In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the sports and entertainment worlds were put in limbo. Television networks held off on airing shows originally scheduled to debut to make way for news coverage. Major League Baseball paused the season. The National Football League delayed their Week 2 games. Around the country, large gatherings were cancelled or postponed out of fear.
On Sept. 10, a Monday, the World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday Night Raw flagship show had just wrapped up a taping in San Antonio. The next day, the WWE was set to tape an episode of its SmackDown program in Houston. WWE performers, writers and executives arrived in Houston the evening before. During a morning planning meeting for the night’s taping, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north face of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Legendary wrestler and Houston native Booker T Huffman Jr. was scheduled to perform in a singles match against The Big Show that night. Booker remembers preparing for the match at home that morning. He turned on the television and brewed coffee, and he couldn’t believe what he was watching.
“I was watching CNN and the first tower was getting hit,” Booker told Chron on Thursday. “I actually thought it was some kind of video game or something.”
Booker woke up a friend, referee Nick Patrick, that was crashing at his home. Both returned to the living room just in time to see United Airlines 175 hit the South Tower. Standing in Booker’s living room, their minds were as far from Houston as possible.
“We didn’t know what to think. We weren’t thinking about wrestling or anything like that,” Booker recalled. “We were just thinking about the world and what New York was going through at that time.”
With news channels covering the fallout ‘round the clock and most major events cancelled for the day, a SmackDown taping was out of the question. But after deliberations with government officials and then-Houston Mayor Lee Brown, WWE founder and CEO Vince McMahon gave the taping the go-ahead for Thursday. SmackDown would go live just two days after the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, on Sept. 13, 2001 at the then-Compaq Center. In a documentary about the event, McMahon called it “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made.”
Booker and his fellow performers believed it was important to give Americans a respite from tragedy, a dose of normalcy.
“We always say the show must go on. We can’t not go out and do our jobs and give the fans what they expect,” Booker said. “But more importantly, I think the world needed a break from what was going on.”
“One of the best shows I had ever been a part of.”
The Sept. 13 SmackDown would give Houston the distinction of hosting the first major sporting event since 9/11 and one of the first massive public gatherings since the attacks. SmackDown broadcaster UPN became the first major television network to resume regular programming. The show became decidedly Houston. The WWE enlisted the help of local mattress mogul Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who got his start running commercials during wrestling on television in the Houston area, to promote the show. McMahon’s rousing speech before the match put Houston at the heart of the event.
“Tonight, the spirit of America lives here in Houston, Texas,” McMahon said as a sold out crowd chanted “U-S-A!” Though Booker recalled wondering if enough time had passed to “put our tights on and have a wrestling match,” he ultimately believes having the match was the right call.
“It was a really tough question,” Booker said. “But I think we got the right answer by going forward and not bowing down to tyranny and some would-be dictators.”
Though Houston is home for Booker, he said that his mind was really in New York during SmackDown. Several of his fellow wrestlers were native New Yorkers worried about friends and family back in the city.
“Those guys are really feeling it,” Booker recalled. “We had our hearts open for everybody and what they were going through more than anything.”
It was decided that the storylines would be put on hold for the show. Lilian Garcia sang the national anthem, and superstars offered their condolences and their thoughts on the attacks. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson implored Americans to “stay strong.” The program ended up not being about wrestling, but about resilience. Twenty-five years later, the post-9/11 SmackDown episode stays with Booker.
“It wasn’t about anything other than going out there and giving the people a break for a moment just to see that the world is still gonna go on. We’re not gonna stop doing what we’re doing,” Booker said. “I think it was literally one of the best shows I had ever been a part of.”
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This article originally published at ‘The show must go on’: When WWE put America’s eyes on Houston after 9/11.