10 Matches That Made Chicago The Hottest Wrestling City In The World
6. CM Punk Vs Chris Jericho (Payback 2013)
Paying tribute to their favourite wrestling son for the last time in WWE mere months before his unceremonious exit, the Allstate Arena crowd showered CM Punk with adoration upon his accelerated return to competition in 2013.
Having walked off set following his loss to The Undertaker at WrestleMania, Punk took time off in real life to heal the multitude of injuries he'd sustained during his bruising 434-day reign as WWE Champion.
As he'd later reveal, he'd originally had no intention of returning as soon as June, but ultimately acquiesced at the behest of the company (and possibly his own ego) as they approached the traditionally electric venue without a bonafide main event.
Decked out in Chicago Blackhawks-inspired gear, Punk steered into the emotion for the night, ostensibly taking his final re-fuelling from the explosive Chicago atmosphere.
Though his match with Chris Jericho was underwhelming, everything else surrounding Punk's return home highlighted how successful the company had been in marketing the relationship between the 'Straight Edge Superstar' and his native audience.
Like Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith before him, Punk had a developed an unbreakable rapport with his loyalists to such an extent that the kinship would carry every aspect of the presentation more so than just about anything after the bell.