10 Moments That Cemented Your Love For Professional Wrestling

Vince McMahon, as poor a booker as he may be, took a credible risk in September 2001 that can never be frowned upon.

In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Vince essentially said f*ck terrorism, producing the wackiest Vince McMahon being Vince McMahon moment as he pushed forward for the then-World Wrestling Federation to host America's first major gathering post-attack.

Because of course he f*cking did.

It worked incredibly, however. For this night, storylines weren't key to the show. The Invasion storyline was effectively swept aside to respond to a legitimate invasion. Lilian Garcia's rendition of America The Beautiful was tear-jerking. Kurt Angle being victorious in the night's main event vs. Rhyno - and subsequently lifting the WWF Title mere weeks later - was a fitting final note. The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin were tasked with producing the off-air dark match, something that the promotion wasn't making full use of by this stage. Instead, it served as a treat for those in attendance.

You need only watch the opening ten minutes of this SmackDown episode to comprehend why professional wrestling brings with it such raw emotion. It is an escape route. This is why pro wrestling is often defined as a bug; you can't rid yourself of it once you've witnessed these moments of euphoria.

Stephanie McMahon probably shouldn't have compared 9/11 to the WWE steroid trial of the '90s, though. And by "probably" we mean "definitely". Her comments remain a black mark on this show.