WWE Hot Beds: Honorable mention

Philadelphia

Philadelphia has been a home to WWE for decades. In the '70s and '80s, some of the greatest matches in history, featuring Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan have been held at the old Spectrum, televised on PRISM. It’s the die-hard, passionate Philly fans that made WWE come back every month. It’s these same fans that help put ECW on the map. Philadelphia was the home base for ECW and the fast-paced, hardcore action that came out of the ECW arena was considered revolutionary. Not only did ECW give birth to legendary Superstars like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho here in the states, but many consider it to be the launching pad for the Attitude Era in WWE.

Miami

Sand, sun and South Beach. With its combination of hot bodies and high-living, no city parties quite like Miami, Fla. And make no mistake, the city’s biggest party will kick off on The Grandest Stage of Them All at WrestleMania XXVIII. Under the stars at the Sun Life Stadium on April 2, 2012, hometown hero The Rock will face down his rival John Cena.

WrestleMania XXVIII will be only the latest WWE celebration to reach the beach. In 2007, Survivor Series took place in Miami’s American Airlines Arena, where Randy Orton captured the WWE Title, Batista clinched the World Heavyweight Title and Team Triple H emerged victorious. Three years later, in that same arena, The Viper again seized the WWE Championship, Kane took home the World Heavyweight Title and Team Mysterio overcame the challenge of Team Del Rio.

Charlotte

There are always cities where the ring reigns supreme. But, there are only a select few where the squared circle is part of the very fabric that made up the city itself. Forged in the legend of the former Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Organization – a federation that fostered such future WWE Superstar icons as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, “Blackjack” Mulligan and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair – Charlotte always spelled pure electricity whenever WWE marched into town.

Pittsburgh

The Steel City at the confluence of the western Pennsylvania’s Three Rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio) has been the host to some of the most memorable events in WWE history. The now-closed Civic Arena (nicknamed “The Igloo” for its shining steel dome) played host to possibly the greatest match in WWE history – the wildest 1998 Hell in a Cell battle between Undertaker and Mankind, that set the standard for bodily destruction. The arena hosted the first-ever SummerSlam Ladder Match in 1995, as Shawn Michaels defeated Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship. Pittsburgh also played host to the first WWE pay-per-view event after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

London

Whenever WWE journeyed to Europe, no reception was arguably as explosive as the thunderous support that its Superstars received across the pond in London, England. The greatest example of this came when Wembley Stadium served as the monumental backdrop for the epic Intercontinental Championship showdown between Bret “Hit Man” Hart and Great Britain’s own Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam 1992. It proved – without a doubt – that in any international frenzy, London created legend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is your city a WWE Hot Bed? Join the conversation on WWE's official Facebook page. Ready to see WWE live? Go to the Kmart-powered Live Tour site to get your tickets.