Despite being a heel, Van Dam was popular with the WWF fans, who were aware of his reputation in ECW. After defeating Jeff Hardy for the WWF Hardcore Championship at Invasion, Van Dam lost the Hardcore title to Hardy on the August 13 episode of "Raw", but regained it at SummerSlam in a ladder match. During this time Van Dam had defeated wrestlers such as Kane, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, The Rock and even Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin in singles and tag team matches. Van Dam became one of the most popular members of the Alliance who faced The Rock for the WCW Championship on multiple occasions, and even challenged Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship including a triple threat match at No Mercy also involving Kurt Angle, but did not win. At Survivor Series on November 18, Van Dam and four other Alliance members faced five WWF wrestlers in a "Winner Take All" match. Team WWF won, and the members of the Alliance were fired; however, as he held the Hardcore Championship, Van Dam was able to retain his job.