There's a topic I've always wanted to cover on The Big Bang May 6 on the purchase of World Championship Wrestling by the World Wrestling Federation.
I think it's pretty clear by now that the WWF did not outright buy the company (WCW was actually under the Time Warner shell company Universal Wrestling Corporation, a name that Ted Turner actually wanted to rename the promotion when it was sold by Jim Crockett Promotions), but instead bought some trademarks, the name "World Championship Wrestling", and a select amount of contracts.
During a deep dive into the March 2001 archives of LordsOfPain.net, a personal favorite wrestling website of mine (shout-out to the legendary Mr. Tito), I came across a post from March 24, 2001, written by Blake Wolfson, the list of names that the WWF acquired were as follows:
Lance Storm, Sean O'Haire, Mike Awesome, Chuck Palumbo, Miss Hancock, Shane Helms, Shannon Moore, Mike Sanders, Hugh Morrus, Billy Kidman, Elix Skipper, Chavo Guerrero Jr, Shawn Stasiak, Kaz Hayashi, Yang, and Mark Jindrak
It was also noted that "[all] of their contracts are not guaranteed and will probably be renegotiated in the next 90 days".
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Well, I've decided to review what exactly happened to each performer whose WCW contract purchased by the World Wrestling Federation. To be completely honest, a lot of it came from memory, so my obscure wrestling knowledge knows no bounds. And to the reader, if I missed anything important, please either comment on this article or email me at BankieBruce@gmail.com.
With that said, here we go:
Lance Storm - Was the first man to "invade" WCW programming on May 28, 2001, superkicking Perry Saturn during a match at the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Held the WWF Intercontinental Championship for 27 days in the Summer of 2001. Formed the Un-Americans with Christian and Test in July 2002 and won three World Tag Team Championships with Christian, William Regal, and Chief Morley. After his last reign ended the night after WrestleMania XIX, Storm toiled around the midcard, including being called "boring" by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, until leaving in 2004. He had his final match under the WWE umbrella in 2005 as a part of ECW One Night Stand on June 12, defeating Chris Jericho in the opener.
Sean O'Haire - Initially "invaded" the WWF in Madison Square Garden two nights after King of the Ring 2001, alongside his WCW Tag Team Championship partner Chuck Palumbo, by taking out the Hardy Boyz with his infamous Seanton Bomb, but was quickly destroyed by the big badasses of the WWF locker room. After losing the WCW gold to the Undertaker and Kane on the August 9, 2001 SmackDown, O'Haire retreated to Ohio Valley Wrestling for over a year. Unveiled his new "devil's advocate" persona in the first quarter of 2003, only to see that evaporate and become the hired muscle of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in his feud with Mr. America. After losing a WWE Tag Team Title match to Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri in MSG, subsequently leading to the departure of "Hot Rod", O'Haire faded away in obscurity, leaving WWE in 2004.
Mike Awesome - Became the first "invader" to win a WWF championship, winning the WWF Hardcore Title the night after King of the Ring 2001, pinning Rhyno after a powerbomb on a ladder in the parking garage of Madison Square Garden. After losing the title approximately two weeks later to Jeff Hardy, Awesome suffered a dehabilitating knee injury and was out until early 2003, when he was then released by WWE. Made his final appearance under the WWE umbrella at ECW One Night Stand on June 12, 2005, defeating Masato Tanaka in a match that many people consider to be the match of the night.
Chuck Palumbo - Initially "invaded" the WWF in Madison Square Garden two nights after King of the Ring 2001, alongside his WCW Tag Team Championship partner Sean O'Haire, by taking out the Hardy Boyz with his infamous Seanton Bomb, but was quickly destroyed by the big badasses of the WWF locker room. After losing the WCW gold to the Undertaker and Kane on the August 9, 2001 SmackDown, Palumbo stayed afloat in the Alliance landscape, until linking up with Billy Gunn and becoming excommunicated from WCW. Billy and Chuck held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice in 2002. On the September 11, 2002 SmackDown, the duo held a commitment ceremony, and was subsequently attacked by 3 Minute Warning, their former stylist Rico, and Eric Bischoff. After an injury to Billy, Palumbo toiled around for a few months until the Spring of 2003, when he joined the FBI with Nunzio and Johnny Stamboli. In 2004, Palumbo left the WWE for nearly three years and returned in 2007 as a badass biker, linking up with Michelle McCool and feuding with Jamie Noble. In 2008, Palumbo again left the promotion and quietly faded away from professional wrestling.
Miss Hancock - Stacy Keibler "invaded" SmackDown in June 2001, alongside WCW owner Shane McMahon, and cost Rhyno a match against Test. Keibler quickly linked up with fellow WCW bombshell Torrie Wilson and faced off with Trish Stratus and Lita at Invasion 2001 in a bra-and-panties match. By the fall of 2001, she became "the Duchess of Dudleyville", managing the Dudley Boyz, all the way to WrestleMania X8. Keibler then became the personal assistant to both Mr. McMahon and RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff. Over the next few years, Keibler would manage Test, date Randy Orton, and help guide the Hurricane and Rosey to the World Tag Team Championships before leaving WWE in 2005. She was a runner-up to Dancing With The Stars, and had dated George Clooney in the mid-2000s. Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2023.
Shane Helms - "Gregory" Helms made his presence felt on the July 5, 2001, losing his Cruiserweight Title to Kidman in a WCW-Sanctioned match on SmackDown. Less than two months later, thanks to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin noticing his Green Lantern tattoo, he came the Hurricane, the Alliance's resident superhero. He quickly became the WWF European Champion, defeating Matt Hardy on August 27, 2001. A few months later, the Hurricane ended up winning the Hardcore Championship for a cup-of-coffee at WrestleMania X8, then followed it up with the WWE Cruiserweight Title, which he won in the Spring of 2002. Then, Hurricane was traded to Raw in the Fall, and teamed with Kane to win the World Tag Team Titles. The Hurricane hit his peak as a singles competitor on March 10, 2003, pinning THE ROCK in a no-disqualification match. The Hurricane then took Rosey, formerly of 3 Minute Warning, under his wing and made him a Super Hero In Training. The tag team gelled and became a true underdog story, culminating in winning the World Tag Team Titles at Backlash 2005 during a Tag Team Turmoil. By the Fall, Hurricane dropped his superhero persona and transformed back into Gregory Helms, winning the Cruiserweight Title at Royal Rumble 2006. Subsequently, Helms held the gold for 385 days, becoming the longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion in WWE history. After fighting through a multitude of injuries, Helms returned to SmackDown in 2008, but it was in WWECW in 2009 where the Hurricane was reborn. While being a backstage interviewer, Helms began feuding with Paul Burchill and his sister Katie Lea. With longer hair and a more badass vibe, Hurricane upended Burchill and ended his WWE career on the November 17, 2009 ECW on SyFy. With ECW phased out in early 2010, Helms left WWE for nearly a decade, returning in 2019 as a prominent producer for the promotion to this very day.
Shannon Moore - Quickly lost in the fold once the "Invasion" began, Moore slowly found his way into WWE programming by the Summer of 2002. Moore then became a "Mattitude Follower" of Matt Hardy Version 1 and helped guide Hardy to the Cruiserweight Championship at No Way Out 2003 against Kidman. Moore even had a "Moore-On" for a short time in Crash Holly. Once Hardy was traded to Raw, Moore became a plucky underdog, helping Hardcore Holly become the #1 contender to the WWE Championship in January 2004. After falling in the Cruiserweight division by year's end, Moore left WWE. He subsequently rejuvenated his career in TNA as "the Prince of Punk" and returned to WWE in 2006 as a part of the reborn ECW. Sadly, after a 90 second dissection in Madison Square Garden by CM Punk, Moore quickly returned to his old self and formed a fun tag team with Jimmy Wang Yang in 2007 for nearly a year until he was released in 2008. He wrestled in TNA for two more years before retiring from wrestling.
Mike Sanders - "Above Average" was sent to Heartland Wrestling Association in 2001 to refine his skills. According to the internet, Sanders was being groomed to debut on WWF television during the "Invasion" when, according to rumor and innuendo, he didn't shake the hand of Triple H. Not too long after, Sanders left the WWF and ended up on the ground floor of the early days of TNA. Sanders ultimately left wrestling in 2005 after performing for Vince Russo's Ring of Glory promotion and is now a motivational speaker.
Hugh Morrus - He became the second "invader" the week following Lance Storm on the June 4, 2001 Raw, giving a "No Laughing Matter" moonsault onto Edge. He toiled around the midcard until becoming a "bully" performer on SmackDown in 2003 for a short time. Finally, as his given name Bill DeMott, he became a coach for the Tough Enough series, as well head trainer for Deep South Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling, and NXT until 2015, when he was forced to resign due to misconduct allegations as a coach.
Billy Kidman - The final WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion made his debut during the "Invasion" on July 5, 2001 on SmackDown, defeating Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms for the title in a WCW-sanctioned match. Over the next several months, he lost and regained his title from X-Pac, and then subsequently lost it again to Tajiri in October 2001, mere weeks before the Alliance disbanded. In 2002, Kidman won the newly rebranded WWE Cruiserweight Championship twice, then followed it up in 2004 by winning the WWE Tag Team Championships with Paul London. Kidman was then released in 2005, but returned to WWE as a producer backstage, where he has remained ever since.
Elix Skipper - "Prime Time" did not spend very long under WWF contract, as he was released in early 2002 while in Heartland Wrestling Association, WWF's developmental promotion. Skipper then went on to have a great run in Total Nonstop Action as a third of the great XXX tandem alongside Christopher Daniels and Low Ki.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. - Chavo initially began a small rise throughout the "Invasion" in the Cruiserweight division, but didn't really pick up steam until he began teaming with his uncle Eddie. Los Guerreros would win two WWE Tag Team Titles throughout 2002 and 2003. After turning on his uncle, Chavo would win four Cruiserweight titles from 2004 until its deactivation in 2007. Then, Chavo would defeat CM Punk on the January 15, 2008 edition of ECW on SyFy to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. After dropping the title in a record eight seconds at WrestleMania XXIV to Kane, Chavo toiled around for the next few years until he left WWE in 2011.
Shawn Stasiak - "The Mecca of Manhood" had a rather interesting re-introduction into the WWF after initially leaving in 1999. Stasiak became the whipping boy for the Alliance, always looking the fool in situations involving "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and the Rock. In 2002, Stasiak began talking in stanza and with weird intentions, declaring himself from Planet Stasiak. On live event loops over the Spring and Summer of 2002, Stasiak won and lost the Hardcore Champion FIFTEEN times, never holding each time for more than a couple of seconds. In September 2002, Stasiak requested his release from WWE and became a licensed chiropractor.
Kaz Hayashi - The Japanese striker briefly appeared as a part of the Alliance, but spent the majority of his time in Heartland Wrestling Alliance. After leaving in 2002, Hayashi became an ace for both All Japan Pro Wrestling and Wrestle-1.
Yang - Similar to Hayashi, Yang went to HWA to develop, but found himself outside of WWE in 2002. After touring the independents for a couple years, Yang returned as Akio in 2003, standing tall as one of Tajiri's henchmen within the Cruiserweight division. Then, after being released again in 2005, Yang rediscovered himself in Ring of Honor for the next several months until finally returning once again to WWE in 2006, becoming the Southern Cowboy Jimmy Wang Yang. After being a part of a fun tandem alongside Shannon Moore, Yang again found himself outside of WWE in 2010.
Mark Jindrak - After being lost in the shuffle during the "Invasion", Jindrak redeveloped himself in Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2002, and then was called up to WWE. Initially, he was to be a part of Evolution alongside Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton, but plans changed at the last minute. Instead, Jindrak formed a tag team with the late Garrison (Lance) Cade throughout 2003 and 2004. Then, during the Spring of 2004, Jindrak was the "Reflection of Perfection" under the tutelage of Teddy Long. Once Long became SmackDown General Manager, Jindrak linked up with Luther Reigns and Kurt Angle until 2005. Once released, Jindrak became an absolute phenomenon in Mexico, wrestling for AAA, Perros del Mal, and CMLL, where, as Marco Corelone, won the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship in 2017.
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With the exception of a few, the majority of these men went on to have successful careers in WWE, and the ones that didn't made a career for themselves elsewhere. Honestly, I see these men as a positive example of talent development from both WCW's beginnings and WWF's scouting department.
It just makes you think: what would have happened had WCW survived in 2001 under the eye of Fusient Media Ventures and if these talents would have had the same success or greater opportunites. Just another case of "What If?"
Bankie Bruce
BankieBruce@gmail.com
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