The Alliance The Alliance ( a . k . a . the WCW / ECW Alliance ) was a professional wrestling stable that lasted from July 2001 until November 2001 . History . The Alliance came about as a result of the World Wrestling Federation ' s purchase of World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) . The Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) name was brought in later to help boost the presence of WCW . The original plan was for the WWF - owned WCW to be a face group , led by Shane McMahon ( who was the storyline owner of WCW ) to go against the heel owner of the WWF , Vince McMahon . During May and June 2001 , wrestlers identified as being " under contract to WCW " ( such as Lance Storm and Hugh Morrus ) " invaded " WWF programming , interfering in matches . The ultimate goal , reportedly , was for WCW to " take over " one of the WWF ' s two primary programs , either " Raw " or " SmackDown ! " , and rebrand it as its own separate entity . To test the waters for this , the final twenty minutes of the July 2 " Raw " telecast was given over to WCW , which brought in its own commentators ( Scott Hudson and Arn Anderson ) , ring announcer ( Stacy Keibler ) , referee ( Nick Patrick ) , ring apron , and Chyron graphics , to present a match between Booker T and Buff Bagwell for Booker ' s WCW Championship . This continued on Smackdown ! , where Gregory Helms defended the WCW Cruiserweight Championship against Billy Kidman and Booker defended the WCW Championship against " Diamond " Dallas Page . However , the Booker / Bagwell title match was very poorly received both by television viewers and the live crowd in the arena , with the two WCW matches receiving a similar reaction . The decision was thus taken to make WCW a heel group . On July 9 on " Raw " , Shane was scheduled to face Page in a street fight . However , the two instead attacked the Undertaker . Later that night saw the return of ECW , where ECW Alumni from both the WWF and WCW , along with the debuting Rob Van Dam & Tommy Dreamer , and " Raw " color - commentator Paul Heyman , announced that " [ the ] invasion has been taken to the extreme ! " Vince and Shane agreed to join forces to take out ECW once and for all in a twenty - man brawl . However , when WCW and ECW faced off in the ring , they instead congratulated each other . It was revealed that ECW , with new owner Stephanie McMahon - Helmsley , had merged with WCW to form a " supergroup " to more effectively challenge the WWF . This combined group was originally known as " WCW / ECW " but the rights to ECW ' s assets ( including the use of its name on - air by the WWF ) were still being debated in bankruptcy court , so the name of the group was shortened to The Coalition and later The Alliance . At " WWF Invasion " , Team WCW / ECW ( Booker T , Diamond Dallas Page , Rhyno , and The Dudley Boyz ) defeated Team WWF ( Stone Cold Steve Austin , The Undertaker , Kane , Kurt Angle , and Chris Jericho ) in a ten - man tag team match billed as the " Inaugural Brawl . " During the match , Austin turned heel and joined the Alliance , helping them score the victory . Over the next few months , the two sides fought back and forth . Except for a few wrestlers ( X - Factor and Christian for example ) , every feud was a WWF wrestler ( s ) versus an Alliance wrestler ( s ) . Ten combined WWF and WCW championships were defended among all the wrestlers in the various feuds . Over time , numerous WWF superstars would defect to the Alliance , including Test , William Regal , and Christian . In October , both sides agreed to end things once and for all . A " Winner Take All " classic Survivor Series elimination match was set for the Survivor Series , with the losing company going out of business forever . In the end , Team WWF ( The Rock , Chris Jericho , the Undertaker , Kane , and Big Show ) defeated Team Alliance ( Steve Austin , Kurt Angle , Rob Van Dam , Booker T , and Shane McMahon ) when Angle turned on Austin , putting The Alliance out of business . Every Alliance member with a championship ( Austin , the Dudley Boyz ( with Stacy Keibler ) , Christian and Van Dam ) , along with Test , who won the " Immunity Battle Royal " , were guaranteed jobs in the WWF . The other Alliance members were officially fired . Some of them would be hired back one by one over the next few months , with the majority of them returning when the Brand Extension began . Finally , the WCW United States and Tag Team Championships were dropped , the Cruiserweight Championship replaced the Light Heavyweight Championship , and the WCW Championship was renamed the World Championship . = Started appearing on WWF television prior to the Invasion storyline . Members of The Alliance . WCW . < br > = Never appeared in WCW prior to WWF ' s purchase . = Was working for WWF prior to the Invasion storyline ECW . < br > = Was working for WCW at the time of collapse < br > = Never appeared / wrestled in ECW < br > = Never appeared / wrestled in WCW or ECW