WWF Invasion Turns 25

25 years ago today, on July 22, 2001, the WWF presented Invasion live on pay-per-view from the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, in front of approximately 17,900 fans.

The event was originally announced as Fully Loaded in June 2001. However, with the WCW/ECW invasion angle taking full effect around that time, the show was renamed Invasion, with the central theme becoming WWF vs. WCW/ECW.

At the time, Invasion represented a dream scenario for long-time fans of both companies, with many holding high expectations for the storyline. However, several major WCW names, including Kevin Nash and Sting, were still tied to guaranteed contracts and unavailable to compete, meaning the WCW side was not as star-studded as many fans had hoped. The biggest WCW names to join the invasion were Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page, who went on to feud with The Rock and The Undertaker, respectively.

That said, Invasion was still a memorable event, featuring several standout matches, including Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy for the Hardcore Championship. The show also featured the five-on-five Inaugural Brawl, which saw Team WWF take on Team WCW/ECW in the main event.

The event is also remembered for Stone Cold Steve Austin’s shocking heel turn. During the Inaugural Brawl, Austin turned on Team WWF, costing them the victory and aligning himself with Team WCW/ECW in a major twist for the ongoing invasion storyline.

Invasion achieved a historic milestone commercially, drawing the highest non-WrestleMania pay-per-view buy rate in company history at the time with approximately 770,000 buys.

You can watch Invasion on Netflix here.

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