{"id":83226,"date":"2021-01-26T16:00:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T21:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=83226"},"modified":"2021-01-26T17:44:02","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T22:44:02","slug":"wrestling-meccas-the-allstate-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/01\/26\/wrestling-meccas-the-allstate-arena\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling Meccas: The Allstate Arena"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wrestling Meccas is a series of features at Last Word on Pro Wrestling that looks at the history of some of professional wrestling\u2019s most iconic venues, from large stadiums to small indie havens. Today we head to the Chicago suburb of Rosemont to look at the Allstate Arena.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Allstate Arena is frequently home to some of the most vocal crowds in the WWE<\/strong>. A regular stop on the WWE touring circuit, the arena is frequently home to SmackDown<\/strong>, RAW<\/strong>, and WWE pay-per-view events. The arena has been home to some of the most famous moments in WWE history, including multiple WrestleMania<\/em><\/strong>s, NXT TakeOver<\/em><\/strong>s, the infamous CM Punk<\/strong> vs. John<\/strong> Cena<\/strong> match, and the debut of Chris Jericho<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

WrestleMania<\/em> at the Allstate Arena<\/h2>\n

WrestleMania 2<\/em><\/h3>\n

The Allstate is the only venue outside of Madison Square Garden<\/a> to host three WrestleMania<\/em>. The WrestleMania<\/em> journey for the Allstate started in 1986 with WrestleMania 2<\/em>. The Allstate held the second portion of WrestleMania 2<\/em>, main-evented by The British Bulldogs<\/strong> with Lou Albano<\/strong> and Ozzy Osbourne<\/strong> defeating The Dream Team<\/strong> with Johnny Valient<\/strong>. Other notable matches included The Fabolous Moolah<\/strong> retaining the WWF Women’s Championship against Velvet McIntyre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Confessions<\/p>\n

WrestleMania 13<\/em><\/h3>\n

The second WrestleMania<\/em> hosted by the Allstate was WrestleMania 13<\/em> in 1997. This was headlined by the Undertaker<\/strong> vs. Sycho Sid <\/strong>in a No DQ Match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Bret Hart<\/strong> became involved in the match, insulting Sid and Shawn Michaels<\/strong> who was on commentary. Sid powerbombed Hart but the distraction allowed Undertaker to pick up the victory and become the new champion! Bret turned heel that night as part of a double turn with Stone Cold Steve Austin.\u00a0<\/strong>The two brawled all over the Allstate Arena in a submission match that ended in Hart refusing to break the sharpshooter even after special guest referee Ken Shamrock<\/strong> had ended the match. Hart refusing to release the hold on a defeated Austin caused a double turn for the characters.<\/p>\n

WrestleMania 22<\/em><\/h3>\n

The final WrestleMania hosted by the Allstate was WrestleMania 22.\u00a0<\/em>This was the final Wrestlemania<\/em> to be held in an arena; starting with Wrestlemania 23<\/em>, the event moved to Ford Field and has remained in stadiums ever since. This show was main-evented by John Cena and Triple H<\/strong> for the WWE Championship. Other notable bouts included Edge<\/strong> vs. Mick Foley<\/strong> in a hardcore match and Rey Mysterio<\/strong> defeating Randy Orton<\/strong> and Kurt<\/strong> Angle<\/strong> to become the World Heavyweight Champion. CM Punk played a role as an extra for John Cena’s entrance. He went on to make his own moment in the Allstate in the “Pipebomb Match”<\/p>\n