10 Matches That Made Chicago The Hottest Wrestling City In The World

7. Batista Vs The Great Khali (No Mercy 2007)

Cm Punk Stars
WWE

The second (and as of writing, last) Punjabi Prison match at least played host to the performer the gimmick was devised for.

Having failed a wellness test for elevated liver enzymes during the build-up to his match with The Undertaker months earlier, The Great Khali was unable to decimate 'The Deadman' in his bamboo cage of fear, but his final World Title battle with Batista would give him opportunity to enact more head-squashing destruction as he aimed to reclaim his title.

Of course, little of that occurred, but it didn't stop the vocal Chicago crowd from showing unusual patience with the extremely limited giant. The match carried a surprising amount of tension and athleticism, with the remarkably invested crowd seemingly spurring the two on to a gripping final third.

With all doors shut on the 'inner structure', the two engaged in an epic climbing race out of both cages. Khali was first out, meaning he merely had scale the 20-foot outer structure to win the title.

Batista was a long way behind as the tension built, but dramatically overtook Khali with a majestic leap to the outer-cage and sped past him on the final descent to keep his title.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett