does 2001 get overlooked because of the invasion?

[K.Y.R.I.E]

It seems like when people think of 2001 wwf the first thing that comes to mind was the invasion angle that could of been much better

But January to may 2001 was incredible television imo.
even when the invasion started the product was still entertaining but it did dip somewhat in quality

I also thought the two man power trip story was good and could of been great if hhh didn't get injured

Your thoughts?

 

[InstantKlassik]

Those first 3 months of 2001 leading up to WrestleMania X-Seven and The Rock/Austin build >>>

 

[Lurk Angle]

most of 2001 was meh imo

 

[HipHopStan]

most of 2001 was meh imo

On the negative side:

• WCW and ECW were both gone.
• The Rock was off filming The Scorpion King.
• The Two Man Power Trip ran wild on RAW barely getting any comeuppance besides Austin getting thrown through a window.
• We got another Austin/Undertaker feud for the belt. ()
• HHH and Kane were feuding over the IC belt even though both were above that belt by that point.
• HHH then got injured.
• We then slowly started to get into the Invasion feud which would be a major disappointment.
• The McMahons were still in the spotlight for most weeks.
• After Survivor Series 01 we were just supposed to accept that Austin was now a face and Vince & Angle were heels again despite being the opposite going into the PPV.
• Flair and the NWO showed up right after the Invasion angle ended.
• Undertaker's out of nowhere heel turn making Jim Ross kiss Vince's ass.

On the positive side:

• Austin did branch out a bit with some newer feuds (Jericho, B*****, RVD, and Kurt Angle.)
• RVD flourished.
• I thought they did well making Rhyno look like a beast.
• There were some great main event matches both on free television and on PPV.
• The short lived Jim Ross/Paul Heyman commentary was fresh and different.
• We got a few good memorable segments - Kurt Angle's milk truck segment and Austin/Booker T inside of a grocery store.

It was a mixed bag for wrestling. A lot of people remember the bad, and rightfully so, but there was some good in there too. 2001 was overall just very surreal year not only for wrestling fans, but for life in general.

 

[HipHopStan]

Just a few other random points:

• I remember after WCW and ECW went out of business, a lot of cocky WWF fans in the AOL chat made the generalization that all of those fans would flock over to the WWF. SPOILER ALERT: They did not and the slight dip in the ratings proved it.
• Another memorable segment from post Mania 17 was Austin beating up JR. I actually took his heel turn seriously at first before he became a comedic heel later on.
• Chris B***** also got injured and was out a year.
• Eddie Guerrero got fired from WWF, but he was making a comeback on indy circuit wrestling former rivals like Rey Jr. and new up & comers like CM Punk (I remember downloading that triple threat match between those three on Kazaa.)
• I was thrilled that the year ended with Chris Jericho becoming Undisputed Champion.
• I low-key became a fan of The Hurricane during this time. I just thought I'd mention that.
• Edge and Christian started their solo runs to varying degrees of success.
• 2001 was the first year since the late 70s where Hulk Hogan did not play a major factor in wrestling at all.

 

[The_Dread_Dormammu]

Sorry, but that was probably a top 3 year in wrestling for me… as someone mentioned, those first 3 months were amazing! The invasion stuff … well we all witnessed that but the matches produced that year

 

[Lurk Angle]

On the negative side:

• WCW and ECW were both gone.
• The Rock was off filming The Scorpion King.
• The Two Man Power Trip ran wild on RAW barely getting any comeuppance besides Austin getting thrown through a window.
• We got another Austin/Undertaker feud for the belt. ()
• HHH and Kane were feuding over the IC belt even though both were above that belt by that point.
• HHH then got injured.
• We then slowly started to get into the Invasion feud which would be a major disappointment.
• The McMahons were still in the spotlight for most weeks.
• After Survivor Series 01 we were just supposed to accept that Austin was now a face and Vince & Angle were heels again despite being the opposite going into the PPV.
• Flair and the NWO showed up right after the Invasion angle ended.
• Undertaker's out of nowhere heel turn making Jim Ross kiss Vince's ass.

On the positive side:

• Austin did branch out a bit with some newer feuds (Jericho, B*****, RVD, and Kurt Angle.)
• RVD flourished.
• I thought they did well making Rhyno look like a beast.
• There were some great main event matches both on free television and on PPV.
• The short lived Jim Ross/Paul Heyman commentary was fresh and different.
• We got a few good memorable segments - Kurt Angle's milk truck segment and Austin/Booker T inside of a grocery store.

It was a mixed bag for wrestling. A lot of people remember the bad, and rightfully so, but there was some good in there too. 2001 was overall just very surreal year not only for wrestling fans, but for life in general.

2002 was a better year imo

better matches and got to see rock vs hoegan

most of the kurt angle stuff in 01 was great tho

 

[CM_Burns]

They had a great roster in 2001 but they were repeating a lot of Attitude Era stuff.

 

[Redwood]

Early 2001 came off the heels of 2000, so it was consistent from top to bottom.

I'd say around Benoit/HHH's injury as well as Rock leaving is what caused the falloff.