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Jim Cornette's Invasion verdict: too much McMahon, too little WCW

VICE Sports' retrospective argues that a dream wrestling crossover became a family storyline before its biggest attractions could arrive.

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VICE Sports Story of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Why the Biggest Wrestling Angle of All Time Fell Apart | Cornette Side of the Ring

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0:30WWF's Raw and WCW's Nitro competed for Monday-night viewers before WCW's sale.
3:10Goldberg-Austin and Sting-Undertaker illustrate the dream matches fans wanted from the crossover.
4:47Guaranteed Turner contracts allowed major WCW stars to stay home paid instead of joining WWF immediately.
6:03Cornette argues that inserting the McMahons shifted the storyline from competing promotions to a family dispute.
7:22His Invasion pay-per-view review contrasts the anticipated star lineup with matches including a referee brawl.
9:32Cornette argues that the later arrival of WCW's biggest names missed the original crossover moment.

Goldberg against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Sting against The Undertaker. Jim Cornette lays out the matches wrestling fans imagined when WWF bought WCW, then contrasts them with what television actually delivered: Shane and Stephanie McMahon claiming ownership of the invading promotions.

In VICE Sports' Cornette Side of the Ring episode, his argument goes beyond the missing wrestlers. The creative response to their absence, he says, turned a meeting of wrestling worlds into another McMahon family dispute.

The contracts explain the starting problem. Leading WCW performers had guaranteed deals with Turner Broadcasting, allowing them to remain at home and collect their pay rather than immediately join WWF. Cornette argues that buying out those contracts or waiting for the major names would have preserved the attraction. Instead, Shane became WCW's on-screen owner and Stephanie claimed ECW, putting familiar WWF characters at the center of the opposition.

Reviewing the July 2001 Invasion pay-per-view, Cornette delivers his diagnosis: "There was only one problem with the Invasion pay-per-view: no stars." It's his pointed shorthand for the gap between the crossover's promise and a card that found room for a referee brawl.

The comments extend that argument into fantasy booking. Viewers propose Goldberg interrupting Austin and Sting facing The Undertaker; others suggest that delaying the storyline could have allowed a stronger lineup.

Cornette's closing objection is timing. The big names eventually arrived, but separately and later. In his telling, assembling the cast after the original moment had passed couldn't recreate the invasion fans had pictured.

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What viewers say

The Invasion always reminded me that scene from Simpsons where they go to see the cast of Bonanza reunited, but only two background actors showed up.
@ShinRyojinSee it on YouTube
Great line on WWE's Monday Night War docuseries: "You had WWF being invaded by the guys from WCW Thunder."
@AnynomSee it on YouTube
Imagine Sting Facing The Undertaker at Wrestlemania instead of Jeff Hardy at Victory Road
@Lonewolf004See it on YouTube

2 more comments

It was 1 year too early. Had Vince waited until summer 2002, he could've had the big names and the Invasion would've been successful
@stevelinkofficialSee it on YouTube
There are four sides of every Ring.
1- The right side
2- The wrong side
3- The Dark side
And most importantly
4- The Cornette side!
@lovelywazSee it on YouTube

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