When I was 5 years old, I was introduced to Pro Wrestling. Since that time, I really haven't been able to stop watching it. I have gone through some periods where I didn't catch every show. Dare I say that during those times, WWE lost my interest a little bit. However, through and through I'm still a huge fan of Pro Wrestling.

It's in my blood. My grandfather and uncles would wrestle local shows in Kentucky with greats like Wahoo McDaniels and Harley Race. Though I never got to see them in action, my family tells me it was fantastic. A lot of great wrestlers came through the south, and there is a good bet my grandfather met most of them. Perhaps this is why my family introduced me to wrestling at a young age.

That being said, the 80's were good to me in terms of wrestling. I was a big Hogan fan, and never missed the TV shows. I watched the cartoon "Hulk Hogan's Rockin' Wrestling" and I ate WWF cereal. I had one of those wrestling buddies. You know, the small stuffed doll of your favorite superstar that you could perform wrestling moves on?



Why did I like it so much back then? Sure, it had a lot for a young boy to go for. Violence, cool comic book type heroes, cool moves. But there was certainly other stuff to watch. If you would have asked me then, I would have taken WWF over cartoons any day. Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Superfly Snuka, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Jake the Snake Roberts, "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart. Those guys were better than any cartoon hero.

But why do I still watch it today? Wrestling has had it's low points. Robocop in a WCW cage match, Mae Young giving birth to a boot, Fake Diesel/Ramon, David Arquette the WCW World Title holder... It's had it's high points. Monday Night Wars, Andy Kauffman, Hulkamania, old ECW, just to name a few. Through thick and thin, I mostly always watched. And you know what? I still love it.



I watch today because the wrestlers entertain me. They are so over the top and in your face these days. I like the way wrestling moves have progressed over time, but I like the fact that classic moves are still there too. I like wrestlers like Kurt Angle, Sabu, Edge, Cena, and HHH. Wrestlers that can talk AND fight. I like that some crowds boo favorites (ie. Hogan VS. The Rock). I like hardcore wrestling. I like Vince McMahon. There are simply too many things about the company and their shows that I love to sit here and name them all.

WWE has it's issues, but so does any federation. What is important is that I still find it entertaining after all these years. Some people ask me why I still like it, and there is really no short one-lined answer to that. There are those of us that just watch it. We are wrestling fans. We keep the shows alive by filling the seats. We help the local federations. We respect the wrestlers for the hell they put their bodies through to entertain us. We love wrestling.