AEW, Warrior, Chicago Style Wrestling part of huge weekend in local action
By Mike Pankow
August 15, 2021
Chicago will be the center of the pro wrestling universe this coming weekend.
You can probably say the same thing in another couple of weeks as well when AEW brings All Out as part of a three-show week in the area in the week leading to Labor Day weekend.
Chicago wrestling fans could be bracing for the AEW debut of CM Punk during “The First Dance” show on Friday night, Aug. 20. (Photo: Mike Pankow)
But first, AEW makes a quick stop in the area to present AEW Rampage: “The First Dance” to Chicago’s United Center, where 23,000 fans are expected in what will set a new mark for attendance for the 2½-year-old company on Friday night, Aug. 20.
Signs are pointing toward hometown hero CM Punk’s triumphant return to pro wrestling as part of Tony Khan’s surging AEW troupe during that TV episode of Rampage, which airs live on TNT at 9 p.m. Chicago time.
In last Friday’s Rampage debut in Pittsburgh, Christian Cage defeated Kenny Omega to win the IMPACT Wrestling Championship and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, retained the AEW Women’s Championship against Red Velvet in the main event.
The Chicago edition of Rampage will be the second episode of the new series and if reports and rumors are true, the 42-year-old CM Punk, who hasn’t wrestled a competitive match since WWE’s 2014 Royal Rumble, will make some sort of appearance at the United Center.
After the United Center event, AEW will be back in the Chicago area from Sept. 1-5 for live episodes of Dynamite and Rampage and the All Out pay-per-view at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates with a two-day fan fest running on Sept. 3-4 in Schaumburg.
While AEW promises to set the area on fire, the local independent scene is also smoking with several events scheduled for the weekend.
Warrior Wrestling returns for its final edition of their summer Stadium Series on Saturday night, Aug. 21, at Dave Mattio Field on the campus of Marian Catholic High School in South suburban Chicago Heights.
Sam Adonis will face Jay White at Warrior Wrestlng’s Stadium Series on Saturday, Aug. 21. He will also wrestle for GALLI Lucha Libre on Sunday, Aug. 22. (Photo: Mike Pankow)
One of the top matches features New Japan Pro Wrestling superstar Jay White, making a rare U.S. appearance, facing Warrior staple Sam Adonis, who has performed on nearly every Warrior event since the promotion’s inception in May 2018.
Recent AEW signee Thunder Rosa returns for her second Warrior appearance to challenge Warrior Wrestling Women’s Champion Kylie Rae in what should be an instant classic.
All three of the company’s titles are on the line at the event with Warrior Wrestling Champion Trey Miguel defending against Jake Something and Warrior Lucha Champion Aramis squaring off with Mr. Iguana.
Brian Cage’s GMSI Challenge for the No. 1 contender’s spot for the Warrior Championship features Cage himself against five other competitors, including former IMPACT Wrestling X Division Champion TJP, budding AEW stars Dante Martin and Alan “5” Angels, KC Navarro and Pale Pro Wrestling standout Chandler Hopkins.
The other main card matches are The Dark Order’s Evil Uno vs. Jason Hotch, Beast Man vs. Warhorse, Isaias Velazquez vs. Cole Radrick and AEW’s Marko Stunt vs. Jacksyn Crowley.
Chicago Style Wrestling brings some local flavor back to the American Legion 974 in Franklin Park on Friday night (Aug. 20) with “To Hell and Back.”
Chicago Style Wrestling Champion Filth King Brubaker will team with CJ Esparza against The Burning on Friday, Aug. 20. (Photo: Mike Pankow)
Following CSW Champion Filth King Brubaker’s successful defense against Vic Capri in last month’s epic street fight, he teams with his Central Illinois buddy, CJ Esparza, to take on The Burning’s Nick Cutler and Cypher.
In other key bouts, Acid Jaz and Marshe Rockett will face off in a “3 Stages of Hell” match with Fall 1 being a straight up match, Fall 2 a no-DQ affair and the deciding fall (if necessary) will be “I Quit” rules. Also, Skye Blue will defend her CSW Women’s Championship in a triple-threat ladder match against her rival Heather Reckless and Sierra.
Several other promotions will be running shows on Saturday, Aug. 21, including:
--PWX’s “Disaster In The Pasture” at Cedar Creek Ranch in Cedar Point with a “Cowboy” Bob Orton meet & greet from 1-4 p.m. and a live show at 6 p.m.
--WOWT returns to the Berwyn Eagles Club with “The War Continues” with WOWT Champion Bandolero headlining against Triton. Other bouts include Apolo vs. El Hijo de Canek, a three-way match for the WOWT Chicago Championship with the rising AJ Flyer defending against Justa Mazing and Apolo Jr. and in a match for the WOWT Women’s Championship, Selene Grey faces Shayla Hyde.
--POWW Entertainment begins another two-shot weekend with “Beach Bash” at Morrison Park in Lakemoor with Kyzyle vs. Max Holiday, plus POWW Champion Scott Spade (with Tiny), Pauly Thomaselli, POWW Tag Team Champions IPA and The Revolution (Jimmy Blaze & Eric Freedom).
Shows for Sunday, Aug. 22 include:
--POWW Entertainment’s “Sunday Funday,” an afternoon show at 4 Points Whiskey Saloon and Grill in Medinah, featuring a rematch of Bad Hombre Cartel’s Ruthless Ramon Rodriguez against Joey “The Pitbull” Cece. Other names advertised are Trainwrecker, Kyzyle, Meathooks O’Bannon and Mason Percs.
--GALLI Lucha Libre returns to the Chicago city limits with a show at Thalia Hall in Pilsen. Sam Adonis, Aramis and Mr. Iguana will be coming a day after working with Warrior Wrestling. Cody Jones, Gino Medina, Skye Blue and Paloma Starr are also among those advertised.
Other weekend show news: Due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in LaPorte County (Indiana), the highly-anticipated Chicagoland Championship Wrestling: Worlds Collide show, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 21 in Michigan City, was postponed. … ZOWA Live also will be doing a double-shot weekend with shows in Oregon on Saturday night and in Skokie on Sunday afternoon. WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi will be making appearances at both events. … Lucha Libre Chicago presents a show on Friday night (Aug. 20) at the UAW Local 588 in Chicago Heights.
WWE SummerSlam weekend: In addition to all of the great local action around Chicagoland, it will also be WWE SummerSlam weekend with SummerSlam at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday night (Aug. 21) and NXT TakeOver 36 at Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando on Sunday evening (Aug. 22).
SummerSlam will be headlined by Roman Reigns, who defends his WWE Universal Championship against 16-time world champion John Cena. Bobby Lashley defends his WWE Championship against Goldberg. Seth Rollins faces Edge while Bianca Belair defends the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks in a WrestleMania 37 rematch.
NXT TakeOver 36 features another Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a 2-out-of-3-falls match with each fall having a different stipulation. NXT Champion Karrion Kross defends the title against Samoa Joe. NXT UK Champion Walter faces Ilja Dragunov. NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez takes on her former associate Dakota Kai. LA Knight defends the Million Dollar Championship against Cameron Grimes.
Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week with Chicago-area wrestling guests on Windy City Slam Podcast, part of the Broadcast Basement On-Demand Radio Network. Episodes drop early Tuesday morning wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/.
We are looking for guests to appear on future episodes of the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.
