Triple H, accompanied by Chyna, defeated Mankind for the Heavyweight Championship during “WWF RAW is WAR” on Aug. 23, 1999. This may not matter to anyone unless they were in the crowd that night at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

Monday, the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines will host the return of pro-wrestling to Iowa with a live special edition of “WWE Monday Night Raw” hosted by Jerry Springer.

Nick Cash, junior in liberal studies, was at the show in Ames more than 10 years ago. Cash said his relatives had turned him on to professional wrestling when he was only 3 years old.

“I went to Monday Night Raw the summer before fifth grade, I was so excited,” Cash said.

He admited that event was where he realized it was indeed fake.

“After I saw it live for the first time, I guess camera angles can hide things that are all too plain to see in real life,” Cash said. “It was still a lot of fun seeing all the wrestlers I had watched growing up in person.”

Whether it’s referred to as a form of theater or as WWE CEO Vincent K. McMahon coined it, “sports entertainment,” the choreographed aspect hasn’t turned off all fans.

“I am currently hooked on trying to see how well I can predict the booking of the matches and the storyline progression,” said Grant Parker, open option sophomore. “I also still enjoy the physical aspect of it. Even though the outcomes are predetermined, these guys are still pretty amazing athletes.”

The WWE absorbed its greatest competition in 2001 with World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2003.

Despite what might be thought of the unrealistic aspects of the industry, it has produced a number of household names, from icons Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant to former Minnesota Gov. Jesse “The Body” Ventura.

Wrestling has spawned acting careers for wrestlers such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The WWE has been able to capture the attention of countless children and adult fans alike for decades.

“My best friend had several three-hour Pay-Per-View events recorded on VHS,” said Dustin Murrell, senior in religious studies. “We watched three or four of them back-to-back-to-back one weekend and I was hooked for life.”

Murrell, who will make it to his fourth WWE Wrestlemania event in March, said while growing up his friends were interested in wrestling, but not to his extent.

Some names have changed, such as the World Wresting Federation changing to World Wrestling Entertainment after the World Wildlife Fund challenged them. Yet, big stars like Triple H and The Big Show remain, and other large names from Bret Hart to Shawn Michaels have returned to the WWE.

Just like 10 years ago, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff lead a rival wrestling company with TNA, founded by guitar-smashing wrestler Jeff Jarrett.

Murrell’s analysis is that it’s a “very cyclical industry and they change their target audience, I would say, every seven to 10 years. For a while, they will target a much younger audience and then, as those kids grow up, the content changes to keep their interest.”

The WWE has ventured into music, movies, books, comics, restaurants and spawned its own smaller wrestling brands such as the rebirth of ECW and the creation of Florida Championship Wrestling.

After a the death of wrestling star Eddie Guerrero and a highly public double murder-suicide by a former WWE star Chris Benoit, the company has been under investigation by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform amidst rumors of past drug and steroid use.

For those unable to make it to the Monday event, it will be broadcast live on the USA cable network.