The fifth installment of WWE's Battleground pay-per-view will emanate from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sunday. Another chapter in the AJ Styles-Kevin Owens rivalry and the return of the Punjabi Prison match sets the stage for some potential standout moments, something Philadelphia has become accustomed to. The City of Brotherly Love has played host to a multitude of highly regarded professional wrestling memories and matches, and through it all the frenzied fans did what they do best: They let their emphatic voices be heard.
Could Sunday's happenings add to that list? Time will tell. In the meantime, let's take a look at five historic Philly moments.
1. In Your House 10: Mind Games (Sept. 22, 1996 from the CoreStates Center, now the Wells Fargo Center)
Deep into his first reign as WWE champion and coming off a couple high-profile victories over the British Bulldog and Vader, Shawn Michaels found himself facing off with a newcomer to the WWE, the deranged Mankind (Mick Foley).
Michaels, who could work a great match with just about anyone, was matched up with someone who made his name using hard-core tactics. Michaels adapted to those traits and the match was patterned around it. The end result was a unique blend of the hard-core style that would become widely popular in the coming years, and the illustration of a vivid story that we had become so used to seeing in the Heartbreak Kid's matches.
Despite a disqualification finish involving run-ins from both Vader and Sid, the match remains near the top of the list of WWE matches Foley has performed in. That's saying a lot.
As for Michaels, well, it was just another notch on his belt of endless in-ring masterpieces.
In addition to the main event, even more history was made on this night, and it happened during the opening contest -- Savio Vega versus Bradshaw -- as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) mainstays The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer observed from the front row. As Vega approached the Sandman, Sandman proceeded to spit beer in his face, kick-starting both a cross promotion between ECW and the WWE and a widespread rise in popularity for ECW, which leads into our next couple of iconic moments.
2. ECW Barely Legal (April 13, 1997 from the ECW Arena)
The Philadelphia-based ECW had come a long way from its separation from National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1994, in which champion Shane Douglas famously proclaimed, "I am not the man who accepts a torch to be handed down to me from an organization that died, R.I.P., seven years ago. The Franchise Shane Douglas is the man who ignites the new flame of the sport of professional wrestling."
From that point on, a new era unfolded, and the misfits of the underground promotion known as Extreme Championship Wrestling ran wild and blazed a trail of innovation in the process.
That trail saw superstars including Douglas, The Sandman and Raven carry the coveted ECW championship into and out of Philadelphia-based events all the way into the signature night in the brand's history.
On April 13, 1997, ECW hosted its first pay-per-view event, Barely Legal, from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, the crowning achievement of the company to that point.
The show was highlighted by the great Terry Funk, performing in his second match of the night, who captured the ECW championship in the main event when he defeated Raven.
The pay-per-view also wrote another chapter in one of the greatest ECW rivalries of all-time when Taz got the better of the unpredictable Sabu.
3. ECW Wrestlepalooza (June 7, 1997 from the ECW Arena)
In an event packed with marquee matchups rich with character development, one moment stood out above them all.
The face of ECW, Tommy Dreamer had been in a two-year battle with Raven filled with twists and turns. Throughout their feud, Dreamer had never been able to get the better of Raven. That changed at Wrestlepalooza when Dreamer finally scored a pin-fall victory over him in a Loser Leaves Town match.
However, that wasn't the standout moment.
Following the biggest win of Dreamer's career to that point, the ECW/WWE cross promotion continued, but this time, the WWE invaded the ECW Arena.
To the surprise of everyone witnessing the event, the lights went out a few times, and when they turned back on, in the ring stood the WWE's own Jerry "The King" Lawler aligned with both Rob Van Dam and Sabu. They proceeded to take out Dreamer and a slew of ECW fan favorites who charged the ring.
Lawler, who played the anti-ECW role perfectly, referring to the company as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling" every chance he got, had this particular ECW crowd crazed.
"So this is it, huh? This is the big-time ECW?" Lawyer exclaimed. "Hey, this bingo hall should be built out of toilet paper because there's nothing in it but s---!"
No statement Lawler ever made in his WWE career garnered as furious an emotional response from a crowd as that one did.
4. WrestleMania 15 (March 28, 1999 from the Wells Fargo Center)
Without question, WrestleMania 15 was the biggest professional wrestling event to take place in Philadelphia, and it happened during the peak of the WWE's attitude era.
Even though the show meanders around the middle of the list of WrestleMania events in terms of quality and popularity, it does carry some historical significance. Its main event marked the first of three epic WrestleMania encounters between two of the greatest superstars of all time: Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.
The Austin era began at WrestleMania 14 the year before in Boston when the Rattlesnake defeated Shawn Michaels to win his first WWE championship. Throughout the year that followed, Mr. McMahon (aka Vince McMahon) made it his ultimate goal to end Austin's reign. About six months into Austin's reign, McMahon was successful, and so began Stone Cold's quest to regain the top prize in the company.
As the 1998 Survivor Series approached, the WWE championship was vacant, and a tournament took place to determine the new champion. With the help of Mr. McMahon and his son Shane, The Rock weaseled his way to a victory over Mankind to become the ever-so-heel-named "corporate champion."
After Austin won the 1999 Royal Rumble, billing Austin against The Rock, Mr. McMahon and his corporation ensued, leading up to the WrestleMania 15 main event.
In a wonderful match illustrating Austin's ability to overcome the odds, he defeated The Rock, securing his second WWE championship, much to Mr. McMahon's dismay.
5. Royal Rumble (Jan. 25, 2015 from the Wells Fargo Center)
Whether it's sports entertainment or sporting events in general, Philadelphia crowds are known for their boisterous vocal opinions. Never was that more apparent than during the Royal Rumble match at the 2015 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
At the time, there was no more popular superstar than Daniel Bryan, and he was the clear favorite among the Philadelphia crowd (and the majority of WWE's fan base) heading into the match.
The WWE had other plans.
Bryan, who entered the match as the 10th entrant, was eliminated relatively quickly after about 10 minutes and the crowd exploded in negative responses. That reaction turned even more swollen when it became apparent that Roman Reigns, a superstar the vast majority hadn't been receptive to, was on his way to victory.
Boos and chants for Daniel Bryan became louder and louder, and that became the story of the match.
In a last-ditch effort to tilt the reception toward a more positive side of the spectrum, Reigns' cousin, The Rock, emerged and assisted Reigns in his eventual win.
Philly wasn't having it. A victorious Reigns stood in the middle of the ring with his hand raised, drowning in a sea of boos, and not even arguably the most popular superstar in WWE history, The Rock, could save him.