Jim Cornette explains why WCW stars stayed home for Invasion

A VICE Sports clip puts guaranteed contracts at the heart of wrestling's missed opportunity, while viewers debate whether the storyline should have waited.

Channel: VICE Sports Story of November 8, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 58,250 views a day, 25 times a normal first day on this channel (2,328).

The Night WCW Fumbled | Cornette Side of the Ring (Clip)

Goldberg, Ric Flair and Sting didn't need to step into a WWF ring to keep getting paid. As Jim Cornette explains, their WCW contracts came with a guarantee from Turner Broadcasting that survived the wrestling company's closure.

That is the financial snag at the center of "The Night WCW Fumbled | Cornette Side of the Ring (Clip)," which drew about 36,000 views in its first ten hours, far beyond VICE Sports' usual start for a Short.

WWF's purchase of WCW in 2001 created the possibility of bringing the companies' stars together. But buying the wrestling business did not automatically deliver all its biggest names. Cornette says some could collect their guaranteed money for another year or longer without wrestling.

For Vince McMahon, getting them into the Invasion event meant more than offering a match. He would have to buy out those existing deals, Cornette explains, then pay the wrestlers to perform for him. The dream lineup came with two separate bills.

The comments turn that practical obstacle into a wrestling what-if. Viewers discuss whether the storyline should have waited for more stars to become available, and how established WCW names such as Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page were used. One also makes a useful distinction: disappointment with the wider storyline doesn't necessarily mean the pay-per-view itself wasn't an entertaining show.

Rather than replaying a disputed finish or a fiery promo, this Cornette excerpt finds its explanation in the contracts.

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Jim Cornette explains why WCW stars stayed home for Invasion The full story on Trari: https://trari.com/en/story/vicesports-30072/?from=kit

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The numbers

The clip had already comfortably exceeded VICE Sports' usual full-day views for a Short. Its comment section was also much busier than usual.

the video's first day

usual first day here

2,328

this video

58,250

subscribers

1,140,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

302,806,951

views per day

165,834

typical day: 244,067

the video

views

35,593

likes

835

comments

48

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

RocaNews

1,180,000

VICE Sports

1,140,000

Channel 4 Documentaries

1,120,000

Natural World Facts

1,080,000

Odyssey - Ancient History…

1,060,000

Banijay History

1,050,000

As of November 8, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.