5 times AEW did right by hometown heroes

AEW has become the first competitive wrestling promotion to WWE in well over two decades. They have done this in various ways, from having a diverse roster of established talent and rising stars to weekly compelling storylines and matches to breaking some of the norms of the genre of the past few decades. One of those norms is the treatment of competitors in their hometown.

WWE has made it a trend over the past two decades to not capitalize on hometown receptions for its superstars. Men and women usually come out to huge pops by their hometown faithful, only to lose in crushing outcomes that doesn't help elevate their superstars. Not only do they lose, but sometimes there is even further embarrassment that feels like they are punished for being from the city.

All Elite Wrestling has been changing this trend and has allowed their stars to flourish in front of their hometowns. Sometimes they have even gone above and beyond to make a lower card talent feel like a main eventer in their home city or state. In this article, let's take a look at the five hometown stars that AEW has done right by.

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5) Brian Pillman Jr. on AEW Rampage - Cincinnati, Ohio

Since AEW's return to live touring, they have visited several of their star's home areas and have done well to highlight them. The latest to be given a showcase is Brian Pillman Jr. The son of The Loose Cannon has been featured in a tag team with Griff Garrison named The Varsity Blonds since his official signing with All Elite Wrestling, but he has also shown that he has singles potential.

On the September 8th, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite, Pillman Jr. interrupted MJF, who was verbally abusing his hometown Cincinnati crowd as well as his own family in the front row. Brian Pillman Jr. came out with his dad's old Bengals jersey and cut a spirited promo against the despicable heel.

Although MJF and Wardlow stood tall over Pillman Jr. and Garrison at the end of this segment, this set up the biggest match of Brian's career so far against MJF at the AEW Dynamite Grand Slam event next week in New York City. The exchange put the young star in the spotlight and was a captivating promo segment.

Brian Pillman Jr. was also in the main event of AEW Rampage in Cincinnati against Max Caster, where he was victorious and stood tall with fellow hometown hero Jon Moxley to end the show. It was a good week overall for Brian and it felt like he was elevated over the course of both shows.

4) Lance Archer on AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Night 2 - Dallas, Texas

Lance Archer's run at AEW hasn't set the world on fire. He came in with plenty of momentum after a successful final few months in New Japan Pro Wrestling and the backing of WWE Hall of Famer Jake The Snake Roberts as his manager. Despite an intimidating character and a long streak of wins, Archer has taken major losses to the likes of Cody Rhodes and Miro when titles are on the line.

On the July 21st, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled Fyter Fest Night 2, Lance Archer faced Jon Moxley in a Texas Deathmatch in his hometown of Dallas with the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship on the line. It was a rematch from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020 where Archer dropped the same title to Moxley in the same match type at the Tokyo Dome.

This return bout had an increased intensity and brutality to it that followed in a long line of no disqualification brawls on AEW Dynamite. Moxley and Archer didn't hold anything back and used anything that wasn't nailed down to inflict punishment on each other. Lance Archer delivered a chokeslam to Jon Moxley on top of two open steel chairs. Moxley pulled out a fork and busted open Lance Archer.

Mox then set up two tables at ringside and placed a barbwire board on top. However, Archer reversed and gave Moxley a chokeslam off the apron through the barbwire board. This enabled the Murderhawk Monster to defeat Moxley and win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in front of his hometown of Dallas for a huge ovation to end the show. This was Archer's biggest win since coming to AEW.

3) Sammy Guevara on AEW Dynamite - Houston, Texas

Another Texas boy, Sammy Guevara, came home on the August 18th, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite from Houston, Texas. The Inner Circle member has seen a renewed focus since his stable turned babyface. Their rivalry with The Pinnacle has waged throughout this year, with Sammy and Shawn Spears spawning off into their own feud.

Sammy Guevara finally went one-on-one with Shawn Spears on this episode of AEW Dynamite in front of his hometown crowd, but The Spanish God had something a little bigger to take care of beforehand.

Before the show went on air, Guevara proposed to his long-time girlfriend Pam. She said yes, which gave Sammy even more momentum before his grudge match.

Shawn Spears tried to get under Sammy Guevara's skin by talking about his fiance, but this only fired up Sammy. The contest started before the bell with the men fighting at ringside and Tully Blanchard getting involved by helping Spears give Guevara a spiked piledriver on the floor. This led to referee Aubrey Edwards ejecting Tully from ringside and to the backstage area.

Once it was a singles bout, the two men put on an amazing performance that the Houston crowd gave a huge reaction to. The fans were firmly in Sammy's corner. Both men hit huge moves including a Spanish Fly from the top rope and an amazing 630 senton. Sammy got the win with knees to the head and finally the Go To Hell. It was a memorable night for Guevara on AEW Dynamite, in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

2) Jon Moxley on AEW Dynamite - Cincinnati, Ohio

Jon Moxley is a former AEW World Champion and one of the biggest stars in the industry today. Since losing the top prize and ending his feud with The Elite, it has seemed as if the company didn't have a clear direction for the Purveyor of Violence. Through a series of promos, Moxley set his sights on the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Following a strong battle with NJPW legend Satoshi Kojima at AEW All Out 2021, Jon Moxley was confronted by Minoru Suzuki. The King got into a strike exchange with the former AEW World Champion and then laid him out with a Gotch-style Piledriver to set up a showdown on the post-All Out Dynamite episode from Moxley's hometown of Cincinnati.

This bout was given the main event spot due to the hype behind it and being from Moxley's hometown. However, this was a jam-packed episode that featured a lot of fallout from the pay-per-view, which didn't leave the appropriate amount of time for this highly anticipated clash. Minoru Suzuki's Kaze Ni Nare theme song was cut short in favor of Moxley's Wild Thing theme.

Even more criminal than that, the AEW Dynamite main event was only given eight minutes with just five being on TV. Moxley pulled out the win, hitting the Paradigm Shift on Suzuki for the pin. Jon Moxley was given the final moments to celebrate with the Cincinnati faithful. He then helped Brian Pillman Jr. to fight off The Acclaimed on AEW Rampage from Cincinnati as well.

1) Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. on AEW Dynamite/Rampage - Brittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., may be the best homegrown star made for AEW. Her initial character was flawed in a lot of ways. She played a cookie cutter babyface that relied too heavily on being a dentist to gain sympathy. Her heel turn was a great job by the company in listening to their fans and steering the course.

Baker leaned into a cocky persona that used the real-life situation that commentator and legend Tony Schiavone went through to become a barista in order to gain heat for herself. From there, she used her dentist occupation to have a character that thought she was better than everyone else around her.

Britt also acquired services from Rebel as an assistant of sorts, which added to her personality. The first time that AEW went to her hometown of Pittsburgh, Britt Baker was a babyface and lost in a solid effort against then-AEW Women's World Champion Riho. Much has changed since that first appearance for All Elite Wrestling, and for Baker.

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., is now the AEW Women's World Champion and had a wonderful homecoming in Pittsburgh on the August 11th, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite. She renamed the city Brittsburgh, with the crowd treating her like the biggest star in all of professional wrestling. Baker cut a masterful promo, hyping her main event match on the first edition of AEW Rampage.

On the August 13th, 2021 episode of Rampage, Britt Baker came out to a massive pop from the Pittsburgh crowd, donning Pirates and Steelers themed gear to face Red Velvet in the first ever main event of the show.

Baker was in the first women's main event in AEW Dynamite history and added this accolade to her resume. Britt defeated Velvet in a fun contest to retain the AEW Women's World Championship.

The way Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., was presented in Pittsburgh is something that should be the template on how to highlight hometown stars. It was perfect in every shape and form.

The two shows in Pittsburgh showed just how much All Elite Wrestling was invested in their Women's World Champion. That's why Britt Baker in Pittsburgh is the best hometown star that AEW did right by.