a severe leg injury. Triple H’s quadriceps was just about sliced in two. Triple H is gonna be out of action for some four to six months!” The crowd explodes at the announcement of Triple H’s long-term hiatus. “You people are repulsive, cheering for another man’s agony! Barbarians! So now, I’m not a vindictive man; however, I would suggest to you that Benoit and Jericho’s reign as Tag Champions is likely to be somewhat abbreviated. Because tonight, right here in that very ring, there will be a tag team championship defense; but just not an ordinary tag team title match, no! For the first time ever on broadcast television, there will be a TLC Tag Team Title match! You’ll see the Dudley Boys, The Hardys, Edge & Christian and Benoit & Jericho! For the first time in World Wrestling Federation history, there will be four teams in a TLC matchup. My only hope is that all of you enjoy this TLC tag team title match as much as I will, Stone Cold will, and Triple H will.” Vince’s smile, big enough to cut his head in half, melts away, his brow furrowing and his eyes set ablaze. “Now, there is another piece of business I have to deal with, something that so disgusts me, I feel dirty in even having to mention it.” Vince makes a show of sighing, his head hanging as if he has been shamed. “I feel compelled to address an incident that occurred on Raw involving Kurt Angle … and my prodigal son, Shane McMahon. Shane McMahon and those two thugs from WCW invaded … no, they soiled … no, they violated Raw. They violated my show, my arena, my company! Do you know how it feels that my son, the very person who stole my ultimate victory over Ted Turner by buying WCW out from underneath me, the very person who … who kicked me in the face with a trash can … do you know how it feels to have him set foot in my company, a company he abandoned and sold his stock in, with those pathetic excuses for wrestlers he smuggled into the building, and have him rape my sense of security? Him and that WCW trash belong in the unemployment line, which is where they’d be if Shane McMahon hadn’t pulled such an underhanded-“
Vince’s words are drowned out by Shane McMahon’s theme song coming through the PA. Vince immediately starts trying to yell over it; “Who’s running his music? So help me God, if I find out who you are, I’ll fire your ass myself!” Shane slides into the ring, microphone (with a WCW cube on it) in hand. He offers a hand to Vince, who looks down on it as if Shane is holding out an open vial of Ebola.
“Don’t worry, Dad,” Shane says, “if you fire him, I’ll just hire him!”
“Shane, this isn’t the time-“
“No, Dad, it’s exactly the time. It’s the perfect time, because I got a couple things on my mind that I need to talk to you about. You see, Dad, you’ve been called a visionary and a genius … but three months ago, your genius was clouded by your desire for revenge. You couldn’t see the value of WCW or any of its superstars in the wrestling industry anymore, and that’s when I stepped in and corrected that mistake before it happened.”
“And just like I crushed WCW before, Shane, I swear to God I will obliterateyou and WCW once again!”
“Dad, I’m not here to put scare you or challenge you, except maybe to challenge you to do the right thing. When WCW was beating our ass for two years, it pushed you to change the company from the ground up. There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, Dad. That’s what I’m here to tell you; I’m not looking to run you out of the industry. I wanna do what you did, 15 years ago: I wanna build an empire. I sold my shares in the WWF to a consortium so I could try and do what you did, but to an even larger degree: I’m not just gonna build a company. I’m gonna rebuild the glory and the prestige that was WCW and the 100 year legacy it so proudly once carried.” Shane pauses, looking his father dead in the eyes. “And I need your help.”
Vince’s eyes go as wide as pizza pans. “You’re asking for my help? What makes you think I would ever give you any help ever again? As far as I’m concerned, you and your group of losers can burn in hell!”
“Can’t you set aside our differences for a minute? Look at this as a businessman? Think of the history you’ll be making by allowing WCW superstars to wrestle on a WWF program! Think about the ratings you’ll get!”
Vince’s eyes now narrow to slits. “You want me to let your company operate on my television time? Are you out of your mind? Not in a million years! You and your WCW losers can go ‘rassle’ in high school gyms and bars, because it’ll be a cold day in hell before I ever do a damned thing for you! Now get the hell out of my building before I have you arrested for trespassing! Cut off his microphone! I’m done with this!”
Vince walks out on Shane, disappearing into the back. Shane ends up leaving the way he came in. But, as he walks through the back to his limo, he passes by Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and the Big Show conversing. Shane gives everyone a hearty clap on the shoulder and shakes hands, and, as he hands out business cards, says; “I know all you guys have had problems with Vince, especially you, Benoit, and you, Jericho. If you ever feel inclined to explore some new options … don’t hesitate to call.” Shane gives a wink and a point to the group and leaves for his limo as the three regard the business cards in silent surprise.
Raw: May 28th
The actions of Shane McMahon cause speculation and conspiracy theories to run rampant through the WWF. Is Shane attempting a talent raid? Will disgruntled WWF superstars jump to Shane’s re-launching WCW voluntarily? Is Shane using WCW to stage a palace coup?
Once again, in the audience is a contingent of WCW superstars: Booker T and DDP, accompanied by Lance Storm, Stacy Keibler, Mike Sanders, Sean O’Haire and Chuck Palumbo. This time, they do not go unnoticed, and security immediately surrounds them; they all show their purchased tickets, thus forcing security to back off … but not too far so they can’t get any funny ideas about becoming part of the show.
But the presence of guards doesn’t prevent them from making their presence felt. Vince’s announcement of Benoit and Jericho having to compete to impress him for a World Title shot is undermined with lots of sideways glances to his left and the imposing presence of the WCW stars. And when it comes time for their respective matches (Benoit against Rhyno and Jericho against The Big Show), Booker leads his WCW cohorts in applause. Benoit gives a couple high-fives to his former WCW friends before taking down Rhyno, while Jericho stops to shake hands with the WCW stars, and kisses Stacy’s hand, before taking on, and defeating The Big Show (although Rhyno uses the 24/7 rule to defeat Jericho for the title seconds after winning it). More good tidings are exchanged between the WCW contingent and other former WCW stars as they make their way down to ringside; X-Pac, Dean Malenko and Molly Holly are all intrigued by the presence of old friends, and show it with hugs and handshakes.
But the goodwill ends when Steve Austin, prior to his World Title defense against Chris Jericho, grabs a microphone. “Last I checked, this here, this is the WWF, right?” he says, pacing and dragging the belt behind him. “And, last time I checked, WWF superstars wrestle here, right? Then what the hell are these pieces of trash doing here, in my building, watching my match?” Austin leans over the ropes and points at Booker. “You got yourself some little toy belt and you call yourself a champion? Son, my name is Stone Cold Steve Austin, and I am the only World Champion in this business. You’re nothing but some chump who got lucky and became champ cause everyone else around you sucked even worse then you do. You and your mealy-mouth buddies just keep your asses in their seats right now, before I come and slap the taste out your mouth, you got me, son? Now you just sit there and watch a real champion show you how to wrestle.”
The match is an intense, hard-hitting technical tour de force that has the Canadian crowd on the edge of their seats, believing and hoping that Jericho will pull off the miracle and unseat the paranoid, psychotic Austin as champion. But Austin’s paranoia has him looking over his shoulder, both for Benoit and at the front row. Eventually, while brawling outside the ring with Jericho, Austin snaps, leans over the railing and clocks Booker in the jaw. The women check on Booker while the rest of the WCW stars try to leap over the boundary, and are only stopped by the massive throng of security and WWF officials forming a blockade. Austin uses the distraction to waffle Jericho with a chair and cheat his way to a successful defense, much to the consternation of the fans, and the infuriation of the WCW group. Austin makes sure to give the WCW wrestlers plenty of attitude in the form of fingers and curses as he backs up the ramp, clutching his belt to his chest.
Smackdown: May 31st
WWF Commissioner William Regal opens up Smackdown, with his attachÃ?á© Tajiri in tow, looking down his nose at the Canadian crowd, chanting “asshole”. “You thuggish brutes can chant all you like, but just remember that not so long ago, you were the subjects to the crown of England and, if you had any bloody sense, would still be!” The booing continues, but Regal pays it no mind. “If you savages would close your gaping maws, we could get on with the show-“
But before he can get any further, Shane McMahon appears on the stage (sans music). Tajiri tugs on Regal’s sleeve to get his attention, interrupting him and pointing Regal towards the stage. “Security! Stop this interloper from perverting Mr. McMahon’s precious company!”
Security swarms out from the back and from the sides of the ramp, blocking Shane from getting to the bottom. Shane grins and turns to the curtain and waves; through the curtains steps Booker T, carrying both the WCW World and United States Championships on his shoulders, and sporting a black eye from the sucker punch delivered by Austin. Together, they approach the throng of guards, who stand firm. “If he tries anything,” Regal shouts, “arrest him!” Shane and Booker stop within arms reach of the guards and smile, staring them down. Then, Shane suddenly produces a document from his jacket. He presents it to one of the guards, who reads it for a moment, then turns around to look at Regal, then reads a bit more of it. Finally, he folds it back up and hands it back to Shane, then steps aside. The rest of the guards hesitate until the lead guard tells them to follow suit, and Shane and Booker, much to the protests of Regal, walk past, to and into the ring. Shane offers a hand to Regal, who rebuffs it with a look of disgust (although Tajiri gladly takes the handshake, much to Regal’s disdain). Shane produces a microphone from his jacket and starts speaking. “So should I assume my father’s in the back, too busy to address the fans of the World Wrestling Federation?”
“And why would he owe this riff-raff a bit of his precious time?”
“Well,” Shane says, walking back and forth, “he could address how he has a champion on the brink of a nervous breakdown, doing whatever he can to hold onto his belt save for actually wrestling. Or, he could address how he’s shafted the Canadian fans time and again throughout his career, and apologize to them. Or, he could address me.” Shane reaches into his jacket again and pulls out the document he had shown to the guard. “Me, and this.”
“And what’s that, sunshine? Did you make a drawing for your Pop? I don’t think Mr. McMahon wants anything to do with you, and I don’t know how you managed to get past security, but I assure you, you’ll be leaving on your ass if you don’t set your feet to walking right now.”
“I think you need to read this then, Commissioner Regal, because this concerns you, too.” Shane shoves it into Regal’s chest, forcing him to take hold of the document. Regal unfolds it and starts to read, while Shane goes into the contents. “You see, my father could also come out and address the fact that Stone Cold Steve Austin, while involved in a sanctioned WWF World Title match, attacked, without provocation, a paying ticket-holder in the audience. That man, WCW World Champion Booker T, sustained only a black eye, but the fact remains that my father has in his employ a loose cannon who not only has a history of violence against his fellow wrestlers, but against women, WWF officials, law enforcement and now, fans. People, I ask of you, is this the champion you’re looking for?” The crowd boos heavily. “Is this the kind of man you want your children looking up to?” Again, the crowd responds with a rousing negative. “And, most of all, since this champion is most obviously favored by the WWF Chairman, is this the kind of company you want to invest your time and money in? Do you know that, since my purchasing WCW, my father has succeeding in using his contacts to blackball me with television networks? Did you know that he’s contacted every major live event venue in the country and threatened to pull out of their booked events if they book WCW at any time? Since he couldn’t succeed in buying WCW, he’s dedicated to crushing us before we can get so much as a fair start.” Shane points at the document Regal is looking at (with naked shock on his face). “Well, if greed and hatred are the languages Vince McMahon speaks, I’ll have to speak it to get my message across. Is your boss here tonight, William?”
Regal shakes his head, too dumbfounded to form full words. “Um … uh … er …”
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’. Do me a favor, William. When you see your boss, make sure he gets that. And make sure his lawyers get copies. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a business to run.”
Regal spends the evening trying to get hold of Vince any way he can. Finally, towards the end of the show, he reaches Vince. “Mr. McMahon,” he says, his voice quivering, “your son-“
“What about Shane? Did he show up again? Did he ruin Smackdown?”
“Sir … I don’t know how to tell you this …”
“Say it, Regal! Just say it, dammit!”
Regal pauses, exhales deeply and closes his eyes, preparing for the inevitable explosion. “Sir, your son presented me some documents tonight. He’s … he’s suing us, Mr. McMahon. You, me, Stone Cold … the entire WWF.”
Raw: June 6th
Raw opens up with both Vince and Linda McMahon in the ring; Linda, as usual, looks stoic and calm, while Vince, writhing his hands together, is obviously not composed. “Last week, on Smackdown,” Linda begins, addressing the crowd, “Shane McMahon, owner of WCW, served papers declaring he had filed two lawsuits against the WWF. One of the lawsuits names Vince McMahon, William Regal, Steve Austin and the World Wrestling Federation as defendants, stemming from incidents on last week’s Monday Night Raw. The other, naming Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation, stems from business matters. We are not permitted to discuss the nature of these lawsuits”-this elicits a massive tidal wave of jeers and hissing-“but tonight, we are looking to take steps to head these off at the pass. And, with that in mind, I would like to invite WCW owner Shane McMahon to join us in the ring right here, right now.”
Shane’s theme music hits and comes through the curtain, flanked by Booker, Lance Storm, DDP, Hugh Morrus, O’Haire and Palumbo. Vince tears the microphone out of Linda’s hands and starts to bellow. “No way! No way am I letting those … those rejects, those wannabes in my WWF ring! No way will I allow them to pervert and poison-“
“Oh, should we just leave then, Dad?” Shane asks. “Cause, I have a proposition for you.”
Linda, having been provided with a microphone of her own, speaks up. “And we have a proposition for you, Shane. The board of directors is prepared to offer you a settlement in the amount of the sum that you purchased WCW for, plus 10% in voting-class stock in the WWF.”
“Is that so? Did Dad sign off on this? Are you cool with this, Dad?”
“I will do anything to protect this company, the company that I built! If it takes blood money to get you to go away, so be it! Anything to have you out of our lives for good!”
“Well, you see, Dad, Mom, it isn’t that simple. You may not want to talk about the lawsuits, but I think the public deserves to know. They deserve to know that I have named you, your commissioner, your company and your champion as defendants due to the flagrant, unmitigated attack on Booker T, who had purchased a ticket and was seated as a member of the audience. Your commissioner, William Regal, failed to exert his authority to keep that psychopath Steve Austin in line; your company continues to employ Austin, and you yourself endorse him and his behavior. And, of course, there’s Austin himself, who is a ticking time bomb.” Shane points up at the TitanTron. “Is this the kind of employee any of you would want to have at your company?” Footage rolls on the TitanTron, showing Austin hitting, abusing and giving Stunners to Vince, Jim Ross, various WWF officials and referees, women, and unprovoked attacks on several wrestlers. “And, let’s not forget how he stalked the late Brian Pillman and broke into his house!”
“Shane-“
“I’m not done, Dad, because there’s that other lawsuit. The one where you’re being accused of violating anti-trust laws and trying to exert monopolistic pressure on the industry by blackmailing sporting venues, pay-per-view distributors and television networks not to carry WCW product for fear of pulling yours. The one that intends to reveal how you have systematically wiped out tens, if not hundreds, of small wrestling promotions over the years as you built a global conglomerate that could suffocate or strip clean anyone that tried to compete. That’s the real important one.” Vince tries to rebut, but Shane holds up a hand. “Please, Dad, spare me your crap. I didn’t come out here to listen to you try and defend you being a soulless, heartless shark. I told you before, and I’ll say it again; it’s not my intention to run you out of business. This world is big enough for more then one wrestling company, and I intend to make that a reality again. And that’s where my offer comes in. I am prepared to drop both lawsuits … in exchange for airtime.”
Vince’s eyes go wide. He barely even hears his wife say; “Go on.”
“You grant WCW airtime on Raw and Smackdown, for the sole purpose of putting on WCW-sanctioned matches, and we will drop both lawsuits.”
“How long would this arrangement continue?”
“Well, it’d be preferable for me to have a few months to showcase WCW to the various networks.”
Vince jumps in, almost hysterical. “You’re out of your mind! There’s no way-!”
“Vince,” says Linda, “you got us into this, you stay out of this.”
“No, there is no way in hell I would ever allow him and his group of misfits to run their dog and pony show on my programming! I will never turn Raw and Smackdown over to that hyena! He’s blackmailing us, Linda!”
“Like you did with the arenas and pay-per-view distributors?” Linda counters. When Vince can’t form a reply, Linda turns to Shane again. “I will take your offer before our lawyers and the board of directors and present an answer this Thursday on Smackdown.”
Smackdown: June 9th
Smackdown opens with footage, explained by Michael Cole, of events that spawned from the settlement proposal by Shane McMahon; the footage shows people counting votes. It is explained that, after presenting the settlement to the board of directors, repeat votes by the board ended in ties, and the only acceptable solution to everyone was to put it to a vote of all shareholders of voting-class stock. Vince spends the entire show locked in his office, refusing to see anyone, even Austin or Regal, waiting word from the impartial arbitrators monitoring the voting. Even camera crews can’t get a glimpse of the temperamental chairman, who sequesters himself in the office until he is notified of the results of the voting. Nevertheless, he remains hidden in his hole until just before the final segment of the show, when word comes back that Shane has arrived.
Vince rushes down to ringside and, as the show comes back from commercial, he begins his tirade. “Last Monday on Raw, I was raped by WCW. Shane McMahon perpetrated a rape of me and the WWF with his baseless accusations and frivolous lawsuits.” Vince sighs, then says; “I know you’re in the building, Shane, and I want you to get your ass out here so we can get this over with.” Shane comes out, staying on the stage, watching his father carefully, not saying a word. “Shane, I want you to know that, from the bottom of my heart, I despise you, and I despise your mother for having you. Your conception was a mistake, and you’ve done nothing but make mistake after mistake all throughout your life, the biggest of which was buying WCW out from underneath me. As long as I live, Shane, you will never be welcome in the McMahon household for the torment you’ve dragged me through.”
“Get to the point, Dad. Do we have a deal or not?”
Vince sighs, looking as if he has just swallowed sour milk. “I want you to know that, when your offer was presented to the board of directors, I fought tooth and nail to show them that your lawsuits were nothing more then garbage, and that we’d crush you like a cockroach under our heel. I went to the mat showing how you couldn’t afford the long, protracted legal fight this would turn out to be, and you’d bleed WCW dry before you could even start running the company.” Vince pauses, gnashing his teeth so hard, his jaw is an iron rod. “And your mother, curse her rotten, wretched heart, gummed up the board of directors and forced it to a vote of the shareholders! And you know what? Until the final batch of voting came in, it was tied … until the block you sold to this group, this … EHKS Holdings Limited …” Vince’s face is so red, he almost looks like he is choking. When he speaks again, it is through a jaw clinched so tight, air can barely pass through his teeth. “You’re getting your damned TV time!” The crowd erupts into cheers. Vince turns and snaps at all of them. “Shaddup! You people make me sick! You realize what this means?” He stabs a finger in Shane’s direction. “That … that swine will be spreading his WCW plague all over the WWF! This Monday on Raw, that vulture will invade the WWF and put on one of his WCW ‘rasslin’ matches! Do you know what this will do to the WWF? How this will kill this company?”
“You’ve … well, your company has made a wise decision, Dad. I hope someday, you’ll be able to look back on this and realize how much this meant for the business.”
Vince’s eyes narrow to slits, his face flushes. “Business? You wanna talk about business?” A sick, savage smile spreads over Vince’s face. “I’ll tell you what, Shane. I’ll give you a free lesson in business. This is something the suits at the universities don’t teach; the most valuable lesson there is when it comes to business.”
Suddenly, Angle explodes from the back, swinging a chair into Shane’s back. Shane crumbles while Vince laughs maniacally. Vince watches with delight as Angle hauls Shane over to the edge of the stage, positions Shane, and hits an Angle Slam that sends Shane off the stage and through tables set up below. Vince’s crazy laughter echoes off the arena walls as he walks up to inspect the carnage. “That lesson is,” he yells down to Shane, lying prone in a heap of broken wood and bent metal, “never trust the competition!”
Raw: June 11th
The acquisition of TV time for WCW is a bittersweet victory for the WCW superstars in attendance at Raw; on one side, their goal of rebuilding their beloved company is finally taking concrete steps. But their boss, Shane, is absent, lying in a hospital bed, recovering from injuries sustained by Kurt Angle’s reckless assault, and unable to witness in person the first time a WCW match will occur on WWF programming.
To accommodate the presence of the entire WCW roster being on hand to witness the event, WCW is given their own locker room and facilities for preparation. Throughout the night, building to the two WCW matches that will take place, former WCW stars come by and visit with old friends. But the tolerance does not extend to everyone under WWF’s employ; Molly Holly, while visiting with Torrie and Stacy, is dragged out of the locker room by her cousin, Hardcore Holly, infuriated at her associating with “those cheap, bottle-blonde tramps for dubbya-see-dubbya”. Similar arguments break out between X-Pac and his partner in X-Factor, Justin Credible, when X-Pac stops by to say hi to Chavo Guerrero Jr. And a simple handshake in the halls between Chris Jericho and Billy Kidman turns into an ugly fistfight when Steve Austin comes around the corner and, upon seeing the two talking like old friends, attacks both men with a chair.
Nevertheless, WCW is undaunted, and, for the first match of the evening at the top of the second hour, Scott Hudson and Mike Tenay are introduced. Tenay takes a seat at an empty announcing table, while Hudson stays in the ring with a microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he says with as much grandiosity as he can muster, “welcome to WCW!” The crowd explodes with applause and cheering; Hudson encourages everyone to settle down, then announces; “Before we begin, I’d like to introduce someone very special. He is a legendary brawler, and a legitimate tough-guy. He has wrestled with and alongside some of the greats in this business, from Dusty Rhodes to Tully Blanchard to Lex Luger to Ric Flair, and he has also been the mentor for a whole new generation of no-nonsense wrestlers who do their talking with their fists. He was never World Champion, but he’s held his share of ’em … but the most important title he ever held was Enforcer of the 4 Horsemen.” (The crowd goes into hysterics upon hearing this, knowing what is coming next.) “Ladies and gentlemen, the Commissioner of World Championship Wrestling … Arn Anderson!“
Through the curtain steps Double-A to a thunderous reception. He steps into the ring, shakes hands with Hudson (who descends to the announce table thereafter), and takes the microphone to address the crowd. “You all know I am a man of few words, so I’ll make this brief. I got two issues to address; the first one is Kurt Angle. Kurt Angle has brutally attacked and hospitalized my boss, Shane McMahon. Now, Shane’s in a hospital right now, but he’s gonna recuperate, and Kurt … Shane’s coming back, and he wants a piece of you at the King Of The Ring.” The crowd loves the idea, but Arn urges them to keep their cool. “Now, onto our second piece of business, and that is tonight’s matches. Booker T, the reigning WCW World and US Champion, has graciously forfeited the United States Championship, and tonight, we shall begin an eight man tournament, to conclude next week on Smackdown, to crown a new United States Champion.”
The first match goes off without a hitch, with Chris Kanyon scoring a tainted victory over Diamond Dallas Page to advance to the second round. The crowd follows the back-and-forth action and, much to the chagrin of Vince watching on monitors in back, reacts just as loudly as they do for his product. As the match comes to a close, Vince yells at someone off-screen (“Go! Now!”). Kanyon celebrates as if he’s won the Super Bowl as he backs up the ramp. He doesn’t see the APA emerge from the back; Kanyon backs into them, then turns around and stares in abject shock at the two cigar-chomping roughnecks. Faarooq and Bradshaw laugh at Kanyon; when Kanyon tries to go around them, they step in the same direction. Bradshaw holds up the beer he’s been drinking from and dumps it on Kanyon. The APA stand aside and gesture for Kanyon to proceed; Kanyon takes a step, but is startled when Bradshaw fakes a punch and turns it into a tussling of Kanyon’s hair. The cameras pick up Bradshaw telling Kanyon to “get on outta here, kid.”
The second match of the evening, which sees Billy Kidman score an impressive victory over Mike Sanders, is also spoiled at its conclusion, when Arn comes into the ring to congratulate Kidman. Benoit joins, congratulating Kidman and, for the first time in over a year and a half, gets to shake the hand of his old mentor from the Horsemen. Arn grabs a microphone and announces to the crowd that they’re looking at the next WWF Champion when Austin comes from the back like a bullet from a gun and beats on both Kidman and Benoit with a steel chair. Arn pries Austin off and the two stand at the ready to square off, teammates long ago but adversaries now. Authorities and referees from both companies come out and keep both men from tearing each other apart while Benoit and Kidman are taken to the back by trainers and EMTs.
Vince watches all this from the comfort of his office and goes to the garage to see Kidman, who took a blast to the back of the head, loaded into the ambulance. “Too bad,” Vince says to Arn in a horrible attempt to feign sympathy. “I’d think your dubbya-see-dubbya rasslers would be tougher then this. Guess WCW ain’t where the big boys play. Looks more like where kids play dress-up in Daddy’s wrestling gear.” He leaves, laughing with smug superiority. As the ambulance pulls out, several WWF wrestlers stand at the ramp that leads to the street, jeering and throwing debris at the ambulance.
Smackdown: June 14th
The second two opening round matches for WCW’s US Title proceed under heavy (and private) security. Hugh Morrus beats Mike Awesome, and Lance Storm defeats Shannon Moore to advance to the semi-finals, scheduled to take place on the next Raw.
But the extra security during the matches doesn’t stop the WWF superstars who resent the presence of WCW’s roster to vent their frustrations. Cars belonging to DDP and Booker T are vandalized, their windows smashed, the tires slashed and, in an echo to WCW’s war with the New World Order, messages are spray-painted on the cars: LOSERS GO HOME and DIE WCW and, done in a vertical line so the initials of WCW are highlighted, WORLD’S CRAPPIEST WRESTLING. Arn Anderson vows that, come Monday Night Raw, when Shane returns, he will confront his father to deal with the hazing.
But the hazing doesn’t stop with WCW’s “invading” superstars. The Undertaker makes it a point to confront Chris Benoit for his in-ring congratulating of Billy Kidman and reunion with Arn Anderson. Undertaker makes his point perfectly clear, not even trying to veil the threat in his words that turncoats and sympathizers would not be tolerated in the WWF. Benoit reminds Undertaker of how he left WCW in the first place, but it cuts little mustard with Undertaker, who leaves Benoit with a warning of a visit to a hospital if he keeps continuing to fraternize with WCW. Likewise, X-Pac and Big Show dig themselves into a public relations hole when they are seen talking with old friends, leading to a confrontation with the APA that ends in a fight that security has to break up.
Raw: June 18th
Raw opens with Vince in the ring, along with Austin, the APA, The Undertaker, Regal, Kane and Kurt Angle. “Do you see these men?” Vince yells. “Take a good look at them! These are the men who embody everything that the WWF stands for! The toughest, most dedicated, most entertaining wrestlers the world has ever seen, and they all work for me, Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Champions, every one of them; four of these men have been World Champion. They are some of the best this industry has to offer, and they’re all mine. But you know who you don’t see in here? DDP. Booker T. Lance Storm. Mike Awesome. Shane Helms. Chris Kanyon. You know why you don’t see any of them in here? Because none of them are worthy to shine my shoes, let alone step into a pair of wrestling boots and get in the ring with the best the world has to offer. Shane McMahon’s WCW has had a week to showcase their abilities and their skills, and I ask of you … has even a single one of you been impressed with what you’ve seen so far?” The crowds’ explosive cheering confounds the assembly in the ring. “Well, that just goes to show you idiots down here in Tampa have been in the sun too damn long!” This incites the crowd to chant “asshole”, which Vince lets them get out of their system. “We here in the World Wrestling Federation are thoroughly disgusted that we have to sit and watch these no-talent hacks try and fumble around the mat like a bunch of drunken children!”
Suddenly, Shane’s music hits; the owner of WCW comes through the curtain, hobbling a little, with a bandage around his forehead, but still looking in good spirits. “Ya know, Vince, I watched Raw last week, and I watched Smackdown, and I saw how your superstars acted. You have it in your head, and you’ve convinced your employees, that we’re out to get you, Vince, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. All we want is to rebuild the company and get on with wrestling, but you don’t, or won’t, or maybe even can’t let that happen, can you?”
“You’re right, Shane. I can’t let that happen. I’ve fought back against everyone from Jim Crockett to the pay-per-view industry to the federal government and Ted Turner. I’ve fended off every last challenge to come my way, and I’ve earned the right to be protective of my spot at the top. I’ve crushed my competition with an iron fist, and I’ll be damned if I let some snot-nosed punk, even if it is my own flesh and blood, to come along and try to revive WCW!”
“Need I remind you, Dad, of the anti-trust lawsuit I filed? Your actions over the past few days make me wonder if withdrawing those charges was worth it.”
Vince’s eyes bug out; his Adam’s apple bobs up and down like a fishing lure. “Wha-what-“
“I told you I wanted to coexist peacefully, and I’ve tried to do that. And, in the future, I intend to do that. But you keep getting in the way, Vince. And the television time isn’t enough. WCW needs to showcase itself on pay-per-view. This Sunday, perhaps, at the King Of The Ring.”
“You expect me to just give you part of my pay-per-view over to your half-assed troglodytes? You actually think-” Regal taps Vince on the shoulder and whispers something in his ear. A smile slowly spreads across Vince’s lips, small, then big, then exceedingly, and devilishly, big. “Alright, Shane! Tell you what!” he says with a bounce in his voice. “You seem to think your dubbya-see-dubbya rasslers are just as good as my WWF superstars? Why don’t we find out, right here, tonight?” The crowd explodes with excitement. “You pick your best, and I’ll pick mine, and since we know your wrestler won’t beat mine, we’ll say if he can hang with my repsentative for 10 minutes, your US Title finals will be held at King Of The Ring.”
The deal is accepted, and Shane retreats to his office to discuss with Arn who should be sent into battle. Vince, meanwhile, assembles his troops and decides that, whomever Shane sends out, can be handled by even the lowliest of his roster, and goes about picking which of his roster deserves the honor of mopping the floor with Shane’s WCW wrestler.
In the interim, the semi-finals are held, with Lance Storm upending Hugh Morrus and Kidman getting by Kanyon. Like before, the matches are warmly received by the crowd, much to the chagrin of Vince, who watches it all on monitors from his office.
Finally, the main event rolls around; Vince strides down the ramp as cocky as ever, wresting the microphone from Tony Chimel before he can get in a syllable. “Take a seat, Chimel, I’ll handle this.” Vince clears his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have given this a great deal of thought, and I came to the realization that no matter who Shane sends out, none of his WCW performers have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with even the lowliest of my WWF superstars. I don’t care who he throws out; if it was that big freak Sean O’Haire, I’m sure even Dean Malenko could tie him up in knots. And god knows, he certainly couldn’t compare his trailer-park tramps like Stacy Keibler to a work of art like Trish Stratus. Therefore, with the utmost confidence, my choice to represent WWF tonight is … Crash Holly.”
The shock of Vince’s pick is almost audible (no more so then from JR and Paul Heyman, who openly question Vince’s sanity). Crash comes to the ring, but without his normal attitude. Crash tries to talk to Vince off-microphone, but Vince poo-poos what Crash has to say and leaves the ring.
Shane comes out onto the stage and introduces his pick. “Well, Vince, I applaud you for your bravery, but I think you’ve underestimated me and WCW. My representative is none other then the embodiment of WCW and the definition of the word champion … the four-time WCW World Champion, Booker T!”
Booker comes out to a thunderous ovation. The fear on Crash’s face is plainly obvious, but Vince remains stoic, even confident. His confidence quickly melts away as Crash, smaller then Booker in every way, is crushed by Booker’s strength and deceptive speed, and beaten clean in a matter of minutes. Vince is on his feet, beside himself with confusion and rage, shouting almost incoherently. “That wasn’t … That wasn’t fair … I had no …”
“Sorry, Vince,” says Shane with a clap on the shoulder. “Guess WCW and I will be seeing you at King Of The Ring!”
Smackdown: June 21st
With no scheduled matches at Smackdown, the WCW superstars take the night off and once again watch from the comfort of the crowd as the WWF prepares their final push towards the annual King Of The Ring tournament in four days. Kurt Angle, embroiled in the tournament in addition to his issue with Shane, loses a tag-team match with fellow tournament semi-finalist Rhyno against the other two semi-finalists Edge and Christian when Shane strolls down to ring and provides enough of a distraction for Edge to pin him. His WCW employees jeer and razz Angle as he leaves the ring, which prompts him to rush the barricade; however, this time security is ready and stop Angle from causing another incident.
But the main event, which sees Jericho and Benoit put their WWF Tag Titles on the line against The APA, ends with more of the xenophobic hysteria that is slowly becoming commonplace for the WWF locker room; Austin, paranoid both due to the combined threat of Benoit and Jericho to his title reign and despising the arrival of wrestlers from his former employers, waffles Benoit with the title belt. Commissioner Regal, “conveniently” seated at ringside by the timekeeper, makes sure there is a distraction so Austin can perpetrate his crime and enable the APA to defeat the Canadian Chrises. The worst fears-that the upstanding APA has sold out to the corporate machine-is confirmed when Bradshaw and Faarooq willingly go along with a beatdown of Austin’s two challengers for Sunday. The show ends with the APA and Regal continuing the devastation with Vince looking on from the stage … while Austin stands on the turnbuckle, belt held aloft, and glaring at Booker T.
King Of The Ring: June 24th
Right away, the presence of WCW can be felt on the annual King Of The Ring event before the first match even starts, when the WCW wrestlers arrive backstage. Both the competitors and the rest of the roster retire to their locker rooms to witness the historic event of a WCW match occurring on pay-per-view, and to cheer on their boss in his street fight against Kurt Angle.
After fighting two exhausting matches in the King Of The Ring tournament (and coming up short in the finals against Edge), Angle and Shane have their showdown, which barely even resembles a street fight; a prison beating is a more appropriate description of the bloody brawl the two perpetrate on one another. From the outset, both men abandon any pretense of mat wrestling or attempts at showmanship and go for the jugular by braining each other with chairs, rending the flesh with Singapore canes, and driving each other through tables. But it is only a matter of time for Angle, the trained athlete and Olympic gold medallist, before he’s able press his experience advantage and overpower the cocky young executive whose guts far outmeasure his skills. Angle’s sadistic streak comes out as he proceeds in suplexing Shane through two windows in the entrance set (although one fails to break on the first try, and Shane lands directly on his head, almost breaking his neck), turning Shane’s face into something closer resembling raw hamburger. Angle ends it after further punishment by putting Shane through a table, and is taken out on a stretcher (with plenty of jeering and venom from his father on the way out).
The finals of the US Title tournament follows, and as much as the tournament itself excited the crowd, the finals, pitting Lance Storm against Kidman, sets the house on fire with fast-paced, high-flying pure wrestling action, a counteract to the brawling and violence that is the hallmark of the WWF. For almost thirty exciting minutes, the two combatants risk life and limb in a hybrid of cruiserweight-style aerial maneuvers and hard-hitting technical wrestling, almost echoing the wrestling style of the late, lamented ECW (something color commentator Paul Heyman is more then willing to point out). In the end, a mistake by Storm lets Kidman set up and hit his Shooting Star Press for the victory and the US Title. The crowd gives both men a standing ovation for the effort they put on, only for the mood to sour when Angle comes out and plasters Kidman with a chair as he celebrates, then hits an Angle Slam on the chair. Angle celebrates like he’s won another gold medal until Storm comes back and hits a superkick square on Olympian’s chin. Angle goes down in a heap, and Storm follows it up with his Canadian Maple Leaf half-crab, making Angle scream in agony. The crowd eats up every bit of it, and, when Storm releases and helps Kidman back to the locker room as Angle cries in pain and anger, chants “crybaby”.
The moment is a triumph both for WCW’s competitors, and for the company as a whole in their bid for public acceptance. Vince, his night ruined by WCW’s triumphant night, comes down to the ring prior to the main event to warn Benoit and Jericho that a lawsuit will be on their heads if they even think about defecting to WCW should on of them (“in the highly unlikely event”, he adds) capture the WWF Championship. Nevertheless, Booker leads the WCW troops to wish Jericho and Benoit before they get to the ring for their triple-threat showdown. While there is respect between the two wrestlers, the alliance between Benoit and Jericho crumbles in the face of opportunity to capture the WWF Title, and Austin uses it as his window of opportunity against the combined attack from his opponents. After 30 grueling minutes, Austin emerges the winner, pinning Benoit after a top-rope superplex leaves both Benoit and Jericho gasping for precious air. The crowd is livid as Austin, exhausted and sore, covets his title as if it were a life preserver and he was drowning in the ocean. Austin does his normal four-corners pose of victory, but stops on the way to one of the corners and notices Jericho stirring; Austin starts stomping away at Jericho. Authorities are kept at bay with wild swings of his belt and flailing kicks, as he picks up Jericho and delivers a Stunner to put out Jericho’s lights. The crowd is all but ready to storm the gates and have Austin’s head as he picking up Jericho’s near-dead weight for a second Stunner when someone does it for them: Booker T. Austin never sees the WCW Champion coming, and in his weakened state, is no match for Booker, who lights into Austin with a series of chops. A boot in the gut bends Austin at the waist, and Booker sets up to deliver his scissors kick until authorities step in and form a blockade around Austin. Cops clamp handcuffs on Booker and lead him away (to an escalating chorus of hatred from the audience) as Austin, coughing and wincing in pain, yells at Booker and gives him the finger. Booker remains stoic to a fault, simply glaring at Austin with a glare Austin recognizes right off the bat, and suddenly his big mouth shuts and his fingers stop flying. There is a smile on Booker’s lips, but it is a mirthless, joyless grin that is betrayed by his eyes, eyes which can only be described in two words: stone cold.
To be continued …
Big thanks to Bonto, Gohan and Kurtis for the help in constructing this monstrosity. Hopefully, the hard work paid off, eh?
Pimps go out to many (since I missed much) … Bossman Widro for being so approachable during a bit of a rough patch (and if it takes publicly declaring it, dammit, I want in that Hot Seat!), Blottie in music (he lives not 15 minutes from me, which rules) … Gordi (always good), Todd Rogers (who filled in admirably for me on one of my days off), Coogan (no hard feelings about Pitt/NE, Coach … but don’t be overlooking Philly), Eric (he pimps me, I pimp him), and J Kern (my wife says DeNiro is part of the Hollywood Illuminati too … I’m inclined to agree). I’d pimp Will Cooling and David Goforth if I knew where they were, but they seem to have vanished.
Also … as the newest mod for IP’s fantastic forums, I encourage you to check ’em out if you’re not already signed up. All the topics the main site covers, plus book reviews, discussions on science, art, an E-fed, and The Love Doctor … gimme a reason why you shouldn’t join!
And a quick pimp and thanks to Padawan in our forums … he started a discussion thread on this all by himself, without any prodding or begging from me. Muchas gracias, Padawan. If you wanna take a peek, make a comment, drop on in.
We’re only one chapter into the saga, and already, Vince is up to his ass in problems … the xenophobia is tearing his own locker room apart, and he is paranoid to try and contain what he sees as a hostile threat. How will Vince handle WCW continuing on his programming? How will WCW handle the growing persecution by the hands of WWF loyalists? Will there be anyone who jumps ship from one direction or another? And how long can WCW hold out its peaceful stance against the WWF before they finally break? Month 2 might answers some of these questions … and raise a few more …
