Hello WWE Universe!

This is the first of a new weekly feature on my blog, called "The Weekender", which will give you, the soon-to-be quarter of a million members of WWE Universe, the upcoming weeks' events on WWE Universe, as well as some humor, thoughts and insights on the latest happenings online and in the world around us.

Let's kick it off, shall we?

1) TRIBUTE TO THE TROOPS: A huge success!

If you've been reading all the Superstars blogs here on Universe from the frontlines, you've known that WWE is on its way home from Iraq after a very successful Tribute to the Troops mission. Our show yesterday for 5,000 servicemen and women in Baghdad was an experience to remember for all those involved.

A special thank you goes out to our men and women in uniform and their families for all they do and sacrifice to keep us safe and free. And thank you to all the WWE volunteers that traveled thousands of miles to bring a slice of Americana to our military for the holidays.

The WWE Tribute to the Troops special airs Saturday, Dec. 20 at 9 p.m. ET. And of course, WWE Universe will be holding a Live Blog online as the special airs.

2) THE SLAMMY AWARDS: Red carpet Live Blog Monday night!

The Slammy Awards return to TV for the first time in 10 years (last broadcast in 1997) this Monday night as part of a special 3-hour Monday Night Raw from Philadelphia, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

However, the coverage starts on WWE Universe at 7 p.m., with our special Slammy Awards "Red Carpet" Live Blog preview show, with myself and the one-and-only Howard Finkel, bringing you all the categories and nominees, with our predictions on who's taking home the cherished trophies.

Set up an e-mail reminder for yourself in the box below:

And of course, in the meantime, you can talk about who YOU think should take home the gold in the Slammy Award Forums.

3) ARMAGEDDON LIVE BLOG: Your Secret Santino?

One of the office traditions at WWE.com HQ is our "Secret Santino" gift exchange -- our unique twist on Secret Santa.

But who will be the special Superstar Q&A guest at Armageddon in Buffalo, N.Y.? Well, that's YOUR "Secret Santa" surprise.

The Armageddon Live Blog kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 14, with our surprise guest and many more WWE Superstars throughout the event, bringing you live results and commentary.

Then the next night, Raw MEGA MONDAY returns to the Live Blog from my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., with more Superstar guests during our live Raw coverage! It's a back-to-back Live Blog bonanza!

That's all for me... Stay classy WWE Universe! See you next week on the Slammys Live Blog!

Just a side note: There will be no Raw Live Blog on Dec. 29, as the WWE Universe team enjoys their holiday vacation. The Raw Live Blog will return Jan. 5, 2009.