On this day fifteen year ago, the WWE buried its biggest competitor onscreen. November, 18th, 2001 was the final time WCW existed as an entity inside a WWE ring. A double cross and a Rock Bottom lead to the storyline dissolution of the WCW-ECW Alliance and officially brought an end to the Invasion storyline.
As significant as that match was, there were two other memorable events that occurred on November 18 in the past: The birth of one of the greatest stables of the current era and a Hell in a Cell match featuring three of Smack Down’s greatest stars of all time.
#1 Debut of the Shied: November 18th, 2012
November 18th marks the fourth anniversary of the Shield’s main roster debut. One of the greatest stables of all time, the threesome not only dominated WWE as a group but also as singles wrestlers.
In an interview with Fourth pain Roman Reigns said how WWE came up with the shield:
Well young men who want more who wanted to be the best at what we are doing and it’s that type of competition. It’s like iron sharpens iron. So you know we’ve all stuck together and we formed the most powerful group in the WWE history.
Each member of the Shield would go on to become WWE Champions, and it was only fitting that Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, made their debut in a WWE Championship match. The main event of Survivor Series 2012, was a triple threat match for the WWE Championship with CM Punk defending his title against Ryback and John Cena.
The Shield would attack Ryback during the match and deliver a triple powerbomb through the announcer’s table. Punk would retain the title, extending his historic title reign to over one year.
The Shield meanwhile, would stay together for two years, winning twice at Wrestlemania as a group and dominating the reformed Evolution. Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose, would go on to win six WWE World Heavyweight titles between them.
#2 Batista conquers the yard with Rated-R help: November 18th, 2007
It was supposed to be the culmination of the feud that took Batista to the next level in the WWE – The Animal vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match, in the main event of the 2007 Survivor Series.
Batista was the World Heavyweight Champion heading into the match and needed a decisive victory over the Phenom, to assert his superiority on the SmackDown brand.
Despite taking a Batista Bomb through the announce table, the Undertaker seemed poised to win the title with a Tomb Stone onto the steel steps. However, Edge would interfere in the match and use a steel chair on the Undertaker to cost him the victory.
The feud would result in a triple threat match for the title at next month’s Armageddon, where the Rated R Superstar would capture the World Heavyweight Championship.
#3 The Invasion ends – November 18th, 2001
2001 Survivor Series PPV, saw Team WWF consisting of The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kane, The Undertaker and the Bigshow battling the ECW-WCW Alliance comprising of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and Shane McMahon.
The losing entity would have to disband, and the PPV was the end, to what was supposed to be the greatest money-making angle, in wrestling history.
However, the invasion angle had become lukewarm once it lost its initial sheen, as it became clear that true WCW main eventers like the nWo or Sting hadn’t signed WWE contracts. The 10-man elimination blow off match failed to live up to expectations with too many double crossings and a jumbled finish.
The Rock and Stone Cold would be the only men remaining on each team, and Chris Jericho would attack his own teammate – the Rock – to seemingly hand over the victory to the Alliance.
However, another double cross – this time by Alliance member Kurt Angle on Austin, would lead to the Rock delivering the Rock Bottom on the Rattlesnake, picking up the victory for Team WWF.
The next month’s Vengeance PPV would lead to the first ever Undisputed Championship tournament, pitting the four superstars against each other. Jericho would be the surprise winner, uniting the WWE and WCW World titles.
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