As you are scrolling through Instagram, you see a post that puts the biggest smile on your face, makes your heart beat faster, and makes you feel electrifying… WWE is coming to
Chicago!
WWE RAW came to Chicago’s AllState Arena this past March 25, 2024, in order to promote their biggest stars, such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, in front of one of the best crowds in the country before Wrestlemania 40.
For many fans, WWE is not just a sport or an entertainment, it’s a lifestyle. West Leyden High School Senior, Angel Perez, talks about his life being a fan of WWE, “I started watching wrestling when I was about 3-4 years old. My brother always had it on the TV and would make me watch it with him, but I eventually started to fall in love with it and would watch it without him.” He also mentioned that “WWE has allowed me to establish friendships with people I never thought I would be friends with. It has also impacted my life by having a good reason to just sit down and relax and watch entertaining matches.”
The RAW episode of March 25, 2024 in Chicago, had 1,729,000 viewers worldwide, making it one of the best/most viewed RAW episodes in recent times. Angel talks about his experience at the show as he rates it “5 Stars out of 5. I mean, it was labeled one of the best RAWs in a very long time. It’s self explanatory”. He also claims that this wouldn’t have been possible without “the crowd who is very loud and electric the whole time so it is most definitely a must watch every time they come to Chicago”.
Another reason this show was so successful was because it was the first show to really make an unofficial transition into a non-PG product. The show also had many surprises such as “Cody Rhodes backstage fight with the Rock, CM Punk returning, and The Rock’s surprise entrance”, said Angel. West Leyden Sophomore, Juan Velasquez, shares similar thoughts on the show as he tells us about his experience, “I would give the rating of the show an 8 out of 10. I loved when The Rock made a surprise appearance.” Juan also mentioned how he started watching “since I was three or too young to even remember”, and also how “WWE has impacted my life by giving me something else to look forward to whether that’s going to their shows or just watching them weekly”.
Finally, we asked both students some words they would give to WWE to convince them to bring Wrestlemania to Chicago. Angel said, “I would tell them about the new projects over Soldier Field that will be done in 3 years. It will have a dome and will have over 50k seats so it would be perfect for a Wrestlemania.”, while Juan said, “ I would tell them to think of the crowd and how many viewers they would get if the audience knew it was taking place in Chicago. It’s also about time Chicago has their mania.”
Some may see this as a show for entertainment, while others see it as a reason to live. No matter which side you’re on, you’re always in for a ride when you watch WWE.