The one issue with Kill The Winner theory and invasive species is that there might not BE any diseases or predators against the invasive in its new home that are effective enough to drop its population, at least not in the normal span. That's the case with, for instance, the brown tree snake, the starling, and many others. It seems likely that invasive species will take far longer for ecosystems to adapt to than local species that found a temporary advantage.
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Admittedly I only read the Kill the Winner theory briefly as a side, and though it does explain in part diversity that otherwise shouldn't be there, I'm sure you're right it doesn't apply to all, it's merely opportunistic for the underdogs
Oh, yeah, definitely- and my objections also only apply in the very short term. (Century scale and less. Anything longer is plenty of time to adapt to any but the most destructive invasive species- humanity, or grass in the late Cretaceous.)