Tonight is the much anticipated debut of Raw on Netflix. WWE Monday Night Raw is moving from the USA network to streaming and will be on Netflix for at least the next 5 years. There has been a lot of talk about the history of Raw leading up to this switch and I can’t help but think of my own history with the show.

Raw debuted in January 1993 and I was 14 years old. WrestleMania III in 1987 was what got me watching wrestling, but Raw is what hooked me in. (Also, this is the first time I realized that what started me in wrestling and what started me in comics both happened in 1987.) I watched WWF Superstars on Saturday morning/afternoon every time I could. If the TV was free at night I would catch Prime Time Wrestling here and there. But Raw became appointment television.

Raw was in my life before I started dating, before my first job, before meeting a majority of my friends. Hell, Raw is why I’m friends with a majority of my friends. There was something different about Raw that was more than just a show for casual fans. Raw wasn’t a show that we found while flipping through the channels. Raw was our plans for a Monday night. This was the first sense of community a generation of teenagers experienced.

I used to treat myself to ice cream on Monday nights and ate way too much during an episode. Back when the show was only an hour long. Tuesday morning at school was dedicated to discussion about whatever cool thing happened last night. Wrestling is why I saved up money to have cable installed in my bedroom so I could guarantee I wouldn’t miss an episode. I also had to get a TV, VCR, pay for DVR on the cable box, and have a bookshelf full of VHS tapes. Raw on Netflix will be interesting, because I won’t need a VHS tapes. Many years ago we all knew what time Raw would end and could predict if there’s only a couple minutes left in the show something screwy was about to happen. I didn’t want to see that coming, so I would put a tape in front of the clock on the cable box. I even did this at friends’ homes too.

Friends that I have watched thousands of hours of wrestling with. Most girlfriends of the past have stories of having to sit through wrestling with me. On the one hand, No one has to sit through 10 hours of football on a Sunday, but there’s no off season in wrestling.

There’s been no off season for my love of wrestling either. Sometimes I’m more obsessed than others, but I’ve never not watched. When I lived in California for a summer my friends were nice enough to call me starting at 8 PM eastern time to spoil what happens on Raw, knowing I can’t watch it until 11 EST/8PST.

I watch wrestlers now that probably have parents my age. I’m the age now that the “old washed up” wrestlers were when I started watching. I’ve seen everything G rated to R rated over the years. I’ve laughed, cried, and screamed. I’ve seen every title come and go. I’ve seen wrestlers come and go. I’ve been alone, and I’ve been with thousands. I screamed for debuts and mourned for losses.

Raw isn’t always perfect, but none of us are. Mistakes have been made, but who among us hasn’t made their own? At this point I’ve had more time invested in Raw than at least 95% of other relationships in my life. Raw isn’t TV, Raw is family. With all of the pros and cons of any other family. Like with many family gatherings, part of the time is spent telling stories about previous times. But there are always new memories to be made. I anticipate both tonight and for many more years to come. Many will come and go with me, but I’ll always be there.

Excuse me, I have to go find a VHS. For old time’s sake.