10 Biggest Wrestling Hometown Pops EVER
1. CM Punk In Chicago - AEW Rampage: The First Dance
There are few wrestlers quite so evenly divisive as CM Punk. On the one hand, some fans simply can’t see the appeal of the man’s work, style and are turned off by his demeanour that can sometimes charitably be described as sour.
But those that love him, love him. And, again, Chicago has made their devotion to the Voice of the Voiceless known to such a degree that it was impossible not to include two specific moments on this list.
After spectacularly burning his bridges with WWE and going into relative hiding, it felt like a CM Punk return would feasibly never happen. In 2021 the rumour mill began to turn and even as AEW named an August edition of Rampage “The First Dance”, itself a Chicago reference to spell things out, there was still a certain degree of apprehension that it was actually happening.
Cue a pop that was one part excitement and part a collective sigh of relief as the Second City Saint finally walked back onto the ramp.
An emotional Punk and home crowd made that moment something incredibly special. It felt like time stopped as the crowd hung on his every word. Though the future of the Chicago native is still a mystery, his return to wrestling has become one of the most unifying moments in history.