Great moments in Chicago wrestling history: photos
From Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt to Cena vs. Lesnar, see images from some of the greatest matches in the rich history of Chicago wrestling.
The Chicago wrestling scene received a boost in the early 1900s by hosting a premier matchup: "Russian Lion" George Hackenschmidt vs. Frank Gotch.
Tickets for their Sept. 4, 1911 bout, held at Comiskey Park, ranged between $1 and $10. It drew a live gate of more than $87,000, wrestling's biggest gate up to that point.
Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher helped define Chicago's rough-and-tumble ring style. Their unorthodox workout regimen purportedly consisted of lugging beer kegs up and down Halsted Street.
On the other end of the stylistic spectrum were Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair, who twice competed against each other in pay-per-view main events held in Chi-Town.
Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton served as Razor Ramon's corner man at SummerSlam 1994. The event was billed as the then-nascent United Center's first event.
Payton helped to neutralize Shawn Michaels, who was in the corner of Ramon's opponent, Diesel.
SummerSlam 1994 was also the site Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart inside a steel cage.
