WCW Main Eventers leading into the Invasion Angle [Archive]

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The Mackem

05-09-2008, 08:47 AM

Dave Youell

05-09-2008, 10:21 AM

Yeah so when the invasion angle happened noone seemed happy about how it was executed. Obviously it didn't help when most of the main players in WCW at the time were involved. Is it all as easy as they were all on AOL contracts (don't profess to know anything about the WCW/AOL contract situation) so didn't have any legal obligation to show up in WWF. What happened at this time involving the following people missing:

Ric Flair (showed up immediately after the Invasion Angle)
Scot Steiner: (Showed up 2002)
Rick Steiner
Eric Bischoff
Goldberg (showed up eventually)
Sting
Jeff Jarrett (forming TNA?)
Kevin Nash (showed up evetually)
Rey Mysterio (and again)

and others

Was it just a case that they returned WWF's calls when their contracts with AOL expired or what? Was there any AOL contracted wrestlers that showed up in WWF anyway? The two biggest WCW stars invovled in the Invasion Angle were easily Booker T and DDP.

I guess I'm interested in the seeds as to why the Invasion Angle was not as good as it could have been

Booker and DDP took a buyout of there contracts, because they thought they could make a go of it in the WWE, it should be noted that they would of made more money doing nothing and sitting on their hands

Here's what I think happened with the rest, this may not be 100% and is taken from my memory of the Death of WCW book:

Ric Flair (showed up immediately after the Invasion Angle): I think his AOL contract expired and he just brought in

Scot Steiner: (Showed up 2002): Joined after his AOL contract was up
Rick Steiner: Sat on his hands with his money, when it was up, worked in the Indys
Eric Bischoff: I have no idea, I would assume he had a contract, but it would of worked in a different manor to talent
Goldberg (showed up eventually): Waiting until his AOL contract was up
Sting: They tried to snag him when his contract was up, but he never showed any interest in that kind of schedule and didn't like the product
Jeff Jarrett (forming TNA?): Was never going to get a job back with Vince after he held them up for $500,000
Kevin Nash (showed up eventually): Panic buying, his contract was paid out in full so he, Hall and Hogan could do the Nwo after the ratings slide from the initial invasion
Rey Mysterio (and again): They waited for his contract to end, he was also hurt, he worked a few indy dates (stand out was a 3 way with Him, Eddie and Punk) when he was healthy, they signed him up.

Basically anyone who was on WWE TV within the first few months would of lost out on some cash, as the AOL contracts were worth more, the only guys who got the contracts paid out in full were the NWO guys, for everyone else, they just signed them up as and when the more expensive contracts ended

The Mackem

05-09-2008, 10:45 AM

Cheers for that dave :y:

So even the guys like Palumbo and O'Haire could have chose to do nothing? If that's the case is it possible that the invasion angle may not have happened when it did for the pure fact that there would have been no WCW workers for it to happen?

I guess the older guys had more to lose and the younger guys could prove themselves in the meantime so it would be better for them to go to the WWE.

BigDaddyCool

05-09-2008, 11:05 AM

Rick Stiener isn't a maineventer.

Evil Vito

05-09-2008, 11:26 AM

<font color=goldenrod>A shame it all worked out like that, really. WCW would have seemed like much more of a threat if they managed to get guys like Flair, Steiner, Goldberg, etc. in for the angle. They probably wouldn't have felt compelled to make Austin defect to actually add a threat to the WCW side...hell we could have had the Austin/Goldberg dream match everyone wanted to see back in 98/99.

Also if WCW had bigger names in its ranks they probably wouldn't have made ECW side with them and form the stupid Alliance. If anything ECW could have served as a 3rd entity.</font> :(

Rob

05-09-2008, 01:59 PM

Basically anyone who was on WWE TV within the first few months would of lost out on some cash, as the AOL contracts were worth more, the only guys who got the contracts paid out in full were the NWO guys, for everyone else, they just signed them up as and when the more expensive contracts ended

Not true. WWE bought their AOL contracts. The guys that didn't show up, WWE didn't buy their deals.

Dave Youell

05-09-2008, 03:51 PM

Not true. WWE bought their AOL contracts. The guys that didn't show up, WWE didn't buy their deals.

I was under the impression that WWE offered cash for the contracts at a lower rate than the overall amount of the worth of the contract. (i.e if a year left on a AOL contract was worth 100k, Vince would offer 50k to buy it out and offer a new lower rate contract)

For a younger guy, that would of been better than getting your contract paid off then getting hired by no one, because you weren't a name, and there was no other work around

Rob

05-09-2008, 08:16 PM

I was under the impression that WWE offered cash for the contracts at a lower rate than the overall amount of the worth of the contract. (i.e if a year left on a AOL contract was worth 100k, Vince would offer 50k to buy it out and offer a new lower rate contract)

The guys who didn't come in got that offer. If say Lance Storm was on 300k a year in WCW, he went to the WWF on that same contract. Nobody else was offered a buy out. The rest of the guys like Booker T and Scotty Steiner were only offered WWF deals once AOL Time Warner offered to give them X amount of pennies on the dollar of their existing deals. Once they settled with AOL Time Warner (most settlements were over 75 cents in the dollar), they talked with WCW. I'm sure that everyone aside from Scott Steiner and Ric Flair who went to the WWF agreed a buy out. Bill Goldberg took something like 97 cents on the buck.

mrslackalack

05-09-2008, 10:12 PM

As for Palumbo and O'Haire they were part of the 25 wrestlers contracts that were in the purchase of WCW. (The full list is on many sites but I remember guys like them, Storm, Hugh Morris, Awesome, Bagwell, Chavo etc) I believe 24 of the 25 ended up going to the WWF or a territory besides Disco Inferno.

mrslackalack

05-09-2008, 10:15 PM

I remember strong rumors of Bischoff being part of the Alliance when it started. Flair also stated in his book that J.R. and others tried to bring him in as soon as the spring.

therocksays

05-10-2008, 09:36 PM

i think buff bagwell was there for a day, they threw his ass out the door, i forget who did though lol

Indifferent Clox

05-11-2008, 12:14 AM

Booker T maybe?

I think WWE wanted to start with Talent it could mold into it's own thing.

I want RVD to go to the indys and have more amazing matches just to show me he can still do it and renew my faith that he can do a 60 min. match. Maybe even go back to Japan. Then come back to WWE and have amazing matches in main events that combine WWE and those things.

I know this is off topic, sorry.

FourFifty

05-11-2008, 12:18 AM

i think buff bagwell was there for a day, they threw his ass out the door, i forget who did though lol

I recall hearing a story about how he bitched to his agent that someone else had a limo in their contract.... His agent was his mom, who bitched to the WWE, who then got her son's ego (and contract) hurt.

Rob

05-11-2008, 06:54 AM

i think buff bagwell was there for a day, they threw his ass out the door, i forget who did though lol

Faarqooq and Bradshaw maybe?

Impeccable

05-11-2008, 07:35 AM

Austin and Angle threw Bagwell out a door.

The week before, Linda McMahon announced that there would be a WCW match main eventing WWE as a gesture of goodwill. The main event was Bagwell vs Booker T for the WCW championship. Scott Hudson was play by play and maybe Arn Anderson were on colour...they literally dressed Raw up as Nitro.

Anywho, the match wasn't well received, and I think the crowd chanted boring throughout. Booker T hit the scissor kick and did a "spineroonie" and when he got on his feet, Austin and Angle stormed the ring (Booker had attacked Austin in the KOTR main event, breaking his hand, which was why Austin didn't wrestle for a while afterwards). Bagwell joined in the beating and the three of them ended up ejecting Booker from the arena. Bagwell then celebrated, and tried to high five Austin and Angle, only for Austin and Angle to throw him out too.

Gertner

05-11-2008, 09:51 AM

I recall hearing a story about how he bitched to his agent that someone else had a limo in their contract.... His agent was his mom, who bitched to the WWE, who then got her son's ego (and contract) hurt.

it was the Big Show.

and yeah, Bagwell was a main eventer at the end of wcw

NeanderCarl

05-11-2008, 12:12 PM

It was just a case of WWE not wanting to spend money. All the AOL contracted guys were offered buyouts by AOL. They could take a portion of the money they were owed to become free agents, or remain under contract for the duration and receive the full amount.

Many of them felt WWE weren't offering enough money to make it worth their while accepting the buyout at a discounted rate, therefore they didn't.

Quite frankly Vince McMahon blew what should have been the biggest angle in North American wrestling history by being tight as fuck. It is most probably because the huge startup costs of the XFL meant he was being frugal, but a real, bonafide WWF vs WCW feud would have recompensated him many times over for the moolah splashed on buying out the major stars and bringing them in. If the WWF had not been a public company accountable (in theory) to its shareholders, then I think he would have bitten the bullet and brought in the likes of Goldberg and Hogan.

So in my opinion the biggest wrestling angle of all time fizzled because of the XFL and the WWF going public.

Savio

05-11-2008, 01:38 PM

I heard Bagwell Fought Shane Helms which got him fired.

NeanderCarl

05-11-2008, 01:49 PM

Bagwell fought Shane Helms a few weeks before he got fired. Probably played a role in the decision, but his offensively bad showing against Booker T and inflated backstage ego was what did the trick.

Lock Jaw

05-12-2008, 02:41 AM

I'm sad that Lance Storm never amounted to much in the WWE. He could have been so much more.

The Mackem

05-12-2008, 03:16 AM

He seems to be happy with what he accomplished in WWE. Maybe he didn't progress on to World Title status but what he done in comparison to the rest that came from WCW wasn't too bad.

The Mackem

05-12-2008, 03:17 AM

Rick Stiener isn't a maineventer.

He would have been were it not for Edge and Christian.

The Mackem

05-12-2008, 03:23 AM

What is the official list of WCW billed matches (where they changed the stage, ring aprons, commentators etc.) in the WWF?

All I remember is:

Bagwell vs Booker T (Raw)
Shane Helms vs. Kidman (I think) (Smackdown)
There was another WCW match that same Smackdown, I'm thinking DDP versus someone.
Also, did Booker T regain the WCW World title on WWF television? I remember him coming in definitely as WCW United States Champion but not convinced he was world champ at the time of the purchase, I'm leaning more towards Scott Steiner. He gave away the US title later to Kanyon IIRC.

Lock Jaw

05-12-2008, 03:36 AM

Booker was the world champ coming in. He beat Steiner on the final Nitro.

The Mackem

05-12-2008, 03:41 AM

Was that a WWF decision? Wondering what it would have been like if Steiner came in as World Champ - for one thing I can't imagine him being able to run away like Booker T was always doing.

mrslackalack

05-12-2008, 12:54 PM

I remember they changed it on a HEAT too for a Tag Title match between O'Haire/Palumbo vs Stasiak and Kanyon.

DDP wrestled Booker T in the Smackdown Match. I remember Taker interferred.

Rob

05-12-2008, 07:25 PM

Was that a WWF decision? Wondering what it would have been like if Steiner came in as World Champ - for one thing I can't imagine him being able to run away like Booker T was always doing.

On the final Nitro, Shane McMahon booked Booker to win the title. They knew they'd end up with Booker before Steiner so they wanted the WCW champion.

NeanderCarl

05-12-2008, 08:00 PM

But perhaps the biggest WCW main eventer at the time they went under, that being Road Warrior Animal, didn't show up back in the WWE for years.

mrslackalack

05-12-2008, 10:19 PM

Didnt Steiner get hurt too? I know he needed surgery on something and caused him to miss quite a while of action. Thats another reason why Booker T won the title and why the match was real short. Some believe that Steiner would have taken an AOL buyout earlier on had he not been injured.

NeanderCarl

05-12-2008, 10:41 PM

Severe nerve damage to the point his leg or foot was paralyzed. Don't think it ever fully healed either.

The Mackem

05-13-2008, 02:44 AM

Was it 2001 when Sid got injured? He could have been in the difference in the Invasion angle...

James Steele

05-13-2008, 04:59 AM

I found those "WCW RAW" and "WCW SmackDown!" matches on Youtube. I'll post them in seperate posts.

James Steele

05-13-2008, 05:02 AM

WCW Championship on RAW - Buff Bagwell vs Booker T. (c)

Part 1
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0JgF_TwROsw&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0JgF_TwROsw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

Part 2:

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j-qHFWt8w3Y&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j-qHFWt8w3Y&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

James Steele

05-13-2008, 05:02 AM

WCW Cruiserweight Championship on SmackDown! - Billy Kidman vs Gregory Helms (c)

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XH3yevq_K5s&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XH3yevq_K5s&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

James Steele

05-13-2008, 05:04 AM

WCW Championship on SmackDown! - Diamond Dallas Page vs Booker T. (c)

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7aGER62lKw&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p7aGER62lKw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

James Steele

05-13-2008, 05:05 AM

Imagine how different wrestling might be if it wouldn't have been Buff Bagwell in that match.

The Mackem

05-13-2008, 05:47 AM

Maybe if they hada credible challenger to put in his place...cheers for posting the videos :y:

James Steele

05-13-2008, 04:17 PM

Have DDP vs Booker T on RAW instead of on SmackDown. These matches were all on the same week I believe.

Rob

05-13-2008, 04:20 PM

But perhaps the biggest WCW main eventer at the time they went under, that being Road Warrior Animal, didn't show up back in the WWE for years.

He never had a contract.

Rob

05-13-2008, 04:20 PM

Imagine how different wrestling might be if it wouldn't have been Buff Bagwell in that match.

It was meant to be Lance Storm.

The Mackem

05-13-2008, 04:34 PM

Interesting, I guess Bagwell fit for the backstage segment (which is the first time I've seen that) but Lance Storm surely would have been better for the wrestling bit.

The Mackem

05-13-2008, 04:35 PM

Have DDP vs Booker T on RAW instead of on SmackDown. These matches were all on the same week I believe.

Yeah but he had a programme with Taker and I guess they needed Angle and Austin to ruin the first wCw match.

NeanderCarl

05-13-2008, 06:09 PM

But perhaps the biggest WCW main eventer at the time they went under, that being Road Warrior Animal, didn't show up back in the WWE for years.

He never had a contract.

I would have gotten to that as soon as I'd finished extracting my tongue from my cheek.

Rob

05-13-2008, 06:31 PM

Oh I knew it was a joke. Just didn't know if people knew he was under contract or not.

The Mackem

05-14-2008, 05:03 PM

He didn't have a contract with WCW? Just turned up to beat the cruiserweights?

NeanderCarl

05-14-2008, 09:29 PM

Yeah. Didn't even get paid. He just used to show up for a laugh.

For his efforts, WCW would foot his snack bill (mostly Pringles) and tanning sessions.

The Mackem

05-15-2008, 02:27 AM

Sounds like a blast, eating crisps whilst burning your body to a crisp.

KingofKings

05-21-2008, 10:45 AM

I saw on a video that WWE wanted to c arry on the wCw brand on its own, but they couldnt get the tv deals at the time to do it wen wCw first went under, they then managed to get the tv deals but vince thought it was too late to bring it back and instead created the programmes like heat and that.

As for the invasion angle, it didnt work because 1) the biggest names in wCw didnt want to wrestle 2) Vince just wanted to burry every wCw star that wrestled on WWE so they were never credible opponents and everyone knew that, the wrestlers included.
I watched an interview with Sting and he siad the only reason why he didnt go to WWE was because he didnt want his history and the work he had done to get to where he was today ruined by vince, becuase he knew vince job him to WWE stars. He used booker T as an example, he said he turned on raw one night and Rock was stood with booker T taking the piss out of him sayin he didnt know who he was, and Sting said that was unfair because Booker was a great wrestler and didnt deserve that.

It basically didnt work because of Vince's ego!

NeanderCarl

05-22-2008, 04:55 PM

Shit, someone better rewrite the book.

The Mackem

05-23-2008, 08:02 AM

If Sting thought Booker T was treated badly, I wonder what he thought of poor DDP.

The One

05-24-2008, 10:16 PM

I still maintain that DDP had the potential to be huge...but then he cut that promo at King of the Ring and Stephanie felt the style was "too early 90's" and he got to job out to Sara Undertaker. Not that it's the end of the world given the context of the match, but from that to a motivational speaker coaching European Champion Christian? I mean I LOVE Christian, and thought he should be doing better, but DDP was a former WCW World Champ, and they just let him fester not even in midcard hell, but lower midcard super hell.

Savio

05-29-2008, 10:16 PM