It’s been 25 years since 9/11, and many still remember where they were and who they were with when they saw the attack on the World Trade Center. The United States was in both shock and panic in the days following September 11, 2001, but two days after the events in New York, WWE stepped in and held on. September 13 episode of WWE SmackDown in Houston, Texas, the first public gathering of its size anywhere in the country.
Many WWE Superstars cut promos on that night’s show, including WWE Hall of Famer JBL, who talked about that episode of SmackDown on the latest edition of SmackDown.Something for wrestlingJBL revealed that he was in a hotel room watching the events of 9/11 on the news and the original SmackDown date was cancelled. However, Vince McMahon wanted to do something to bring everyone together, and the event took place on Thursday night.
“Vince made it very clear that nobody should be here, nobody should be a part of the show, you know? JBL said: “What we’re going to do is we’re going to do something for America.”
JBL explained that everyone in WWE knew they couldn’t literally fight back, but they could put on a show not only to entertain people during such turbulent times, but also to show the rest of the country how resilient the United States really is.
“From my point of view and from everybody’s point of view that I talked to, it was our way of saying, ‘We have your back America,’ and that was all,” he said. “We want to do something we believe in. We didn’t know if nobody would show up or if the place would be packed, we had no idea.”
An emotional evening for all involved
For all the powerful promos that nightSmackDown:A moment by WWE stars stood out from the rest. The entire roster was assembled on the ramp, the sold-out audience was on their feet, and the ring announcer Lillian Garcia sang the United States National Anthem. “Star-Spangled Banner”. JBL compared Garcia to Whitney Houston when talking about her singing, stating that he will never forget hearing her sing.
“I’ll remember that until the day I die,” JBL said. “The whole crowd, I mean people were chanting USA, people were crying, people had their flags, it was an incredible moment to be a part of. I mean, it’s something that I am, and I hate to say proud because it was a terrible event and a terrible week, but I’m proud that we were able to do something.”
JBL went on to reveal that he personally called WWE headquarters asking what he could do to help and if he was allowed to go to Ground Zero to help the New York City firefighters and first responders. Vince McMahon liked the idea and organized it, but announced that the entire company had to go with him, which eventually happened, as the NBA team was supposed to go instead, but was scared off after the possible discovery of anthrax at Ground Zero. Once it was confirmed that there was no anthrax on site, JBL and the rest of the WWE roster did their part to help.
“I’m glad I was where I was at that time because I got to be a part of that first mass gathering, and I got to go down to Ground Zero and say ‘Thank you’ to those heroes in person,” he said.
Please credit “Something To Wrestle” when using quotes from this article and give H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
