Growing up, I wanted to be like Hulk Hogan. I even asked my parents to change my name to Hulk Hogan Trazo. WWE, or WWF, as it was known back then, was my ultimate goal. And after 20 years I finally realised that.
The WWE Raw World Tour in Abu Dhabi fulfilled so many childhood dreams. It's one of those events which you just have to see, hear and feel to believe it.
Zayed Sports City played the perfect host, converting its tennis complex into a wrestling arena. Considering the magnitude of a live WWE debut in the UAE, it could have been held at a larger venue. But as thousands of fans crowded in, it was nice to see the compact setting also made easy viewing for all, even from the cheaper seats.
As cheers for the good guys (called "faces") and jeers for the bad guy (called "heels") echoed through the arena, I couldn't help but feel a rush as I joined in the chants with hundreds of fans from the region. A casual fan might not appreciate it, but for me and the rest of those who chanted loud and proud, the energetic response, it was easy to see, came from years and years of following WWE programming.
Kids and teens are no doubt WWE's biggest consumers, judging from all the John Cena "Rise above hate" and CM Punk "Best in the world" T-shirt wearers I saw.
Just a few rows down from where I sat was 12-year-old Mikel Gomez from Mexico, who was as animated as you would expect seeing a live WWE show for the first time: "I like WWE because it's very exciting to see them fighting and breaking tables and chairs, it is full of action," he said.
Mikel, whose favourite wrestler is John Cena, added: "It was like a dream come true and funnier than watching them on TV, because [of] all the people shouting and cheering."
Wide audience
But perhaps the real reason why WWE is such a worldwide success is because it has a very wide audience.
Pervaiz Khan, 60, a self-confessed passionate WWE fan, came all the way from Pakistan just to watch the show.
"Back in 1983 I used to watch it on a black and white television set. That was the time when coloured televisions were not that common in Pakistan. I remember there were hardly any wrestlers with chiselled bodies, designers' costumes and electrifying entries. Drop kick was supposed to be a finishing move then," he said.
"Wrestling is one thing I can sit and watch not for minutes, not for hours but for days. I got really thrilled after seeing Cena, Punk and Kane just a few metres away but got really mad when the baddie Chris Jericho misbehaved with the audience. I didn't like the fact he kept saying ‘shut up' to the audience. If he had done that back in Pakistan, people would have smacked him down on a RAW night."
The three-day show, however, missed some elements. There were no fireworks and pyrotechnics to start each show, a highlight on the television shows.
The Titantron, the humongous television screen which is a trademark in the other shows, was also nowhere to be found. And where were the Divas? The women of wrestling were noticeably absent.
Still the WWE's debut in the UAE was a win. As Champion CM Punk flew from the top rope, John Cena's intensity ignited the crowd and Santino Marella's comic relief provided laughter while the rest of the superstars hit whatever there was to hit — their finishers, the mat, the floor, the table, the steel chair... choreographed chaos was accomplished.
By the end of the third and final show on Saturday, ring announcer Justin Roberts announced the WWE would be back next year. In the famous words of WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin, I say, "Hell yeah!"
