Growing up as a wrestling fan is never easy. You go to school with your wrestling t-shirt and feel proud of your favorites but no one really seems to get it and instead makes fun of you for liking a sport that's "fake." Then again, most television shows are scripted and wrestling is no different. However, it takes a special person to enjoy wrestling. The fans are loyal and are extremely passionate. Some of my favorite memories growing up include taco nights with my dad watching Thursday and Friday night Smackdown on the living room floor. However, adulting and going to college made that spark go away until very recently. I fell several pay-per-views behind and did not watch Raw or Smackdown for months at a time. You might be thinking "well you're just growing up" when that is certainly not what happened. Today, I am sharing with you ten moments and wrestlers that reignited the passion that I have for wrestling. Spoiler alert for those who haven't caught up with Wrestlemania or Raw or Smackdown from this past week. Just throwing that out there.

1. WWE NXT

If you have been a fan as long as I have, you might remember the - extremely corny yet entertaining - NXT that was originally a competition. However, since 2012, that has completely changed. If you don't believe me, the NXT Takeover pay-per-views on the WWE Network are reason enough to get interested in NXT. The first Takeover show I watched was right before classes started last summer when they had their second show in Brooklyn, NY. I was so blown away that I knew I had to play catch up with NXT which is still on going. I was shocked to see familiar faces including Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode from Impact Wrestling, but it was really cool to discover new wrestlers such as Ember Moon, Asuka, and probably one of my new favorites, Shinsuke Nakamura. The main event alone was worth it just seeing how much the fans got into it.

2. Return of the Cruiserweight Division

Yes, I am equally surprised as you are that this division made a return. I saw there was a 32 person tournament from last summer on the WWE Network and I think I watched the entire thing in like a week. It was just that good. With interesting high-flying and technical action, the new and improved division makes my 10-year-old self super happy. I grew up in love with the crusierweights because it proved that you didn't have to be a big beefy wrestler to succeed.

3. The Women's Revolution

The moment they changed the name from "Divas division" to "Women's division," I was probably screaming at my television set in a positive way. All of the women have just as much talent as the superstars in the back and I was excited to see both shows have divisions. The quality of matches are much better than what we were used to seeing - often the bathroom break matches- and it just makes me excited as a female myself to see them get a good amount of air time. They deserve the spotlight more, but I will take what I can get.

4. Wrestlemania 33

This year's Wrestlemania was certainly one to remember and considerably much better than the last year or two. Well, at least until the Lesnar and Goldberg match. Honestly, it did not work at Wrestlemania 20. Why would it work now? Anyway, tangent over with. We saw multiple women's divsion matches, an awesome tag team title match, a solid non-sanctioned match between Seth Rollins and Triple H, along with a really emotional ending where the Undertaker lost his second Wrestlemania match speculating his retirement. I grew up watching the Undertaker as did many wrestling fans. Definitely a lot of good moments to outweigh the one or two crap matches.

5. The Return of The Hardys

They're one of wresting's overall greatest tag teams. As soon as their music hit, I'm pretty sure I was screaming to the point where someone almost knocked on our door. Just having them back will make the tag team division even better than it already is. They are just that exciting of a tag team. If they are not in WWE's Hall of Fame at some point, I will be incredibly salty to say the least. Their return is just that cool.

6. Upcoming Women's Tournament

It was recently announced that there will be a 32-person women's tournament this upcoming summer just like how there was for the cruiserweight division last summer. 32 talented women from 16 different countries? Definitely exciting stuff.

7. Lucha Underground

Completely unrelated to WWE, I accidentally stumbled across Lucha Underground, a recent and new company to the world of wrestling on Netflix. As a fan of cruiserweight, high-flying, and technical wrestling, I was hooked from the first episode. There are some names I recognized, but the refreshing lucha libre style is certainly memorable. The promos feel realistic and gritty which is refreshing. Seriously, it's really cool stuff if you want some exposure to wrestling and only have Netflix. I'm still in season 1, but it's totally worth the journey.

8. Finn Balor's Return

Last summer, I was starting to catch up with NXT and wrestling in general when this wrestler was drafted to Monday Night Raw. I had no clue who he was so I started to watch some of the matches recommended by fans on Twitter and I was hooked. During his short time on Raw due to injury, I enjoyed his feud with Seth Rollins - another personal favorite - and thought it was refreshing to have Balor become the first Universal Champion at Summerslam. I was curious and because of him - and his injury - I started going back to watch NXT and understood why a lot of fans really enjoy him in the ring. I was so excited to see him return this past Monday on Raw as Rollins' tag team partner and I really hope to see him in the title picture soon considering he never really lost it. He's just a really cool wrestler.

9. Shinsuke Nakamura's Smackdown Debut

While I continue my journey in getting caught up with WWE NXT, I discovered Nakamura along the way and I was blown away immediately. His wrestling style is very unique and he exudes charisma. His debut on Smackdown was incredibly mind-blowing as he did not even have to say a word and the fans were already behind him. Seriously, it was just that awesome.

10. Brand Extension

Ever since WWE split the brands apart for the first time in a few years, I knew that it was going to be interesting again. Maybe aside from Raw still being three hours along. It is awesome to see the completely different storylines and matches that are produced from each show instead of the same-old matches before the brand split. It allows for new wrestlers and NXT stars to make a name for themselves and have exclusive championships and divisions.

Overall, the last couple of months have been especially memorable for me as a wrestling fan. I let adulting and college get in the way of something I am truly passionate about and I simply refuse to let that happen again. I'm a wrestling nerd at heart and not ashamed about it. With new wrestlers, divisions, and shows, I can honestly say I have not been this excited for the future of wrestling. I am proud to be a wrestling fan.