Chicago has also hosted major professional wrestling matches, including WrestleMania 22, and several other pay-per-view events, such as Money in the Bank in 2011, Extreme Rules in 2012, and WWE Payback in 2013. The northwest suburb of Hoffman Estates hosted All In in 2018, the first U.S. wrestling event not sponsored by WWE or the now-defunct WCW in 25 years to have sold more than 10,000 tickets. This event was the springboard for the creation of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) several months later. AEW would run two historically significant shows in the Chicago area in 2021. The first, The First Dance, was held at the United Center on August 20. During this show, CM Punk debuted for AEW, marking his first appearance as an active wrestler since his acrimonious departure from WWE in 2014. Then, during Labor Day weekend on September 5, the All Out pay-per-view saw AEW visit the same Hoffman Estates venue that had hosted All In. During this event, Punk wrestled his first match since his WWE departure, defeating Darby Allin. At the time, All Out was the most-purchased AEW PPV, and according to veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer was the most-bought non-WWE professional wrestling PPV in history.
