By Shawn Valentino, Torch specialist

(While I realize that this is a wrestling website, in light of the enormity of Thursday's events and the vast impact they have on the pop culture landscape as a whole, I wanted to depart from the usual topics to share some memories of a man that was arguably the biggest figure in entertainment. And though it may seem hard to believe, his theatrics were also influential in the wrestling world.)

Let us all turn back the clock a few years ... The world's biggest entertainer was scheduled to accept yet another accolade in his unparalleled career ... He was about to receive the award for "Artist of the Generation" at the biggest musical award show in Europe and presenter Bob Geldof gave this glorious description of the legendary figure ...

"He is probably the most famous person on the planet ... He has also sold more records than anybody on the planet and written and produced some of the most glorious music in pop history. From childhood prodigy to adult genius ... when Michael Jackson sings, it is with the voice of angels ... and when his feet move, you can see God dancing."

It was high praise only befitting one whose talent was immeasurable and creativity and showmanship knew no bounds. And yes, he indeed was the artist of a generation ... a man whose voice could angrily bolt a lyric into the ground like lighting or beautifully fold it into a valentine. But Michael was more than just a mere singer, because he had to be seen to be truly believed. His dancing seemed to defy the laws of physics, and when he floated across the stage, his grace and artistry were breathtaking. Sadly, we will never again see that awe-inspiring moonwalk or hear that unmistakable trademark voice that echoed the soundtrack of our lives. Today, the most famous pop culture icon of our generation passed away and I am still in utter shock.

No matter how you feel about the sensational life of Michael Jackson, either as an entertainer or a man, one thing that cannot be denied is that he touched the lives of all us with his immense stature in popular culture over the last few decades. For better or worse, there will never be another like him and his timeless music will not only define an era, but inspire future generations who dare to follow in his formidable footsteps.

Before getting more into the career of the man himself, now let me rewind a few more years to 1985. Some of you may have been toddlers or not even born yet, but for those of you who "reminder the time," I am sure the memories are still vivid. I was not far out of the toddler stage myself at the time, but I still recall begging my dad to buy me the Thriller album that seemingly all of my friends had already scratched to oblivion from listening to on repeat. From the impossibly catchy chorus of "Wanna Be Startin Something" to the dazzling hooks of "Beat It" to the spectacular bass-line of "Billie Jean" to the haunting title track, it was quite simply the album of all albums, a pop culture phenomenon par excellence. And just to illustrate that this was truly a different era, when I mean album, I literally mean fragile, oversized record spinning in that gaudy looking record player that my parents picked up from some garage sale down the street.

When my dad finally brought home that classic piece of musical history, it was a defining moment of my childhood. Like so many of you children of the eighties, I would listen to Thriller endlessly and practice break-dancing in my living room, dreaming of a day I could seemingly walk forwards and backwards at the same time like some Pied Piper dropped onto planet earth, just like my the man himself.

Keep in mind that this was before all of the rumors and the scandals, the controversy and the chaos. This was a time when Michael Jackson not only could be described as cool, but was the very definition of it. He had the entire world in the dazzlingly sequined glove on the palm of his hands. You truly had to experience the height of Michael-mania at its prime to appreciate the baffling level of his popularity and fame. There has never been anything like it, before or since. Even Hulkamania was dwarfed in comparison, despite what revisionist history Hogan may come up with. At the time, Thriller was more than an album but a household staple, like a chair or a kitchen table, and if you did not own it, your heart was not beating with the pulse of pop culture. When Michael first unveiled his signature moonwalk, it rivaled man's first walk on the moon for stunning pop culture imagery.

Jackson was Elvis, the Beatles, Fred Astaire, and Walt Disney seemingly rolled into one staggeringly charismatic package and our generation had an icon we could proudly call our own. Nobody in the history of entertainment combined singing, dancing, songwriting, and theatrics quite like Michael. Just look at the over-the-top production of the WWE and you can see the influence of Jackson's stage shows. Check out the flashy and spectacle of the entrances of people like Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho and you can see that "Thriller" touch. Even "Hall of Famer" Koko B Ware was inspired to wear the shiny white glove as one of the Pretty Young Things. In the eighties, when the spotlight shined down on Michael's bedazzled jackets sparkling on center stage, there was no doubt that we had our eyes on the biggest star in the world.

Sadly, somewhere along the way, things went awry, as it is inevitably bound to when one is world-famous from childhood and reaches a level of stardom that nobody else could even comprehend, yet even as his appearance grew paler and his behavior became stranger, his music still captured the imagination of the globe. And when I mean globe, I truly mean that Michael's unique skills and persona crossed all boundaries of age, race and gender. Coming from someone who has been all over the world, I can testify that he was as famous in remote villages in third world countries as he was in New York and Hollywood.

Just like today's bland wrestlers pale in personality to the charismatic warrior of years past, music has similarly suffered in a downfall of star power. In this day and age of fly-by-night acts and overly produced studio concoctions mechanically belting out generic manufactured beats into hits, it is impossible to compare anybody to the musical juggernaut that was Michael Jackson in his prime. Everybody, young and old, male and female, black and white to everyone in between could appreciate the groundbreaking music and videos that shattered not only barriers but every record in pop music.

My personal favorite album of Michael was not Thriller but Bad and if you go through its playlist, it reads like a greatest hits record all by itself. It was, quite simply, a musical masterpiece, only overshadowed by the earth-rocking success of its predecessor. "Dirty Diana," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "Smooth Criminal," and "Another Part of Me" were all major hits that burst across airwaves across the world. Best of all, however, was "Man in the Mirror," my favorite song of all time, and one that is so emotional that it could generate tears in the most jaded of hearts. I still get a few tears in my eyes every time I listen to it because it is such a heartfelt anthem.

That is what made Michael so special. You could hear his soul and passion in his music and see it on his face when he commanded a stage. There was a reason so many people fainted in his presence, because his aura was so larger than life that his mere presence was an event.

Dangerous was also a startling pop confection that appealed to the entire spectrum of music lovers. Of course, nobody can forget that spectacular debut of "Black or White" when a large percentage of the world's population had their eyes glued to their television screens. Before he revolutionized MTV, music videos were generic stage performances lazily thrust together with cheap camera work and little thought. After Michael's innovative videos like "Thriller" and "Smooth Criminal," his musical mini-movies were greeted with all of the pomp and circumstance of a major Hollywood release.

Songs like "Who Is It," "Remember the Time," "Heal the World," and "Jam" also became seminal songs of my high school years. If you have simply forgotten how amazing he was or have yet to discover the greatness, you simply must have Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous in your musical collection or you are missing some of the most ageless classics in the history of music. Just skip out on the next WWE CD you were so eagerly anticipating and get a hold of some old school Michael.

Of course, Michael's impact cannot merely be measured in his music or videos, but in the way he has been so integrally intertwined with popular culture and our own lives. As Oscar Wilde once said, or was it Vince McMahon? "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." Jackson's persona was so elusive and intriguing that he could not be ignored. Whether he was collecting armloads of awards or dangling babies from hotel windows, his every move created mass hysteria. Whether it was as a genius or a freak show, he was seemingly always a major part of our entertainment experience.

Unfortunately, in the last decade or so, his bizarre antics and creepy behavior reached such an enormous level that even his most ardent followers like myself could do nothing but shake our heads. He had truly become a sad sight and a genuine Hollywood tragedy. When multiple scandals came and went, like Humpty Dumpty, you simply could not put him together again. His music deteriorated into an unlistenable mishmash of sappy ballads and atrocious videogame background style beats. Invincible was such a horrendous collection of trash that even when my car was robbed, the thieves refused to steal it.

Not only did his music suffer, but his appearance began to resemble one of the frightening ghouls from his own revolutionary "Thriller" video. The man who had once inspired awe and emotion so many years ago, mainly incited groans and disgust at the hideous spectacle he had devolved into. I once had an entire room of Michael Jackson memorabilia, from the sparkling glove to the zippered red leather jacket to the Human Nature poster and more. All of it came down just like the stardom of the man himself. I simply could not stand the sight of the man I once idolized self-destruct in front of the eyes of the world. I would once defend Michael in arguments with his detractors utilizing attorney-like debate skills, but eventually I became the one condemning him while others tried to convince me that he still mattered.

Despite all of this, one of my biggest dreams in life was still to see Michael Jackson perform on stage. I have been to seven WrestleManias but never to one of his concerts. About a decade ago, I had the opportunity to meet and shake hands with him when he came to Detroit to promote a potential amusement park venture that came with a bang and went with a whimper like so many of the other projects in the last decade of his life. It was an incredible experience seeing this legendary performer in person, but to truly appreciate him is to see him in concert doing what he does better than any performer in music history. From the unmistakable voice to the magnificent dancing to the incomparable presence, he was truly the quintessential entertainer.

As we all know, a few months ago, Jackson announced that he would do a series of concerts in England which he forebodingly called his "Final Curtain Tour." The fact that over a million people bought tickets to the event in a mere few hours shows how desperate the world is for a star in this world of cookie-cutter artists who can be replaced as easily as toilet paper. Traveling the world is my hobby and if it was about 15 years ago, I would have done anything I could to get a ticket and fly to see the concert. After years of disappointing performances and embarrassing appearances, however, my only reaction to the news of the concert was that there was no chance that it would ever happen.

As recently as last week, I told friends that anybody who bought tickets to that show were setting themselves up for enormous disappointment because there was no way Michael was in any shape to even do one song, much less a series of high-energy performances that would take the toll of one even in his prime. It would be like Ric Flair doing a European tour of matches in his sixties. Wait ... nah ... that would never happen. Secretly, however, I planned on going to the concert if it actually turned out that he could still perform.

Sadly, I turned out to be more right than I could ever imagine, because as of today, Michael Jackson is no longer with us. His concerts were scheduled to begin in a mere few weeks. When my friends began texting me the news, I simply blew it off as another rumor and even laughed that he was just coming up with an excuse to get out of the tour. When I sat and listened to the radio and actually heard the emotional testimonials coming out of the speakers, reality sunk in that the greatest entertainer of all time was gone. Even as someone who was frustrated by the demented sideshow that he had become in his latter years, I struggled to hold back tears, remembering that breathtaking performer that so many of us grew up admiring.

I write this article in realization that there are just as many people out there who were disgusted by the thought of Michael Jackson as there were who were amazed by him. He was a John Cena-like polarizing figure, obviously on a completely other scale on both ends of the spectrum. To all of you, however, I want you to close your eyes and remember all of the special moments that this wonderful instrument of nature provided us. His songs will undoubtedly be played for generations to come and bring smiles to faces everywhere much like they did ours. Like Michelangelo, Mozart, Picasso, Elvis, Sinatra, and Shawn Michaels, despite his flaws, his work will transcend time, and his music and videos will be the benchmark upon which musical greatness will be compared to.

Sit back and remember the time that you painstakingly attempted the moonwalk, or were haunted by the monsters in "Thriller." Remember the time when your friends and family could gather around the television and watch an entertainer that brought out the child in all of us. Most of all, remember the time, when the world danced in unison to his magical beat. And finally, remember June 25, 2009 forever, because it was the day Michael Jackson, King of Pop, passed away, and for an entire generation who followed his every move, it was not the day the music died, because his art will live forever.

Please send questions, comments and feedback to valentino.torch@gmail.com

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