#FiftyMatches: One Injury Changes Everything

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin & Triple H v.
Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit

WWF Tag Team Championship

Monday Night Raw
May 21, 2001

"The entire building is shaking! This is the greatest chance in the lives of Benoit and Jericho!" -Paul Heyman

At the time, no one could have imagined that the days of dominance for the World Wrestling Federation were coming to an end. The company was still settling into the comfortable new reality of having an industry all to itself. World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling went out of business within weeks of one another. It almost felt like the WWF had planned all along to celebrate its final victory by putting on one of the most successful and well-received pay per views in history. After WrestleMania X-7, the WWF gleefully chugged onward. Alone.


Almost as soon as it had the professional wrestling industry to itself, the WWF started making mistakes. The first came at WrestleMania X-7, when "Stone Cold" Steve Austin aligned with Mr. McMahon en route to the WWF Championship. The second came the following night.

At the time, logic seemed to dictate that Steve Austin's ill-advised turn to the dark side would lead to renewed hostilities with the last man to beat him, Triple H. Just about everyone wanted to see it. They were ready to embrace Triple H on the good side of the role reversal, but someone at the WWF had a completely different idea. Inexplicably, Steve Austin and Triple H joined forces, and the Two Man Power Trip was born. For weeks, they ran wild on the Hardy Boyz, Lita, Kane and the Undertaker. The good guys were quickly running out of ammunition, but that's when the method to the WWF's madness revealed itself.

Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit suddenly joined forces as well at Judgement Day 2001, and earned a shot at the Two Man Power Trip's tag team titles. That match occurred the following night on Monday Night Raw. After enduring a period of lukewarm main event storylines, fans were excited to see new faces on the verge of a breakthrough victory. Despite being turned away on previous occasions, fans still bought into Jericho and Benoit as worthy challengers. The environment was electric. The match delivered. The result was the right decision, but the price the WWF paid was too high.

This was a great moment for Jercho and Benoit, but in the end that's all it was. One moment. One night. The WWF never capitalized on what could have been their career-making victory. Losing Triple H to a severe quad injury was a major issue for the company. You can't say enough about the courage and toughness he showed. The job on this night was to elevate the challengers to main event status, and Triple H saw that mission through to the end, even after his body gave out on him during the final moments of the match. He gave everything he had to give, but his injury appeared to leave the WWF paralyzed with indecision.

At first, the WWF forged ahead with the plan it had in mind for Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit as the new tag team champions. During the Smackdown! tapings the following night, they defended their titles in T.L.C. III, against Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz and the Hardy Boyz. It was a great match, but things took an alarming turn in the days and weeks that followed. It's apparent that whatever plan the WWF had for Jericho and Benoit is out the window.

During the weekend that followed, Austin teamed with William Regal in rematches against Jericho and Benoit. By the next Monday Night Raw, Benoit was in the main event position against Austin. One night later in his hometown of Edmonton, the two came together again for one of the best televised matches of 2001. The following week, Jericho got his chances to match up against Austin. Regal even surfaced a few times. On SmackDown!, Austin teamed with Vince McMahon against Jericho and Benoit. There was even a tag team match at a house show in mid-June where Austin's partner was Rhyno.

The main event storyline was spinning its wheels. There appeared to be no back-up plan that satisfied the people in charge of the WWF now that Triple H was out of action. The company didn't seem to know what to do next. In actuality, it had made its decision less than a week after Jericho & Benoit's victory. Before Jericho and Benoit ever had a chance to step into the ring for a one-on-one match with Steve Austin, the WWF pulled the trigger on its biggest potential storyline.

One week after Triple H's injury, Lance Storm became the first "WCW" wrestler to appear on Monday Night Raw. A few weeks later, Steve Austin defended the WWF Championship in a triple threat match against both Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit at King of the Ring 2001. During the match, Booker T made his first appearance on WWF television. He attacked Austin in the middle of match. Austin survived, and successfully retained the title.

The Invasion had begun.

Once again, the method to the WWF's madness reveals itself. The company felt its hand was being forced the moment Triple H went down with his injury, but it was not willing to launch The Invasion without the proper stage. That was Madison Square Garden the night after King of the Ring. The announcers won't stop talking about its importance to the company, and they're right. The Garden was and is the WWF's house and it was the perfect place for a big moment.

The WWF launched The Invasion despite the shortcomings that almost any fan could see. WCW was not ready to compete with WWF in the eyes of fans, and probably never would be. The talent simply was not there. Fans endured five disappointing months, and a lifetime left wondering what might have been.

Chris Benoit's ongoing issues with his neck reached a point of no return at King of the Ring 2001. After competing in the main event, he underwent major surgery that kept him out of action for more than a year.

Chris Jericho's removal from the main event was almost as abrupt. The night after competing for the WWF Championship, he was facing Tajiri on Monday Night Raw, and rekindling old feuds with William Regal and the Dudley Boyz. He would play a pivotal role in The Invasion, but it was not the right one. His background made him an ideal choice to join WCW, but it never happened.

Who knows what the WWF had planned for Steve Austin, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit before injuries and desperation changed history? Would fans have witnessed a split between Austin and Triple H leading to the main event title match so many wanted to see the night after WrestleMania X-7? Were Jericho or Benoit truly being groomed for a title run? Looking back, one thing seems obvious. This was not when the WWF wanted to start The Invasion. It wanted to give the WCW talent it inherited a chance to grow. Instead, they were rushed into a feud they were not ready for.

The genesis of The Invasion can be traced back to one night in San Jose, California. It was a great tag team match, with the challengers giving fans new hope, but it also left Triple H and the WWF crippled. It's hard to find a match in the history of Monday Night Raw that had a greater impact on the future of the World Wrestling Federation.