Every WWE Wrestler To Join The Alliance, Ranked

In 2001, as World Wrestling Entertainment was transitioning out of the Attitude Era, the company capitalized on its purchase of WCW and ECW going out of business by rolling out an ambitious storyline called “The Invasion.” Wrestlers from both now-defunct promotions banded together as The Alliance in an attempt to stage a takeover of WWE.

RELATED: The 10 Biggest Booking Errors During The Invasion

Fans consider the angle to be a disappointment due to a lack of star power in The Alliance and some questionable booking decisions. However, the eight-month-long storyline certainly had a number of twists and turns as formerly loyal WWE wrestlers betrayed their employers to side with The Alliance. Without further ado, let’s take a look at each traitor to Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire, starting with the worst one.

11 Molly Holly

Sometimes, it felt like WWE wrestlers defected to The Alliance just for the sake of defying expectations. Molly Holly is a great example. When the Invasion first started, Molly Holly had forged a romance with Spike Dudley amidst the Holly Cousins/Dudley Boyz feud. The Dudleys ended up joining The Alliance, but Spike did not despite being an ECW guy along with his kayfabe brothers. Molly Holly would soon follow suit, and while she spent some time in WCW, her betrayal of Spike and WWE felt a bit like a needless swerve.

10 Kurt Angle

Besides not having anything to do with WCW or ECW except for a single unfortunate guest appearance on the night Sandman was crucified, Kurt Angle’s defection never felt earned. Steve Austin betrayed Angle at Invasion to side with The Alliance, the two were locked in a feud over the WWE Championship, AND Kurt lost the title via Alliance betrayal (see below). Angle suddenly turning heel and getting a spot in the group made The Alliance seem too trusting and gullible, given that he would end up betraying them in the climactic “winner take all” Survivor Series match.

9 Stevie Richards

Most fans would probably consider Stevie Richards an “ECW guy” thanks to his role in The Blue World Order, but he had found a gimmick that worked (at least for a little while) as leader of the group Right to Censor. Once they broke up, Richards found himself a part of The Alliance, managing WCW’s KroniK against The Brothers of Destruction. But KroniK was released from WWE soon after, leaving Richards adrift on the minor WWE shows.

8 Tazz

Royal Rumble 2000 saw the auspicious WWE debut of Tazz, who took down Kurt Angle in mere minutes. The following year, he would side with The Alliance during The Invasion, talking them up in commentary and competing in matches. But increasing injuries and brief bouts kept Tazz from doing his best work, and he mostly amounted to being Steve Austin’s punching bag when things weren’t going well.

7 Raven

Raven showed up in WWE in 2000 but was certainly a solid choice to defect to The Alliance, as he found success as a character in both ECW and WCW. One of the great heels of the mid to late 1990s, Raven could have been a major boon to The Alliance in a leadership position, especially as a guy who fronted stables in his past.

RELATED: 5 Alliance Members Who Succeeded In WWE After The Invasion (& 5 Who Flopped)

But alas, Raven was a minor grunt in the group, feuding with Perry Saturn and tagging with Justin Credible on the minor shows.

6 Ivory

Another member of Right to Censor, Ivory had no relationship with WCW or ECW but joined The Alliance anyway. Rather than being relegated to the C and D shows, Ivory stuck around on Raw and SmackDown, hanging out with Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson and managing Lance Storm. When it comes to RTC members in The Alliance, Ivory feels more successful than Stevie Richards. At least she got a title shot at some point during this run, albeit on the pay-per-view where The Alliance was disbanded.

5 Test

While he might have seemed to many fans like some guy who graduated from the WCW Power Plant and became the seventh most important Natural Born Thriller, Test actually debuted in WWE in 1998. Initially, he was not a member of The Alliance, his friendship with Shane McMahon drove the WWE contingent to violently distrust him, driving him into The Alliance’s open arms. And Test ended up being a pretty successful member of the group, too, capturing a couple of Tag Team Titles and the Intercontinental Championship during this run.

4 Christian

Once again, it was weird for guys who got their big break in WWE to join up with The Alliance. But for Christian, it actually kind of worked. At the time, he was still tag team partners with Edge, and his growing jealousy over Edge’s success led Christian to not only turn on him but also join The Alliance in the process.

RELATED: 10 WWE Wrestlers Who Made No Sense In The Alliance During The Invasion

The Alliance aspect might have muddled and overshadowed the impact of this major tag team split, but it was at least a good idea to use the Invasion story to further emphasize the lengths Christian went in betraying his partner.

3 William Regal

The defection of William Regal to The Alliance was a well-timed plot twist, as he was WWE Commissioner and helped leader Steve Austin win back the WWE Championship from Kurt Angle to reveal his true allegiances. It also made sense from a character perspective, because Regal has a past with WCW, having spent most of the 1990s working for that promotion. From there, amidst feuding with Tajiri, Regal even came for the WCW World Title, which was being held by The Rock.

2 The Dudley Boyz

Bubba Ray and D-Von’s WWE debut preceded The Invasion by a couple of years, but that didn’t stop them from joining The Alliance once they arrived. While the WCW portion of the equation struggled in terms of star power, ECW was able to bring in several of its icons, including The Dudleys. As part of the alliance, the two were very active in the tag title scene, eventually winning the WCW Tag Titles and then unifying them with the WWE Tag Belts in a match against The Hardy Boyz at Survivor Series.

1 Steve Austin

Steve Austin’s 2001 heel turn is controversial at best, but his betrayal of WWE for The Alliance made perfect sense for his character. Even while WCW disregarded him in reality, Austin’s heel persona -- an overly demanding prima donna -- and paranoia over Kurt Angle taking his spot drove him to take a leadership position for the enemy. And given that Austin spent years feuding with the boss of WWE, having Stone Cold at the helm of Vince McMahon’s worst nightmare seemed perfect.

NEXT: 5 Great WWE Vs. The Alliance Matches From The Invasion (& 5 That Sucked)