Fans Chant "CM Punk", "F*** The Elite" On AEW Dynamite

Last night's AEW Dynamite benefit from one of the best wrestling crowds of the year in Chicago, Illinois.

How the city would react to The Elite was one of the most interesting things about Dynamite heading into it, given the extent of their issues with hometown hero CM Punk. Punk remains sidelined (and seemingly in negotiations over a contract buyout) in AEW after brawling with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks post-All Out, leading to indefinite suspensions and Ace Steel's release.

This was the first time AEW had hit Chicago, where Punk always received a thunderous reception, since the incident - and The Elite vs. Death Triangle was on the card. A powderkeg was guaranteed.

"F*** The Elite!" chants came out as soon as Omega and the Bucks hit the mirroring, flipping Full Gear 2022, where it was "F*** CM Punk!". Then followed the dreaded "CM Punk" chants, formerly the bane of WWE shows, but the audience's loyalties were split. Mixed in all of this were pro-Elite songs, proving that Kenny and the Bucks haven't been burned in Punk's hometown.

Later, the "F*** CM Punk!" chants from Full Gear came back out. Kenny and the Bucks played up to all of it throughout, constantly referencing the All Out brawl in their performance, with Omega going as far as biting PAC's arm a la Steel.

This was not a crowd going rogue but one fully invested in the action, enjoying themselves, having fun, and rolling with the match unfolding before them. At one point, they were forced to break the facade of tribalism and serenade the wrestlers with "This is awesome!", such was the quality of the action - and the crowd control.