IN-VADE: v. (according to the American Heritage Dictionary): To enter by force in order to conquer. 2.To trespass or intrude on. 3. To overrun or infest. 4. To enter and permeate, especially harmfully.

Ummm....have you seen any of that so far? Okay, wait...let's give them one more chance.

IN-VA-SION: n. The act of invading - an entrance by force. 2. A large scale onset of something harmful.

Man, my grandmother couldn't frick this thing up the way they are! Heyman and JR screaming "INVASION! INVASION! INVASION!" with two WCW persons running away from the ring? We saw Mike Awesome and Booker T... Sure Booker T adds TONS to the angle, but couldn't we have had that last month! I mean, am I the only one who thinks that it would make more sense in the way of an "invasion" if it was the large stable of WCW workers flying down to ringside at the end of the show and beating up on McMahon? But instead we got....ESSA RIOS and FRIENDS? Oh yeah...there's some Madison Square Garden History for ya!

This thing could be dead before it started...I mean, look, the only way that any part of the WWF audience is going to buy into this whole invasion thing is if WCW is a viable force that GOES OVER WWF TALENT REGULARLY! Granted, Mike Awesome went over Rhyno but not until he had wrestled a hardcore match and was jumped from behind. Is that truly going "over" another wrestler? Booker T got the beatdown on Vince, but he jumped him from behind as well, and Vince is not known for his in-ring faculties. Now I'm not one of those armchair critics that thinks he can out book the best in the biz, because I most certainly am not. As a WWF fan and proud "smart mark" I am what you would call - easily entertained. It doesn't take a lot to please me as a fan. I just love all aspects of the sport(s entertainment), but this is getting ridiculous. Show me WCW as an UNSTOPPABLE force to be reckoned with and not just a new fancy logo and THEN maybe I'll buy the "Super Mid-Carders: Defenders of the Universe" bit. The truth is that we're just getting rolling on what is supposed to be everyone's "dream" angle and I should be EXCITED! Not pissed off and unconvinced...Aside from a killer promo from Edge, and some nice in-ring work from Jericho and Tajiri, wasn't most of the rest of the show forgettable?

I mean, really, let's just play pretend for a moment...

Picture it....New York, MSG, June 25, 2001... As Vince is watching Austin and Angle (maybe we call them the "A-team?!") searching WWF New York, Shane comes down to ringside. Booker T sneaks up from behind - Shane points, Vince sees him and it's the BIG GULP OF FEAR! (does any of this sound familiar?) - and this is where it gets interesting - right when Vinnie Mac thinks he's about to get punked out, Shane grabs the mic from his hand and yells "It's ON!". Booker T drops Vince with a hard right hand as EVERY SIGNED WCW TALENT comes flying into the ring from every direction. We see Kidman, Palumbo, O'Haire, Lance Storm, and all of the other noteables leading the way from the crowd, the locker room, maybe even from under the ring! A HUGE beatdown of Vince ensues with the WCW workers taking their turn. Meanwhile, we get a shot of the announce table where, holy shit!, Joey Styles and Jerry Lawler jump JR and Heyman from behind! Small beatdown there (with a few of the WCW'er's helping) removes JR and Paul E from the broadcast position. Styles and Lawler dawn the headsets and begin calling the beatdown in the ring. In the rafters we see "WCW NITRO" banners drop over top of all WWF flags and posters in the arena. At ringside, Stacy Keibler is running around hanging new WCW NITRO ringskirts, while the WWF "Super Mid-Carders" run at break-neck speed to stop the chaos. Most of the WCW stable meets them on the ramp and a huge brawl takes place all the way up the aisle. The camera cuts back to the ring with just Shane standing over a horribly beaten Vince and watching the action with a wicked smile on his face. The last thing that we hear is Styles on commentary screaming "Ladies and Gentlemen we are just out of time! Goodnight from Madison Square Garden and WCW Monday Nitro!"

Now tell me you wouldn't have needed a little "private time" in the bathroom after seeing that! OR what if while Vince was watching the Titan Tron (and the "A-team" at WWF New York), Sting had descended FROM THE RAFTERS and landed quietly behind him? What a moment that everyone would be talking about (and seriously analyzing as a result of the "Owen" history). Or what if Ric Flair had been the one sneaking up behind Vinnie Mac? DAMN...

Look, the bottom line here is that a million different things are possible but they have to be MEMORABLE. Would it be tasteless for Sting to descend from the rafters in a WWF ring...possibly, but BELIEVE me when I tell you that it would be forever remembered and talked about incessently. It has to be a true invasion! Besides, when was the last time you knew of an all out successful invasion that was slow and subtle?

This thing won't get interesting until WCW physically dominates the WWF and so far, that really hasn't happened.

END OF COLUMN (or horribly constructed opinion and fantasy booking depending on how you look at it!)

The Average Joe
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