10 Questions from NXT Takeover: Chicago that most need answering

#9 Why didn’t Takeover get many ‘CM Punk’ chants?

Too distracted.

The WWE likes to blame a small number of troublemakers everytime they hear the CM PUNK! Chants during a WWE show. It’s really quite frustrating that they never seem to acknowledge, or at least adequately consider, what the real underlying causes of the chants are. Typically, you will hear them during a HHH, Stephanie or Vince McMahon segment on RAW, as fans know these are the people who resent Punk the most. You will also tend to hear them during a rather lacklustre match that the crowd aren’t emotionally invested in.

By that logic, the less you hear of the CM PUNK! Chants, the more the fans are obviously enjoying themselves. This is why NXT Takeover Chicago can be viewed as such a strong show. Chicago will always be the place there the Punk chants are heard the loudest, but thinking back, there was probably only one time throughout the whole show where we did hear it. Even then, this was in reaction to Hideo Itami’s GTS move on Bobby Roode, a finisher that wrestling fans naturally associate with Punk.

This probably won’t be much of a talking point when it comes to analysing the show, but I think it certainly warrants mentioning. For a WWE show to go by in Chicago with hardly any mention of their hometown hero is very impressive.