The Alliance (professional wrestling)
The Alliance | |
---|---|
Stable | |
Members | Shane McMahon (owner of WCW) Stephanie McMahon (owner of ECW) Other members |
Name(s) | The Alliance WCW/ECW Alliance The Coalition Team WCW Team WCW/ECW WECW[1] |
Debut | May 28, 2001 |
Disbanded | November 18, 2001 |
Years active | 2001 |
The Alliance, also known as Team WCW/ECW and The Coalition, was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) that existed during the Invasion storyline from May to November 2001.
The stable came about as a result of the WWF's purchase of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001. The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) name was brought in later to help boost the presence of WCW after the original ECW promotion closed in April 2001.
History
The original plan for
The Booker/Bagwell title match, however, was very poorly received both by television viewers and the live crowd in the arena; sports journalist Michael Landsberg reported that many have called the bout "the worst match ever".[2] The two other WCW matches also received a negative fan reaction. The decision was thus made to make WCW a heel group who was out to destroy the WWF.[3] On the July 9 episode of Raw Is War, when then-face WCW owner Shane was scheduled to face Page in a street fight, the two instead attacked The Undertaker, turning Shane heel (Page had already debuted in WWF as a heel, as part of a stalker angle with Undertaker and his wife).
Later that night, during a tag team match pitting
Later that evening, Vince and Shane agreed to put aside their differences and join forces to take out ECW once and for all in a twenty-man brawl between Team WWF (
At the
Over the next few months, the two sides fought back and forth. Except for the feuds for select wrestlers (
In late October, both sides agreed to end things once and for all. A "Winner Take All" classic Survivor Series
In the end, Team WWF (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show) defeated Team Alliance (Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and Shane McMahon) when Angle double-crossed The Alliance by turning on Austin while he was fighting The Rock during the closing stages of the match. The Rock then pinned Austin, not only putting The Alliance out of business, but also being a symbolic victory of WWF's dominance over its former rivals. Earlier in the night, The Dudley Boyz defeated The Hardy Boyz to unify the tag team championships while Edge defeated Test to win the Intercontinental Championship. Despite his loss, Test entered the Immunity Battle Royal later that night and won.
With The Alliance's loss, nearly all of their members lost their jobs in storyline following the match. Exceptions were made for Stone Cold Steve Austin, then-WWF Champion; The Dudley Boyz, who won the WWF Tag Team Championship; Stacy Keibler, the Dudleys' manager; Rob Van Dam, who at the time was the
The next night on Raw, Mr. McMahon celebrated his victory by making a slow return to his villain character, aligning himself with The Alliance members that kept their jobs. Later that night, he resumed his rivalry with Austin, who turned face by attacking Angle and aligning himself with a returning Ric Flair, who was revealed, in storyline, to have bought Shane and Stephanie's stock in the company prior to Survivor Series, making him the new co-owner of the WWF, along with McMahon. After being "fired", Shane walked out on his own and congratulated his father for his victory, and spent most of the next eighteen months away from television; he would return to feud with Kane in 2003. Stephanie blamed Shane for everything and was escorted out of the arena by security, but unlike Shane she made a quick return and began appearing again shortly after the return of her then on-screen husband Triple H in January, which led to a three-month-long feud that ended shortly after WrestleMania X8.
One of the more important changes following Survivor Series was the removal of the WCW branding from The Rock's WCW Championship, with the title becoming known simply as the World Championship. Co-owners McMahon and Flair decided that, since there were now two world championships in the company, a tournament would be set up at Vengeance in December to crown an Undisputed WWF Champion. Current WWF Champion Stone Cold Austin was to take on Kurt Angle while World Champion The Rock was to take on Chris Jericho, with the winners then facing off to become the first undisputed champion in company history. Jericho, who had been feuding with The Rock over the WCW Championship dating back to October, won the World title while Austin defeated Angle to retain his WWF Championship. Jericho, thanks to a returning Booker T, defeated Austin to become the first Undisputed WWF Champion. Following the crowning of the inaugural Undisputed WWF Champion, mentions of WCW and The Alliance ceased on WWF programming.
Members
Member | Alignment | Joined | Left | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arn Anderson | WCW | WCW color commentator | ||
Billy Kidman | WCW | July 5, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Billy Silverman | WCW | Referee | ||
Booker T | WCW | June 24, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | First leader |
Brian Adams | WCW | September 4, 2001 | September 30, 2001 | |
Brian Hebner | WCW | Referee | ||
Bryan Clark | WCW | September 4, 2001 | September 30, 2001 | |
Bubba Ray Dudley
|
ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Buff Bagwell | WCW | July 1, 2001 | July 9, 2001 | |
Charles Robinson | WCW | July 22, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | Referee |
Chavo Guerrero | WCW | July 5, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Chris Kanyon | WCW | July 5, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Christian | WCW | October 15, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Chuck Palumbo | WCW | June 28, 2001 | October 25, 2001 | |
Dave Taylor | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
D-Von Dudley
|
ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Debra | WCW | July 22, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Diamond Dallas Page | WCW | June 18, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Elix Skipper | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Evan Karagias | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Gregory Helms/Hurricane Helms/The Hurricane | WCW | July 5, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Hugh Morrus | WCW | June 4, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Ivory | WCW | August 6, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Jamie Knoble | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Jason Jett/E. Z. Money | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Jazz | ECW | November 18, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Jimmy Yang | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Johnny Stamboli
|
WCW | July 12, 2001 | Member of Team WCW in HWA | |
Justin Credible | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Kaz Hayashi | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Kid Romeo | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Kurt Angle | WCW | October 29, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Kwee Wee | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Lance Storm | ECW | May 28, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Lash LeRoux | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Mark Jindrak | WCW | July 2001 | Member of Team WCW in HWA | |
Mighty Molly | WCW | October 1, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Mike Awesome | ECW | June 25, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Mike Sanders | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Nick Patrick | WCW | July 22, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | Referee |
Paul Heyman | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | Raw Is War color commentator |
Raven | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Reno
|
WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Rhyno | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Rob Van Dam | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Scott Hudson | WCW | WCW play-by-play commentator | ||
Sean O'Haire | WCW | June 28, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Shane McMahon | WCW | May 28, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | WCW owner |
Shannon Moore | WCW | Member of Team WCW in HWA | ||
Shawn Stasiak | WCW | July 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Stacy Keibler | WCW | June 14, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Stephanie McMahon | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | ECW owner |
Steven Richards | WCW | September 4, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Stone Cold Steve Austin | WCW | July 22, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | Second leader |
Tazz
|
ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 8, 2001 | SmackDown! color commentator |
Terri | ECW | August 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Test | WCW | August 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Tommy Dreamer | ECW | July 9, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | |
Torrie Wilson | WCW | June 28, 2001 | August 30, 2001 | |
William Regal | WCW | October 8, 2001 | November 18, 2001 | Alliance Commissioner |
Sub-groups
Affiliate | Members | Tenure | Type |
---|---|---|---|
DDP and Kanyon | Diamond Dallas Page Chris Kanyon |
2001 | Tag team |
The Dudley Boyz |
Bubba Ray Dudley D-Von Dudley |
2001 | Tag team |
KroniK | Brian Adams Bryan Clark |
2001 | Tag team |
O'Haire and Palumbo | Chuck Palumbo Sean O'Haire |
2001 | Tag team |
Championships and accomplishments
- Heartland Wrestling Association
- World Wrestling Federation
- WCW Championship (2 times) – Booker T[8][9]
- The Dudley Boyz (1)[16]
- WWF European Championship (2 times) – The Hurricane (1), and Christian (1)[19][20]
- WWF Hardcore Championship (4 times) – Mike Awesome (1), and Rob Van Dam (3)[21]
- WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) – Lance Storm (1), Christian (1), and Test (1)[22][23][24]
- WWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – The Dudley Boyz (2), Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon (1), and Booker T and Test (1)[25][26][27][28]
See also
References
- ^ "WCW fights dirty and gains momentum". Archived from the original on July 21, 2001.
- ^ "Booker T". Off the Record with Michael Landsberg. November 5, 2001. TSN.
- ISBN 978-0-7434-5768-2.
- Community Newspaper Holdings. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ Westcott, Brian. "HWA – Heartland Wrestling Association HWA – Cruiserweight/Television Title History". Solie. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
- ^ "HWA Heavyweight Championship history".
- ^ "Evan Karagias profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ "Booker T's fourth WCW Championship reign".
- ^ "Booker T's fifth WCW Championship reign".
- ^ "Gregory Helms' first WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign".
- ^ "Billy Kidman's fourth WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign".
- ^ "Billy Kidman's fifth WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign".
- ^ "Booker T's first WCW United States Championship reign".
- ^ "Kanyon's first WCW United States Championship reign".
- ^ "Rhyno's first WCW United States Championship reign".
- ^ "WCW World Tag Team Championship history".
- ^ ""Stone Cold" Steve Austin's fifth WWF Championship reign".
- ^ ""Stone Cold" Steve Austin's sixth WWF Championship reign".
- ^ "The Hurricane's first European Championship reign".
- ^ "Christian's first WWF European Championship reign".
- ^ "WWE Hardcore Championship history".
- ^ "Lance Storm's first Intercontinental Championship reign".
- ^ "Christian's first Intercontinental Championship reign".
- ^ "Test's first Intercontinental Championship reign".
- ^ "The Dudley Boyz' fifth World Tag Team Championship reign".
- ^ "Kanyon and Diamond Dallas Page's first World Tag Team Championship reign".
- ^ "The Dudley Boyz' sixth World Tag Team Championship reign".
- ^ "Booker T and Test's first World Tag Team Championship reign".