Back when I was about five or six years old, I was sitting in my brothers' bedroom. Their TV was on and, at the time, they had "Monday Night Raw" on. John Cena was on the screen cutting a promo and that's when I got interested. A few nights later, I watched Triple H and Ric Flair get into a pretty brutal match and from then on, I was hooked. When my best friend fell in love with it as much as I did, that made it even better. We would text every Monday about what was going on and every occasional Sunday, we'd have our eyes locked on the screen when a Pay-Per-View was on.
I was fortunate enough that I got to go to a lot of WWE events growing up. The energy that's in an arena when a crowd favorite comes out is phenomenal. Even if you're the one person in a sea of thousands who's cheering on the heel (the bad one), it's an adrenaline rush. If you're close enough to interact with them to some degree, well, it pretty much makes your entire night.
WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment. It is sports entertainment. These men and women are just as athletic, if not more, than a football player, soccer player, or baseball player. They spend hours at a gym and train to be able to do what they do. Their travel schedules alone should be some indication of how much heart you need to have for that business. The athleticism is there. Just because they aren't getting sucker punched in the jaw completely legitimately doesn't mean they can't get hurt or that they don't walk away beaten up every night.
Now, the entertainment part. Don't get me wrong, some wrestlers are stuck in off-the-wall storylines or ones that might not make sense, but regardless, there is a story to follow every week. You see best friends betray each other and get stuck in a feud. You see the underdog battling their way to the top again. You see the babyface (the good one) get frustrated and turn into a heel. These stories keep you invested and it makes it even better when the people involved in them are just as good on the microphone as they are in the ring.
I've gained heroes like AJ Lee, a self-proclaimed nerd of a woman from New Jersey who started from the bottom, lived out her dreams of being a wrestler and is now a best-selling author, and fights the stigma against mental health. Then there's Heath Slater; A Pineville, West Virginia native who chased his dreams of being a wrestler, has been in some of the best stables and tag teams (my personal favorite being him and Justin Gabriel), and now owns a wrestling school where people can go to learn the art that is professional wrestling.
What was once a phase that my parents thought I'd grow out of is now something I'll probably never shake. It's given me something to bond over with everyone from my brother to my best friend, to someone in class who notices me wearing a wrestling shirt. It's given me idols, unforgettable memories, and something to look forward to winding down and watching every single week. For that, I'll be forever grateful.
