Rebooking the WCW/ECW Invasion Storyline: Part 1

Stone Cold returns to take out WCW forces on the July 16, Raw

June 18, 2001 - Monday Night Raw

In reality, the invasion storyline was put on the backburner following WrestleMania X-7 as WWF tried to find a network to broadcast a new WCW show booked by themselves.

However, as WWF had spent the preceding six years denigrating WCW and the fact that the once prosperous company lost over $60 million in its final year of operation, that was a non-starter.

The first real sense of invasion came through a stalker storyline in which a mystery man, who turned out to be DDP stalked Undertaker's wife, Sara and unveiled himself on the June 18, 2001 Raw.

In the re-booked version of the storyline, these events have been altered.

In the weeks preceding June 18, 2001, The Undertaker and Kane are separately attacked by two men, wearing balaclavas. Undertaker and Kane are continually outsmarted and left laying until the big reveal on the June 18 episode that DDP and Lex Luger are the masked men.

June 24, 2001 - King of the Ring 2001

This event will play out exactly as it did in reality, except with the DDP/Undertaker segment removed.

Booker T's attack on Stone Cold during the main event would take place exactly as it did.

June 25, 2001 - Monday Night Raw

This show, once more, would remain exactly as is, with Booker T delivering a scissor kick to Vince McMahon to close the show with Jim Ross declaring "the battle lines have been drawn!"

July 2, 2001 - Monday Night Raw

Linda McMahon declares that the July pay per view will be renamed from Fully Loaded to Invasion and feature WWF vs WCW matches and will be headlined by a clash between five WWF wrestlers and five WCW stars.

The main event saw Booker T clash with Stone Cold, with Shane McMahon in Booker's corner and Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle in Stone Cold's.

The match ends in a No Contest, when Scott Steiner interferes on behalf of Booker.

Shane celebrates with Booker and Steiner as the show closes.

July 9, 2001 - Monday Night Raw

Unlike the original version, there would be no ECW intervention at this point in the new re-booked invasion.

Shane McMahon opens the show, with Scott Steiner, Booker T, DDP and Lex Luger and declares the final member of his team is the greatest champion in the history of WCW. None other, than the 16 time World Champion, Ric Flair!

Flair, in all his pomp and glory, declares his hatred for Vince McMahon and that the elder McMahon showed him no respect when he competed in the WWF between 1991 and 1993, despite winning the WWF Championship twice in that period.

Ric Flair challenges Stone Cold to a WWF Championship match on the following week's episode of Raw.

July 12, 2001 - Smackdown

As in the original version, a desperate Vince McMahon invited Stone Cold to the ring and insisted he needed the "old" Stone Cold who was a "beer-swilling, foul-mouthed SOB" to lead Team WWF into battle versus Team WCW.

Stone Cold walked away, not willing to change his personality to the pre-WrestleMania X-7 version of the "Rattlesnake."

Vince McMahon is aghast.

July 16, 2001 - Monday Night Raw

Stone Cold is a no-show for his planned WWF Championship bout with Ric Flair, Instead he is shown drinking a nearby bar mulling over Vince McMahon's appeal last week on SmackDown.

Flair calls Stone Cold gutless and states he will be waiting for Stone Cold all night and the title match has been re-arranged to take place in the main event.

Throughout the night, WCW wrestlers target WWF talent, face and heel alike, taking everyone out.

Vince McMahon calls an emergency meeting with the remaining roster and states that he knows he has treated some of them badly in the past but the threat from WCW is a threat to the very existence of the WWF and he needs their help to repel the forces of WCW.

Classy Freddie Blassie delivers a rip-roaring speech inspiring the roster and a watching Stone Cold.

Stone Cold arrives at the arena as Flair and the WCW roster wait, taking out everyone that moves with Stone Cold stunners to close the show.

July 19, 2001 - SmackDown

The main event of the show features Big Show challenging Booker T for the WCW Championship.

Stone Cold spends the night letting himself into WCW talent's locker rooms and beating them up, to allow Big Show to challenge for the WCW title with no outside interference.

However, in said match, Kevin Nash interferes to cost Big Show the title. Stone Cold runs out for the save.

That sets up the re-booked Invasion pay per view, four nights later.