Greetings y'all,

As I sit here patiently waiting for Smackdown to start, I started thinking back to when I first became a true WWE fan. 

My journey as a fan began when I was nine years old.  It was at the Dunn arena in Elizabeth, NJ.  This was before there were pay per views and the WWE was the driving force in Sports Entertainment.  No, this was during the times of territory wrestling and in the northeast, it was then the WWF, now the WWE. 

My little brother and I were very excited because usually we could only sit down around the tv just waiting for the shows to broadcast on the MSG Network from Madison Square Garden.  So there I was, sitting in the bleachers with my father and brother just waiting for the event to begin. My heart was pounding just waiting.  We sat there with our drinks and then out came Howard Finkel.  That's right, The Fink was the first voice I heard as the event began.  He stood in that ring and announced the first match.  The only name I remember from that first match was The Iron Sheik.  Remember y'all, I'm going back over 30 years.  Time has not been kind to this pixie. lol :-P

But, I digress.

Since that time, my love of the WWE has not waned.  It has only gotten stronger.  I was at Madison Square Garden for the First Wrestlemania.  I remember begging my father to get the pay per views.  I did almost everything I could to make sure we could watch them.  That passion and love for the WWE has only gotten stronger as I get older.

Now, as Summer Slam approaches, my memory takes me back to the Meadowlands as I sat down to watch the biggest part of the summer start its legacy.  All of a sudden I was nine years old again getting ready to watch such greats as Hulk Hogan, The Hart Foundation, The Ultimate Warrior and all the others as the party began.  It did not disappoint.

The Survivor Series will always be one of my favorite pay per views.  I wasn't there to see it live, but had earned enough money to pay my father to watch it on pay per view.  1990 will always be one of my favorites because it was the debut of a very special superstar.  If you know your WWE trivia, you would know that superstar was The Undertaker. 

As the years passed, all I could think while I was working was that I couldn't wait to get home so I could watch RAW and Smackdown.  These two programs changed the face of Sports Entertainment.  Then came one of the most wonderful storylines in Sports Entertainment:  The Monday Night Wars.  This war created one of the most dominant factions I had ever seen:  D-Generation X.  HBK was already a major name in the WWE and with HHH created this exciting, fun faction who stuck their noses in the face of authority.  The "Attitude Era" had truly begun.  DX was not the only factor in the Attitude Era.  There was also a man who created his own era.  That's right, I'm talking about the "Austin Era" as in Stone Cold Steve Austin.  There was also the Rock and the Nation of Domination.

Although the WWE continued to dominate it was not without its share of tragedies.  I was at Madison Square Garden when they tolled the bells for the one and only Andre the Giant.  I remember when they announced before the show started that Andre had died.  As the bells tolled, I remember the tears rolling down my face as one of the superstars I idolized was memorialized that night.  I remember watching the pay per view when Owen Hart died.  Again, the tears rolled down my face as his light was extinguished.  Then I heard the news about "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith.  Then Eddie Guerrero passed away.  On the heels of that was the tragedy of Chris Benoit.  I kept wondering why the superstars I loved so dearly and were so devoted to were dying.  My heart broke every time the WWE lost a superstar.  I felt like I was losing a family member.

You see ladies and gentlemen, these superstars are more than just performers to me.  I consider them family.  And, just like family, you have the people you love, the people you don't want to be around and every now and then the crazy uncle who would do anything to get attention (Thank you Mick Foley).

I would love to hear from all fans, new and old, about their favorite moment of watching the superstars of the WWE.

As always, I wish everyone Love, Luck and Lollipops,

The Peaceful Pixie