Was 2001 The Worst of Booking Ever In WWF/WWE?

[K-Apps]

I was really thinking how many just bad booking calls I remember from that year that really fukk things up then and for years to come:

at turning one of your biggest faces heel in SCSA in his home state aligning himself with his archenemy in Mr. McMahon for years.

aligning him with one of his hated rivals in Triple H who used had a lengthy feud about how Triple H orchestrated a attack that almost ended his career

Which reminds me that Three Stages of Heel finish, if you wanted to plant seeds of both Power Trip and SCSA heel turn wouldn’t Austin “cheating” win wouldn’t made sense or Vince calling the match in a scenario that both men beat each so bad the match had to be stopped be better.

Invasion Angle, enough said

Turning Austin heel again, this has to the worst booking decision again. Clear seeing Austin save the WWF with all the stunners during a massive Invasion brawl and how hot the crowd was that Austin was still popular with the fans. I get that Triple H would’ve been in that role if not for his quad injury, but cmon. I would’ve turned Jericho heel and see if he could do it based on his history with WCW.


What do you think brehs?

 

[StraxStrax]

Austin wanted to turn and asked for it so

 

[Berniewood Hogan]

@Da King that was the year Russo booked WCW to death, dooming us marks to a business ruled by Mcmahon

 

[Da King]

As Da King has noted, the WWWF fell off creatively the instant he left. They were able to sustain the ratings for another year based on GOATsso’s characters that he made stars, essentially they tried to ride his backwash and exposed themselves in the process

 

[K-Apps]

Austin wanted to turn and asked for it so

The initial turn yea, but the turn to be the Alliance leader was even more . Clear, fans still wanted to clear Austin, I think heel champion Jericho or even Booker with Austin chasing might have been better that what got even if it was still overall.

 

[JerseyBoy23]

2001 will go down as a dark year for not only WWE but the wrestling world. They started April 2001 out with the prestige of WreslteMania 17 along with millions of fans from both WWF and WCW, by the time the year was over they had shedded not only the WCW fans but also WWF fans too.

 

[R=G]

2001 will go down as a dark year for not only WWE but the wrestling world. They started April 2001 out with the prestige of WreslteMania 17 along with millions of fans from both WWF and WCW, by the time the year was over they had shedded not only the WCW fans but also WWF fans too.

Not quite..the internet fans bought into Cripple H being the best. So the hype behind his return in Jan 02 was huge step the time. But it didn't even one week to see that, he couldn't match Rock and Austin as faces. Getting What chants and the Rock having to save him from beatdowns by Angle and Jericho...he was exposed big time that year. Then the NWO came and his title push didn't mean shyt...lol.

 

[Microfracture]

He was still cutting fire promos though. It might have been bad timing for the heel turn but Austin was never meant to be pure face, he operated in the gray area. I agree with you on him cliquing up with HHH though they were supposed to be career long enemies

 

[stro]

Austin's heel turn was the right time at the right place and did work as an actual vicious piece of shyt heel that fans actually booed before the Alliance angle started and he introduced all the comedy. Which, whatever, 2001 Austin is arguably the best in ring year he had in WWE, and some of the best backstage segments of all time with Kurt and Vince so

In the end, he was highly entertaining during that period and that's a lot more important to me than what it did for ratings. The WM match with Rock is a top 5 or higher all time WWE match, and his Summerslam match with Kurt that year is almost as good.


Alliance shyt was baffling decision after another, no doubt. Even from the very start of having WCW be the face faction, but have heels within it fighting each other, or within like 2 weeks having the DDP and Shane do a SWERVE feud to set up Taker I guess? And turn WCW heel IN ATLANTA


In general booking a WWF vs ECW/WCW feud actually centered around McMahon family drama is the most hilariously egomanical bullshyt Vince might have ever pulled on fans. Especially when Vince, Shane, and Steph were all heels.

 

[Da King]

2001 will go down as a dark year for not only WWE but the wrestling world. They started April 2001 out with the prestige of WreslteMania 17 along with millions of fans from both WWF and WCW, by the time the year was over they had shedded not only the WCW fans but also WWF fans too.

But Vince McMahon was the HOODsso filter

 

[Stop_It_5]

the pop when Kurt made the double switch

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

2001 will go down as a dark year for not only WWE but the wrestling world. They started April 2001 out with the prestige of WreslteMania 17 along with millions of fans from both WWF and WCW, by the time the year was over they had shedded not only the WCW fans but also WWF fans too.

I think they’d lost about 30% of the raw audience by the end of the invasion. That’s insane. That being said, there was entertainment value in the company in 2001 and there were at least a few things they were trying with people and you remember things. Modern day is worse since they just waste everyone and manage to make nobody feel like they matter. It’s hard to properly judge 2001 since so much of it was swallowed up by the invasion angle and that angle was ruined from the start just by the big wcw stars not being there, not to mention all the other problems.

 

[OmegaK2099]

This was when Stephanie McMahon started booking right?

 

[JerseyBoy23]

I think they’d lost about 30% of the raw audience by the end of the invasion. That’s insane. That being said, there was entertainment value in the company in 2001 and there were at least a few things they were trying with people and you remember things. Modern day is worse since they just waste everyone and manage to make nobody feel like they matter. It’s hard to properly judge 2001 since so much of it was swallowed up by the invasion angle and that angle was ruined from the start just by the big wcw stars not being there, not to mention all the other problems.

I guess my answer was more along the lines of the audience than booking. I'll admit there are things I liked about WWF in 2001 but I also remember how it went from every dude in my class talking about wrestling to just a handful of other kids.

 

[JerseyBoy23]

This was when Stephanie McMahon started booking right?

Took over in November 2000. Chris Kreski set everything up by storyboard and Mania season was around the corner so it was impossible to not mess up early on.