Pro wrestling will be in Philly tonight, and several athletes share a love of the city

If you step foot in Philadelphia, it won’t take long to realize that the city lives and dies with its sports teams.

To the national viewing audience, it’s fanaticism bordering insanity. In Philly, it’s merely good old-fashioned passion. “No one likes us, we don’t care,” isn’t just a catchy song to drunkenly sing after your team wins it all. It is a mindset that many Philadelphians have come to terms with.

To no one’s surprise, that passion carries over to pro wrestling and AEW will look to capitalize on that when it returns to the Liacouras Center on Wednesday (8 p.m., TBS). For many members of the roster, the show will be a bit of a homecoming.

That is not just for wrestlers like Wheeler Yuta, who grew up in the area and attended Villanova. That also goes for the likes of AEW international champion Orange Cassidy, who, like many other members of the AEW roster, frequented Philly while he was grinding their through the independent circuit.

If you’re an independent wrestler on the East Coast, Philadelphia is an ideal city to live in. There are a plethora of promotions that run shows in the area. Philadelphia is more affordable in comparison to New York or Washington, D.C., and it’s close to those major cities, as well as places like Boston and Baltimore, which have their own independent wrestling scene.

Cassidy is billed from “Wherever” (and weighs “whatever”), but is originally from Stewartsville, N.J. and has lived in Philadelphia since 2017. However, Cassidy’s relationship with Philly goes well beyond his own convenience. After six years of living in the city, Cassidy has fully immersed himself in the culture.

“I feel that Wawa may be the best thing ever created,” Cassidy said.

“My international friends come over from Australia or the U.K., they always want to go to Wawa,” he added.

While Cassidy has assimilated himself into Philly’s way of living, Adam Copeland, who is one of the main attractions scheduled to appear Wednesday night at the Liacouras Center, has admired the city’s wrestling fandom from afar.

“Philly’s always been a wrestling town,” Copeland said. “I think back to watching all of the old Spectrum matches on VHS and just watching an early incarnation of Hulk Hogan as a heel against Bob Backlund for the WWF title.”

» READ MORE: Ranking the Top 10 WWE moments in Philadelphia

Copeland has seen more than just wrestling from the old Spectrum. He also grew up an avid hockey fan and can rattle off names of 1980s Flyers players like Pete Peeters and Pelle Lindbergh in a matter of seconds.

“What I appreciate about Philly is that I feel like Philly appreciates when you’re a hard worker,” Copeland said. “I think as long as you put the work in, Philly’s always going to be there for you.”

Philly was there for Copeland on July 3, 2006, when he defeated John Cena and Rob Van Dam to win the WWE championship for the second time. For Copeland, the second title win was confirmation that not only had he arrived in the upper echelon of the pro wrestling industry, he was there to stay.

“I think that was the instance where you go, ‘OK, it wasn’t just a one-trick pony.’ They trust you enough to come back and they trust you enough to carry this thing again,” Copeland said. “It’s validation, and it’s also a huge boost of confidence.”