“Tonight, the spirit of America lives here in Houston, Texas!” exclaimed an equally spirited Vince McMahon inside the Compaq Center, on an evening that cannot be properly described through mere analysis, synopsis or conjecture. This evening, the 108th installment of SmackDown, was so much more than the weekly struggle between heroes and villains, icons and upstarts, or at the time, WWE’s ongoing rivalry against the WCW-ECW Alliance. For the Superstars, the fans in attendance, and the millions watching at home, this evening was a rare instance when a television program intended not just to entertain, but to help heal.

This evening was September 13, 2001…two days after horrific acts of terrorism claimed the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children, threatened America’s capital, and laid waste to New York City’s World Trade Center.

“…I was actually contemplating whether or not doing this show was the right thing to do. But…our job is to bring smiles to the faces of all your families. And if we can do that, then we’ve done our jobs. This can’t be forgotten. It shouldn’t be forgotten. It never will be forgotten. But if we can do that, then this show was the right thing to do.”
--Edge

“…To everyone out there…to the families and friends of the victims, and everyone involved…just stay strong. Stay strong.”
--The Rock

Extending condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, McMahon spoke not as the billionaire Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, but as a man who loved and grieved with his country. “Our nation’s leaders have encouraged us to return to living our lives the way we normally do,” he continued, “to continue to live our lives the American way. They’ve encouraged us to practice and to exercise our Constitutional rights. And as such, tonight I believe is the first public assembly of its size since the tragedy of Tuesday…. Make no mistake about the message this public assembly is sending to terrorism tonight. And that message, quite simply, is that we will not live our lives in fear.”

“…If there’s one thing that we’ve learned from this, it’s that we never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, in the next five minutes, in the next 10 minutes. And maybe, above all else, maybe tonight hug your loved one a little bit harder, or give him or her an extra kiss. Be a little bit nicer to a stranger on the street…a little bit more gentle…. Our fate and our destiny lies in our hands now.”
--Chris Jericho

“I’d like to pay respects to all the firemen, and all those who went out of their way to help their fellow man—not just their fellow American, but their fellow human. Because the people that did this, in my opinion…they’re less than human. And the people that help and try to fight against it, they prove to the world that we’re more than that.”
--Gregory “Hurricane” Helms

Amid deafening “U-S-A!” chants throughout the Compaq Center, McMahon declared that America’s citizens were “a proud people—proud of who we are, proud of our nation and damn proud to be Americans. And we. Will. Fight. We will fight for our families. We will fight for our rights. And we will fight for our great nation. America’s heart has been wounded…but her spirit shines as a beacon of freedom. A beacon of freedom that has never been, and never will be, extinguished.”

“…We’re running this show tonight because we’re going to show you that you cannot break—you cannot even bend the fiber, the backbone of the United States of America…. There are going to be some critics that wonder why we run this show. I want to make this perfectly clear: Go to Hell. We’re doing this show because we love America. This is all we have to give for you tonight, is this evening.”
--JBL

“…We have to mourn the losses of the people that we knew, but we have to get the gears rollin’ again. That’s what we’re here to do tonight. What happened this past Tuesday was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and I hope that I never, ever see anything like this again—except to the people who did this…. They deserve a payback, and they deserve exactly what they have comin’.”
--“Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Following McMahon’s rousing words, WWE, WCW and ECW Superstars—many of them waving small, tear-stained U.S. flags—gathered on the SmackDown stage and stood with WWE fans for Lilian Garcia’s emotionally poignant rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” For the next two hours, the Superstars would not only pay tribute to America’s fallen by entertaining in the squared circle (at a time when all sporting events and concerts were cancelled for the foreseeable future), they’d share their feelings through personal, heartfelt testimonials. After more than 48 hours of having nothing but tragedy unfold before their very eyes, America’s television viewers discovered a source of strength, support and hope. It is through these Superstars’ efforts, and some of the testimonials included here, that WWE.com is honored and privileged to remember the night of September 13, 2001, as the No. 1 Most Memorable Moment in SmackDown History.