CM Punk

Phillip Jack Brooks (October 26, 1978) is an American Professional wrestler better known as CM Punk. He is currently working for WWE on the RAW brand as a result of the 2009 WWE Draft, where he currently hold the WWE Championship. Before he was hired by the WWE, he worked with such promotions as Ring of Honor, where he had multiple title runs, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he was a member of The Gathering. He quit TNA in the March of 2004 when TNA stopped allowing their wrestlers to work ROH events. His final match with ROH took place on August 13, 2005, after which he joined the WWE. Punk would make one last appearance in ROH in February 2006. He was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling for a time, where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship. After losing the title he was moved up to ECW, making his debut on June 24, 2006. He would later be drafted to the RAW brand on June 23, 2008.

Within the WWE he holds the distinction of winning the World Heavyweight, Intercontinental, and World Tag Team Championships in the shortest amount of time (203 days), thus making him the 19th Triple Crown Champion of the company. He is a former ECW Champion, and holds the record for winning the most Money in the Bank Ladder matches at two consecutive WrestleManias.

Early career
Punk's first venture into wrestling was a stint in a backyard wrestling federation called the Lunatic Wrestling Federation with his friends and brother Mike Brooks in the mid-late 1990s. He first started using the ring name CM Punk when he was put into a tag team named the Chick Magnets with CM Venom after another performer skipped out on the card. Unlike his friends, Punk genuinely wanted to be a wrestler and saw it as more than simple fun. When the promotion started taking off, doing spot shows out of a warehouse in Mokena, Illinois, Punk found out that his brother Mike had embezzled thousands of dollars from the small company, causing them to become estranged. Mike has not wrestled since.

He soon left the federation and enrolled as a student at the "Steel Dominion" wrestling school in Chicago, where he was trained by Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and Kevin Quinn to become a professional wrestler. As part of the training, he wrestled at Steel Domain Wrestling in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was in the Steel Domain that he met Scott Colton, who soon adopted the stage name Colt Cabana. Punk and Cabana became best friends and spent most of their early career together working in the same independent circuit promotions, as opponents or allies. In the independents, Punk, along with fellow Steel Domain graduates Colt Cabana, Chuckee Smooth, Adam Pearce and manager Dave Prazak, formed an alliance named the Gold Bond Mafia.

Punk's home promotion for his early career is usually considered to be Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South (IWA:Mid-South). During Punk's time in IWA:Mid-South, he had high profile feuds with Colt Cabana and Chris Hero while also rising to the top of the roster winning the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship twice and the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship on five separate occasions, beating stars like A.J. Styles, Cabana and even Eddie Guerrero for that Championship. Punk's feud with Hero included a 55-minute TLC match,a 93-minute two out of three falls match, and several 60-minute time limit draws.

Punk's matches with Cabana led him to being hired by the Ring of Honor promotion. From February 2003 until May 2004, Punk refused to wrestle for IWA:Mid-South, because he claims that this was in protest to Ian Rotten's mistreatment of Chris Hero in the company. Hero, however, has stated he believes there were other reasons, and Rotten's treatment of him was just an excuse by Punk to stop working for the company. Eventually Punk returned to IWA:Mid-South and continued to perform as a wrestler and commentator for them until 2005 when he was signed to World Wrestling Entertainment. His last appearance in IWA:Mid-South was on July 2, 2005 in which he competed in a 60-minute time limit draw against Delirious.

Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Initially, Punk joined Ring of Honor (ROH) as a crowd favorite, but quickly became a villain in a feud with Raven that featured numerous variants of no disqualification matches. At the same time, Punk joined the wrestling promotion NWA Total Nonstop Action (TNA), in which he was paired with Julio Dinero as members of Raven's TNA alliance The Gathering.

Punk started climbing the ranks of ROH, including coming in second at the Second Anniversary Show during the tournament to crown the first ROH Pure Champion, losing to A.J. Styles in the finals and winning the ROH Tag Team Championship twice with Colt Cabana as the Second City Saints. Both times Punk and Cabana defeated the Briscoe Brothers to win the championship. Circa October 2003, Punk was hired as the first head trainer of the Ring of Honor wrestling school, having previously been a trainer for the Steel Domain and Primetime Wrestling.

Shortly before a TNA show on February 25, 2004, Punk had a physical scuffle with Teddy Hart outside of a restaurant that was broken up by Sabu. The scuffle reportedly stemmed from an ROH show in which Hart performed three unplanned spots putting several other wrestlers in danger of injury. Around the time of the scuffle, Punk and Dinero stopped appearing on TNA shows, leading to speculation he was fired for the incident. Punk, however, has stated that the scuffle had no bearing on his TNA career. He said the reason he and Dinero stopped appearing on TNA pay-per-views was that TNA officials believed that he and Dinero had not connected with the fans as villains, having recently turned against the popular Raven and instead formed a villainous tag team managed by James Mitchell. The officials decided that as the teams as villains was not working decided to put the storyline on hold indefinitely, and thus had no work for Punk or Dinero. Punk officially quit TNA in March 2004 during the Rob Feinstein controversy, after having a dispute with the TNA offices over his ability to compete in ROH following a TNA order that their contracted wrestlers were to no longer wrestle in ROH.

In ROH, Punk faced off against ROH World Champion Samoa Joe for the championship in a three match series. The first match, on June 12, 2004 at World Title Classic in Dayton, Ohio, resulted in a 60-minute time limit draw when neither Punk nor Joe could pin or cause the other to submit in the 60 minutes. The second match between Punk and Joe was planned for December 4, 2004; however, due to Steve Corino being pulled from a match with Joe by Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, the second match was hastily rescheduled on October 11, 2004 for October 16 in Punk's hometown of Chicago. At Joe vs. Punk II on October 16, they wrestled to a second 60-minute draw. In addition to Joe vs. Punk II becoming Ring of Honor's best-selling DVD at the time, the match received a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was the first match in North America to receive a five-star rating in seven years—the last one being the Hell in a Cell match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House in 1997. Joe ended the series by defeating Punk in the third and final match on December 4, 2004 at All-Star Extravaganza 2 in which there was a no time limit stipulation.

In June 2005, Punk accepted a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, after a try-out match against Val Venis on its Sunday Night Heat show. Even though he had accepted the deal, Punk went on to defeat Austin Aries with his Pepsi Plunge move, winning the ROH World Championship on June 18, 2005 at Death Before Dishonor III. Immediately after the match, Punk proceeded to become a villain and started a storyline where he threatened to bring the ROH World Championship to WWE with him. For weeks, Punk teased the ROH locker room and the ROH fans as well as mocking the championship he possessed, going so far as to sign his WWE contract on it. During the storyline, Mick Foley made several ROH appearances, attempting to convince Punk to do the right thing and defend the title on his way out. On August 12, 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, Punk lost the ROH World Championship to James Gibson in a four corner elimination match consisting of himself, Gibson, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels, who re-debuted after a year-and-half absence. Punk's final scheduled match in Ring of Honor took place at Punk: The Final Chapter on August 13, 2005 against long-time friend Colt Cabana in a two out of three falls match, which he lost. In his last match, Punk was visibly crying and was showered with streamers when he posed in the middle of the ring.

Punk made a special appearance at the ROH show Unscripted II on February 11, 2006, when the original card had to be scrapped due to Low Ki leaving ROH the week prior. In addition, most of the ROH roster contracted to TNA were pulled from the show because of a snowstorm that TNA officials thought might prevent performers from reaching a pay-per-view scheduled the next day. In the main event, Punk teamed with Bryan Danielson to wrestle and ultimately defeat Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce in a tag team match.

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2005–2006)
In September 2005, Punk was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a WWE developmental territory. He made his debut on September 8, 2005, in a dark match, where he, Nigel McGuinness and Paul Burchill were defeated by Deuce Shade, Elijah Burke and Seth Skyfire. On September 26, 2005 in his OVW television debut, Punk suffered a ruptured eardrum and broken nose after Danny Inferno hit him with an overly stiff right hand. Despite the injury, Punk finished the match and quickly recovered.

On November 9, 2005, Punk became the OVW Television Champion after defeating Ken Doane, which immediately led to a feud between Punk and Brent Albright, who had previously been feuding with Doane for the Television Championship and had lost his chance to wrestle Doane after Punk hit him with a chair so he himself could wrestle Doane. They wrestled in series of matches, including one that ended in overtime with Albright having Punk submit to Albright's finisher, the Crowbar, but Punk was able to keep the championship, as he had not agreed to the extra time. On January 4, 2006, Punk lost the OVW Television Championship during a three way dance among himself, Albright and Doane. Doane was injured halfway through the match and was replaced by Aaron "The Idol" Stevens. Punk submitted to Albright's Crowbar and was eliminated, but he returned later in the match to distract Albright allowing Stevens to pin Albright and become the new OVW Television Champion. The feud continued after a short period in which Albright and Punk were a tag team, but they became opponents again after Albright wanted the respect of Punk, who would never give it to him, and instead proceeded to "punk out" (get the better of) Albright repeatedly. This feud continued for weeks with Punk always getting the better of Albright until a double turn occurred on February 1, 2006 when Albright became a villain during a tag match, allowing the Spirit Squad to beat Punk and, in doing so, making Punk a crowd favorite. During this time, Punk had a minor appearance at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, 2006 as one of the gangsters who rode a 1930s era car to the ring before John Cena's entrance.

After Matt Cappotelli vacated the OVW Heavyweight Championship because of a brain tumor in February 2006, a tournament was held to crown a new champion. The finals were Brent Albright vs CM Punk with Albright defeating Punk to become the new champion. Punk and Albright continued their feud, with Albright becoming more unstable and paranoid about maintaining his championship after several close call matches against Punk, resulting in acts such as threatening Maria. On May 3, 2006, Punk finally defeated Albright in a strap match to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As champion, Punk retained the title in matches against opponents such as Shad Gaspard, Ken Kennedy, Johnny Jeter and Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.

On July 28, 2006, Punk and Seth Skyfire defeated Shad Gaspard and the Neighborhoodie to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship at a house show. They lost the Tag Team Championship on August 2, 2006 to Deuce Shade and "Domino" Cliff Compton after an injured Skyfire tagged in an already injured Punk. This altercation led to a feud between Punk and Skyfire after a rematch for the Tag Team Championship on August 7, 2006 in which a healthy Punk purposefully tagged in an injured Skyfire to be beaten by Shade and Compton. On August 30, 2006, a match was scheduled to take place between Punk and Skyfire for the OVW Heavyweight Championship. Prior to the match, however, Skyfire was attacked by Charles "The Hammer" Evans, with whom Skyfire had also been feuding, and was replaced in the match by Chet Jablonski (Chet the Jet) who pinned Punk to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As Punk no longer possessed the championship, OVW no longer required him. He was removed from the roster and brought up to the WWE roster full-time. He continued to make sporadic appearances for the company, such as at the 400th episode of OVW on television, up until WWE announced it was ending its developmental territory agreement with OVW on February 7, 2008.

ECW (2006–2008)
On June 24, 2006, Punk made his ECW debut during a house show at the former ECW Arena, defeating Stevie Richards. He made his TV debut on the July 4 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, cutting a brief pre-taped promo about his straight edge lifestyle emphasizing the disciplinary aspects of being drug and alcohol free. Although he had retained the straight edge gimmick, he now had a Muay Thai training background. Punk made his TV wrestling debut on August 1, 2006 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, defeating Justin Credible. CM Punk established himself in ECW by going undefeated, defeating opponents such as Christopher W. Anderson, Stevie Richards and Shannon Moore.

Soon after, Punk began feuding with Mike Knox after Knox's girlfriend, Kelly Kelly, was seen to have feelings for Punk. Punk defeated Knox in their first singles match (qualifying for the Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember in the process) as well as the rematch, after which Kelly Kelly celebrated CM Punk's victory over her boyfriend. Punk then teamed with D-Generation X and the Hardy Boyz in their Survivor Series match against Rated-RKO, Knox, Johnny Nitro and Gregory Helms, a match in which all the participants on DX's side survived elimination. At December to Dismember, Punk participated in the Elimination Chamber for the ECW World Championship; however, he was the first person eliminated by Rob Van Dam. CM Punk as ECW Champion on September 30, 2007 in Hammond, Indiana.Following the pay-per-view, Punk entered into a feud with Hardcore Holly, who ended Punk's six-month unbeaten streak in singles competition on January 9, 2007. Punk went on to feud with Matt Striker, who gave him his second singles loss since being in ECW on January 30. Punk then qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 by defeating Johnny Nitro. In the final week leading up to WrestleMania 23, Punk made appearances on both Raw and Friday Night SmackDown!, defeating Kenny Dykstra and former World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, respectively. At WrestleMania 23, Punk competed in, but did not win, the Money in the Bank ladder match, being knocked off the ladder just seconds before the winner, Mr. Kennedy, claimed the briefcase.

On the April 10, 2007 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, Punk briefly became a villain by officially joining the New Breed alliance, after several weeks in which both the New Breed and the ECW Originals had attempted to recruit him. Two weeks later, however, Punk betrayed the New Breed during a four on four elimination match between the New Breed and ECW Originals by kicking New Breed leader Elijah Burke in the back of the head and costing them the match. After the match, Punk proceeded to deliver his finisher, the Go To Sleep, on Burke and sarcastically apologized before leaving the ring alone, becoming a fan favorite again. WWE.com later confirmed that Punk was no longer a member of the New Breed. At Judgment Day, Punk wrestled and defeated Burke in his first singles match on a pay-per-view. Punk then went on to One Night Stand and teamed up with Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in a tables match to defeat the New Breed.

Because of the drafting of ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley to Raw and stripped of the ECW World Championship, and a mini-tournament was announced to declare a new champion among Punk, Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von and the recently drafted Chris Benoit. Punk defeated Marcus Cor Von on the June 19, 2007 edition of ECW on Sci Fi. By doing so, CM Punk was meant to face Chris Benoit at Vengeance: Night of Champions for the vacant ECW World Championship. Benoit, however, was hastily replaced by Johnny Nitro when Benoit no-showed the event due to what was described on-air as "personal reasons". Nitro subsequently defeated Punk at Vengeance for the vacant championship. Punk won another shot at the title at The Great American Bash against Nitro, who had changed his moniker to John Morrison by this point; however, Punk was defeated again by Morrison. The next week, Punk challenged Elijah Burke and Tommy Dreamer in a triple threat match to determine the next competitor in Morrison's 15 Minutes of Fame Challenge, in which Punk came out victorious. A week later, Punk defeated Morrison with the Go To Sleep to earn an ECW Championship title match at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, however, Punk lost the match when Morrison used the ropes for leverage.

At the September 1, 2007 (aired September 4) ECW taping, in a "last chance" title match, Punk defeated Morrison for the ECW Championship. Punk then went on to have successful title defenses against the likes of Elijah Burke (at Unforgiven), Big Daddy V via disqualification (at No Mercy) and The Miz (at Cyber Sunday). On the November 6, 2007 edition of ECW, Punk retained the ECW Championship in a match against Morrison following The Miz's interference. At Survivor Series, Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match, beating The Miz and John Morrison. On the January 22, 2008 edition of ECW, Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk in a No Disqualification match to win the ECW Championship after Edge, (acting as a guest commentator at ringside) ran in and speared Punk. CM Punk with his first Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania XXIV, Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match, after defeating Chris Jericho, Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy and Carlito.

SmackDown, Heel Turn and The Straight Edge Society (2009–2010)
Main article: Straight Edge SocietyOn April 13, 2009 during the 2009 WWE Draft, Punk was drafted from Raw to SmackDown. In the period after the draft, Punk feuded with Umaga over Umaga's repeated surprise attacks while Punk was attempting to cash in his Money in the Bank Contract. This ultimately resulted in a Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules which was won by Punk.

At the end of the pay-per-view, Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match against both Edge and Hardy eight days later on the June 15 episode of Raw. At The Bash in Sacramento, California, Punk lost to Hardy by disqualification after kicking the referee after being afflicted with a storyline eye injury, claiming he could not see the referee, but because titles do not change hands on a disqualification, Punk retained the championship. Hardy called Punk into question about his eye injury, believing he had been feigning it, leading Punk to turn heel, claiming to be the moral superior of those who support Hardy due to his drug-free lifestyle. At Night of Champions, Punk lost the championship to Hardy. Their feud continued through SummerSlam, where Punk regained the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match; afterward, Punk was attacked by The Undertaker. On the August 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Punk concluded his program with Hardy and achieved his booked goal of excising him from the WWE, defeating Hardy in a steel cage match wherein the loser agreed to leave the company. This act would earn Punk a second Slammy that December as he was named winner for 2009's "Shocker of the Year".

At Breaking Point Punk defeated The Undertaker in a submission match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long re-started the match after stating that the ban that former General Manager Vickie Guerrero had placed on the move was still in effect. Punk would win the match with his Anaconda vise when referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell despite Undertaker never submitting (reminiscent to the Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in 1997). The feud between the two continued and at the Hell in a Cell PPV, Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. He lost two subsequent rematches against The Undertaker on Smackdown and in a Fatal Four Way match at Bragging Rights also involving Batista and Rey Mysterio. His character took on a more sinister dimension on the November 27 episode of SmackDown when he revealed that he had converted Luke Gallows, who had previously been portrayed as mentally incompetent, to the straight-edge lifestyle which had rid him of his mental troubles. Continuing to espouse his straight-edge philosophy, Punk began to present himself as a cult-like savior to the crowd, growing his hair, beard and chest hair long in an allusion to Jesus. Through January 2010 Punk began to convert planted members of the audience to a straight-edge lifestyle, making them take a pledge of allegiance to him and shaving their head as a sign of renewal and devotion. The third convert, Serena, from thereafter accompanied Punk and ran interference in his matches, acting with Gallows as Punk's Straight Edge Society. On the February 16 episode of ECW, it was announced that CM Punk would appear on WWE NXT, partnering with Darren Young. On the premiere of NXT on February 23, CM Punk said in an interview that he didn't know why he was on NXT mentoring the "South Beach Party Boy". Over the weeks, however, Young became fascinated with Punk's straight-edge lifestyle and Punk became impressed at Young's skills. Luke Gallows, however, showed signs of jealousy towards Young.

Punk began a feud with Rey Mysterio in February leading up to the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, during which Punk was eliminated by Mysterio. In the weeks to follow, tensions between the two increased, especially after Mysterio interfered in a Money in the Bank qualifier, causing Punk to lose. During the on-screen celebration of Rey Mysterio's daughter's ninth birthday the Straight Edge Society showed up, taunting Mysterio and challenging him to a match at WrestleMania XXVI and also a match then and there, a challenge Mysterio declined to answer as he escorted his family away from the arena to the sound of CM Punk declaring that Rey was a coward. Later in the night, during Luke Gallows' match against Kane, Mysterio returned to the ring and proceeded to attack Punk after the latter interfered in the match. This caused Punk to run from the arena.

The following week, Mysterio accepted the challenge at a match at WrestleMania, albeit in a street fight. Punk told Mysterio he would have to beat Luke Gallows for him to accept the challenge as a street fight. Mysterio lost the match, however, and Punk said that if Mysterio were to lose at WrestleMania, he would be forced to join the Straight Edge Society stating that his influence will help bring even more members to the Straight Edge Society. Punk's attempt to convert Mysterio would fail when Mysterio defeated Punk at WrestleMania. Five days later on SmackDown, Punk challenged Rey to one more match at Extreme Rules, and if Rey won Punk would shave his head bald. On April 25, 2010, at Extreme Rules, Punk defeated Mysterio due to an interference by a masked hooded man. After Mysterio attacked Punk who was observing a match involving Luke Gallows and Montel Vontavious Porter, both of them agreed to one more match at Over the Limit reinstating previous stipulations (Punk's hair vs. Mysterio's allegiance to Straight Edge Society). At Over the Limit, Punk lost the match and his hair, with some post match interference from the Straight Edge Society and Kane. After being shaved, he started wearing a mask, similar to Rey Mysterio's, to cover his baldness. At Fatal 4 Way, Punk challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship against Mysterio, The Big Show and the champion Jack Swagger, but was unsuccessful when he was attacked by Kane who accused him of putting The Undertaker in a vegetative state and ran backstage.

On the June 25 edition of SmackDown, Punk fled the arena during a "No Disqualification" match with Kane ending the match in a no contest. On the following edition of SmackDown, after a match between Luke Gallows and Kane, a video aired showing Serena drinking in a bar on the day that The Undertaker had been put in a vegetative state and showed Punk stopping her from drinking, proving he wasn't responsible for The Undertaker's attack. Punk and Gallows left Serena in the ring as punishment. The following week, however, Punk forgave Serena for her actions. On the July 16 edition of SmackDown, Punk and Big Show began a feud between them where during the segment, Show took off Punk's mask showing his bald head to the world. Punk would then stop sporting his mask to cover his baldness and the Straight Edge Society plotted revenge on The Big Show when Luke Gallows was set to compete, but instead the masked member of the Straight Edge Society was selected to fight. Big Show removed his mask and it was revealed to be Joey Mercury. The three then challenged Big Show to a match at SummerSlam in what would be a losing effort after Punk abandoned his fellow teammates.

On August 20, 2010 one of the members, Serena, had been legitimately released by WWE, thus leaving only three in the group. On September 1, it also became widely known that Joey Mercury required surgery, thus putting the future of the group in doubt. On the September 3 episode of SmackDown, Punk delivered his signature move to Luke Gallows after losing a handicap match to the Big Show. On the September 24 episode of SmackDown, Punk defeated Gallows following Gallows leaving the Straight Edge Society, thus officially disbanding the group.

On the September 21 episode of NXT, Punk joined Josh Mathews for one night only on commentary after Michael Cole quit the previous week, though Cole would return during the broadcast.

Return to Raw (2010–2011)
On the October 11 episode of Raw, CM Punk was traded back to the Raw brand for Edge, who was traded to SmackDown the week before. That same night, he successfully defeated Evan Bourne to become the fifth member of Team Raw at Bragging Rights. At the pay-per-view, Team Raw lost to Team SmackDown. During this time, Punk dyed his hair blonde, which he debuted at a house show on October 16. On the October 25 episode of Raw, Punk joined Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler on commentary during the Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler match, in what he said was "scouting talent". It was reported that Punk was suffering a hip injury, which could sideline him for the rest of the year. On the November 18 edition of WWE Superstars, Punk joined Scott Standford on commentary for both Raw matches, showing signs of a face turn as he was behind wrestlers and divas Yoshi Tatsu, Melina and Gail Kim. The following Monday, he joined Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler on the Raw announce team. The past few weeks have shown Punk to have slight heel sides but he is shown to be now a character of jokes and is nicer than he used to be. He will return to action and leave raw commentary when his shoulder injury gets better. On the December 20, 2010 edition of RAW, he turned back to his heel tactics as he attacked John Cena, with a chair, after Cena's match with Dolph Ziggler and again on the next day of SmackDown. The following RAW, he showed the reasons of his actions, and later that night, allowed The Nexus to attack Cena, before hitting him with a GTS, and joining them, and presumably, as its new leader.

During Royal Rumble, he interfered with Randy Orton's match, allowing Miz to retain his championship. Punk and Orton began feuding leading up to a match at Wrestlemania 27. The rest of the new nexus (Husky Harris, Michael Mcgillicutty, and Mason Ryan) got to fight Orton for the chance to be allowed in Punk's corner. Orton defeated them all and punted them all in the skull. Punk injured Orton's knee on RAW the week before the fight and focused on it during the match but was unable to defeat Orton at Wrestlemania.

On May 1 at Extreme Rules Punk lost to Randy Orton yet again this time in a Last Man Standing Match. At Over the Limit, the team of Punk and Mason Ryan were unsuccessful in their attempt to defeat Big Show and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championships though on the following night, the team of Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga defeated Big Show and Kane on Raw for the tag team championship thanks to CM Punk interfering in the match.

Anti-Hero Gimmick and WWE Champion (2011-2012)
In June, after pinning WWE Champion John Cena on Raw, Rey Mysterio at Capitol Punishment and finally Alberto Del Rio again in a contendership match (which included Mysterio) all within one week, Punk revealed his contract would expire at Money in the Bank and vowed to leave the company with the WWE Championship; some of his speeches and mannerisms echoed his final months with Ring of Honor. After making a scathing on-air speech concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner Vince McMahon, he was given a storyline suspension from televised WWE events but was reinstated the following week on Cena's insistence. Upon his return Punk ceased to appear with the remaining members of Nexus and the group would quietly dissolve the same month. This helped transition him from a villainous character back to being a fan-favorite. Two weeks later, at Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated John Cena to become the WWE Champion on his final night under contract with WWE.

On July 21, CM Punk made an unannounced appearance at a joint WWE and Mattel panel at the San Diego Comic Con to mock new Chief operating officer Triple H and offer WWE Championship tournament finalist Rey Mysterio a match for Punk's own WWE Championship, as long as it was in Punk's hometown, Chicago. Punk appeared at July 23's All American Wrestling show, showing respect to Gregory Iron, a wrestler with cerebral palsy. Mysterio won the WWE Championship tournament on the July 25 episode of Raw, only to lose it to Cena later that night. After Cena's victory, Punk returned to Raw and upstaged the new WWE Champion's victory celebration while also entering into a title dispute. Triple H would later uphold both Punk and Cena's claims to the WWE Championship as legitimate and schedule the two to a match at SummerSlam to decide the undisputed WWE Champion. Punk prevailed but immediately lost the title to Alberto Del Rio, who had cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, after being attacked by Kevin Nash.

The night after SummerSlam Punk accused Nash of conspiring with Triple H to keep Punk away from the WWE Championship. After repeated confrontations Nash and Punk demanded to face each other at Night of Champions, to which Triple H acquiesced. However, after CM Punk's repeated verbal attacks towards him and his wife Stephanie McMahon, Triple H booked himself to replace Nash. At Night of Champions Punk lost a No Disqualification match after Nash, The Miz, and R-Truth attacked both men. Miz and Truth also attacked Punk at Hell in a Cell after he lost a WWE Championship Triple Threat match. He attempted to avenge this by teaming with Triple H against Miz and Truth at Vengeance, but lost again due to Nash attacking Triple H. This helped transition Punk's anti-establishment voice from Triple H to John Laurinaitis who became the interim Raw General Manager. CM Punk balked at Laurinaitis' promotion and verbally attacked him as a dull yes man.

On October 31, CM Punk strong-armed his way into a match with Del Rio at Survivor Series, where he regained the WWE Championship by way of submission with the Anaconda Vise. He went on to defend the title through the end of the year, retaining in a rematch with Del Rio on the November 28 episode of Raw and against both Del Rio and The Miz in a Triple Threat TLC match at TLC: Tables, Ladders &amp; Chairs. On the December 26 episode of Raw, CM Punk was defeated by Dolph Ziggler in a gauntlet match; as a result Ziggler became #1 contender to the WWE championship. Had he been successful Punk would have earned the right to face Laurinaitis in a match. The following Raw, Punk was defeated by Ziggler via countout following interference from Laurinaitis; retaining the championship as a result. Intermeddling from Laurinaitis caused Punk to lose to Ziggler throughout January which ultimately led to Punk attacking Laurinaitis in retaliation. At the Royal Rumble event, CM Punk successfully defended his title against Ziggler, despite Laurinaitis acting as the outside enforcer.

On February 6, Chris Jericho explained Punk was the foremost reason behind his WWE return. Jericho dismissed the WWE roster as imitations of himself, singling out Punk for claiming he was the best in the world, a moniker Jericho used the last time he was in WWE. Their rivalry continued through Elimination Chamber as Punk retained the WWE Championship in the namesake structure; while four competitors were eliminated, Jericho was unable to continue the match after being kicked out of the chamber by Punk, causing temporary injury. The following night, Jericho earned a match against Punk at WrestleMania XXVIII, and in a bid to psychologically unsettle him, he revealed Punk's father was an alcoholic and alleged that his sister was a drug addict, asserting that Punk's straight edge philosophy was paranoia to avoid the same vices and vowing to make Punk turn to alcohol by winning the title from him. John Laurinaitis added the stipulation that the WWE Championship could change hands via disqualification, which led to Jericho inciting Punk into using a weapon, but Punk resisted and retained the title. The following night on Raw, Punk insulted Laurinaitis, who decreed Punk would defend the title every week starting with Mark Henry, which he lost by count-out. After the match, Chris Jericho poured whiskey over Punk and broke the bottle over his head. The following week, Punk would engage in a title rematch against Mark Henry and would successfully defend his title when he got disqualified. After the match, Jericho would return and would again pour alcohol on Punk. The next week on Raw, Punk had another match against Mark Henry, this time with No Disqualification and No Count-out. Punk would win the match but would later be interrupted by Chris Jericho again. At Extreme Rules 2012, Punk retained his title against Jericho in a Chicago Street Fight. On the May 7th episode of Raw, Punk would come out while John Laurinaitis was talking. Punk would spend the time insulting Laurinaitis and would later be pit in a match against Lord Tensai. As he was getting ready for the match, Laurinaitis came out to tell Punk that he turned the match into a handicap match. Punk lost in a 2 on 1 handicap match against Lord Tensai and Daniel Bryan. On the May 14th episode of Raw, Punk teamed with Santino Marella and defeated Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes. Later on, Punk successfully defended his title against Bryan at Over The Limit. Punk and Bryan would then begin a concurrent feud with Kane, after attacking him with steel chairs on several occasions. On the June 1 edition of SmackDown, a WWE Championship match between Punk and Kane ended in a double disqualification after Bryan attacked both men. Meanwhile, Bryan's jilted ex-girlfriend AJ turned her affections to both Punk and Kane. This feud would culminate in a triple threat match at No Way Out, where Punk managed to retain the title after AJ distracted Kane.

After No Way Out, Punk continued to fued with Danial Bryan and A.J became even more infatuated with CM Punk. A.J was even named guest referee at Money in the Bank for Punk and Bryan's match for the WWE championship. On the June 2nd episode Raw, in an order to get attention from Punk, A.J was going to put herself through a table while Punk and Bryan where wrestling. But before she could do it Bryan and Punk intervened. A.J then would kiss Punk and push him off of the turnbuckle into Bryan sending them both Punk and Bryan through the table. At Super Smackdown Live: The Great American Bash, the following night, both Punk and Bryan confronted A.J about her actions the previous night. The discussion ended with A.J kissing both Punk and Bryan. The following week on Raw, A.J proposed to Punk causing Danial Bryan to propose to A.J. Later that night, Punk declined A.J's marriage proposel leaving A.J scorned and upset and even slapped both Punk and Bryan in the face. At Money in the Bank, CM Punk successfully retained his championship against Bryan with A.J counting the three count.

The following night on Raw, the love triangle seemed to have broken apart, CM Punk moved on and Danial Bryan and A.J decided to get married. CM Punk had much bigger things to worry about. Punk had a match with the Big Show and he thought that whether Punk would win or lose, John Cena, the money in the bank ladder match winner, would cash in his Money in the Bank contract. CM Punk beat the Big Show because of a DQ, and Cena came out with his briefcase. He annouced to Punk that he would cash in his Money in the Bank contract at the 1000 episode of Raw.

Tweener Turn(2012)
On the 1000 Episode of Raw, it was announced the WWE Champion at that time would face The Rock for the title at the Royal Rumble PPV in January. Later in the night, Punk lost the match against Cena by DQ after The Big Show ran in and attacked Cena. Punk left the ring limping which allowed Big Show's attack to continue. The Rock arrived to defend Cena and attacked Big Show. The Rock was about to hit the Big Show with the rock bottom, Punk cloths lined him and followed it up with a GTS. Punk left the ring with a conflicted look, ending Raw 1000. Punk would then begin a slow heel turn.

The following week on Raw, Punk would display traits of both faces and heels, claiming he did not turn his back on the WWE Universe, only the Rock, and he was sending a message. Later in the night, during the John Cena/Big Show number one contenders match, Big Show threw Cena into Punk, causing Punk to attack the Big Show. Punk would claim neither of them won the match, however, AJ Lee, the new Raw general manager would come out and announce Punk would have to defend the title against both of them at SummerSlam.

The following week, Punk again demanded respect from AJ Lee, she then put him in a match against former long-time rival, Rey Mysterio, which he won, later in the night, Punk came to the ring immediatly after John Cena's win against fellow-former rival Daniel Bryan and mocked Cena with the WWE title belt, just before Big Show attacked,when Cena went for an AA, Punk again "saved" Cena before his knees gave out, followed by Punk saying he would end Raw like he did the past two weeks by walking out, however before he could, Big Show attacked Punk and Cena.

On Raw 1003, CM Punk seemingly reverted back to his fan-favorite gimmick, re-adpoting his old mannerisms for his match against the Big Show, but the match ended by DQ after Daniel Bryan locked Punk in the No Lock Punk later in the night teamed with fellow Summer Slam rival John Cena to defeat Bryan and Big Show, with each Cena and Punk using the others signiture moves on Daniel Bryan before Punk saved Cena from an attack from Big Show, Punk would then attempt to shake hands with Cena, but Cena would decine, making Punk belivie Cena doesn't respect him anymore.

Heel Turn(2012-Present)
At SummerSlam, Punk retained the title twice against Big Show and Cena after AJ Lee restarted the match. The Raw following, Punk named Cena as his new number one contender and attacked Jerry Lawler after Jerry refused to call Punk "The Best In The World". The following week, Punk challenged Lawler to a match, to which Lawler accepted, after Punk called Lawler a cowardly loser who hid behind a commentary booth. The following week, Punk walked out on the Chicago crowd, claiming to use one of his "personal days" only to show up at the end of the main event, John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio, costing Cena the match, before riding off in a car with Paul Heyman. At Night of Champions, he and Cena fought to a draw.

In the weeks following, it was shown Punk had alligned himself with Paul Heyman-the very man who gave rise to his career to "help out with his current situation." However, Punk&apos;s feud with Cena was cut short due to Cena was injured during their match at Night of Champions. Punk then moved into a feud with Cena&apos;s hand picked opponent, Ryback, which Punk beat Ryback at Hell in a Cell, with help from a biased ref. The following night on Raw, Punk announced he would fight Team Foley against Team Punk at Survivor Series, while promoting WWE &apos;13.

However, this would never come to the light of day when a Triple Threat match was made for the Survivor Series after Vince McMahon forced Vickie Guerrero to put Cena in the match. Punk would feud with Cena and Ryback until the night of Survivor Series, where he would pin Cena to retain the title after Ryback was attacked.

Gimmick
Punk has adopted his real-life following of the straight edge movement as his professional wrestling gimmick, but the gimmick uses different elements of Punk's personality and the beliefs of the straight edge movement depending on his alignment. While portraying a crowd favorite, the gimmick tends to be that of Punk's normal personality, largely indifferent to others who drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, partake in recreational drug use or have promiscuous sexual behavior, but emphasizing the social discipline involved with abstinence. Conversely, his villainous personality tends to be that of one who is hardline or militant straight edge, exemplifying the elitist attitudes and superiority complexes—defined by Punk's common mantra during villainous-themed promos that, because he is straight edge, he is "better than you". Punk performs the straight edge symbol of crossing his arms in an X formation while having the letter X written on the back of his hands, usually drawn on his wrist tape.

A common question about Punk's gimmick, and one that comes up often with fans, is the meaning of the initialism CM. Originally the CM represented the phrase "Chick Magnet", the name of the tag team he was in as a backyard wrestler. Punk, however, later changed CM into an orphan acronym, declaring that it has no meaning, though when asked since he has taken to making up meanings that fit the initials, going so far as to make up long stories to explain the origins that do not match the actual origin story at all. Since beginning this practice, Punk has stated CM stands for "Cookie Monster", "Cookie Master", "Crooked Moonsault", "Chuck Mosley", "Charles Montgomery", "Charles Manson", "Crazy Mariachi", "Chicago Made" "Championship Material", among others.

An integral part of Punk's gimmick are the numerous tattoos that adorn his body, some of which have come to become symbols associated with Punk, as well as mantras and declarations that have been integrated into his gimmick. The tattoos as a whole, due to their large quantity and variety, have also become an attribute identifiable to Punk. The most important of the individual tattoos in Punk's character, whether through association, symbol, or mantra, are:
 * CMPunkTattoos2.jpg Pepsi Globe logo on his left shoulder that inspired the names of two of his signature moves. It also became a symbol of Punk himself, who wore the logo on his ring gear in the independent circuit, as well as a slightly modified Pepsi logo being used as part of his TitanTron entrance video. He got the tattoo as a joke, as many fraternity members in his school were getting beer logos tattooed on their bodies. Punk, a keen Pepsi drinker, chose to receive a Pepsi tattoo to emphasize his straight edge beliefs. The tattoo is also a reference to former Minor Threat guitarist Brian Baker, who had a Coca-Cola tattoo and explained this by saying "I like Coca-Cola". When people inquire about Punk's Pepsi tattoo, he often replies "I like Pepsi" in a similar fashion.
 * The words "Straight Edge" are spelled out on Punk's stomach. This is one of his oldest tattoos; he has referred to it as his identity.
 * A sleeve tattoo on his left arm that reads "luck is for losers" and features numerous good luck symbols, including a rabbit's foot, four-leaf clover and a horseshoe. The tattoo also features four ace playing CMPunkTattoos1.jpg as a tribute to trainer Ace Steel.
 * A tattoo on the back of his left hand reading "No gimmicks needed", a tribute to deceased wrestler Chris Candido.
 * A tattoo on his right shoulder of the Cobra Command logo, G.I. Joe's enemy
 * A tattoo of a rose on his left wrist.
 * A tattoo on his knuckles are the words "DRUG FREE" ("DRUG" on his right knuckles and "FREE" on his left)
 * A tattoo behind his left ear of the number 31 with 3 stars surrounding it.
 * A tattoo on his chest, the design which includes a skull and a snake and symbolizes his Anaconda Vise submission hold.
 * A tattoo on the back of his hand, the logo of the, now defunct, rock band, Rocket from the crypt.
 * There is a tattoo of a three-eyed fish on his left forearm, and underneath there is the name "Callee".

Punk's character and gimmick have been parodied by the wrestling federation Chikara with the mascot character CP Munk, the straight edge chipmunk. The character includes references to Punk, such as X-marked wrist tape, a Pepsi logo on the costume's left shoulder, and a high-pitch version of Punk's best-known independent circuit theme song "Miseria Cantare – The Beginning", by the band AFI. On his website, Punk has said about the character CP Munk, and the people behind it:

"I'm split 50/50 on it. Some days I get real pissed about it, because it's disrespectful. I'm sure it's no secret that the dorks that run Chikara and I don't get along, so they're [sic] judgement on trying to "mock" me is a little off. Most other days I just laugh it off because nobody from Chikara will ever be over enough anywhere for anybody else to parody them'."

Personal life
While working for Ring of Honor he was romantically linked to professional wrestlers Shannon Spruill and Tracy Brookshaw. After joining Ohio Valley Wrestling, Brooks began dating Maria Kanellis, who was working in OVW as an interviewer, however they broke up sometime after Brooks was moved to World Wrestling Entertainment and started working on the ECW brand. Kanellis remarked at an autograph signing in mid 2009 that Brooks was displeased with her decision to pose naked in Playboy. Brooks at one point dated Amy Dumas. However, as stated in Matt Hardy's interview in March 2010, Brooks and Dumas are no longer dating. Punk later dated WWE Diva Beth Phoenix from some time in 2010 till late 2011. Punk stated in an interview (link: go to more, interviews and then page 2) that Phoenix had become a 'douche bag'.

Punk is good friends with fellow wrestlers Luke Gallows,Joey Mercury, Cliff Compton, Bryan Danielson, Kofi Kingston and many others.

In wrestling

 * World Wrestling Entertainment
 * Finishing moves
 * Anaconda Vise
 * GTS – Go To Sleep (Fireman's carry dropped into a knee strike to the face) – 2007–present
 * Signature moves
 * Arm wrench followed by stepping a leg over the wrenched arm and performing a mule kick with the leg below the opponent's face
 * Running high turnbuckle knee followed by a running bulldog
 * Diving crossbody
 * Screenshot2011-04-04at165728.png.]]Double underhook backbreaker
 * Jumping hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat
 * One-handed bulldog
 * Rope hung arm trap can opener
 * Shining wizard
 * Slingshot somersault senton
 * Snap scoop powerslam
 * Spinning wheel kick
 * Springboard clothesline
 * Step-up enzuigiri
 * Suicide dive
 * GTS2.jpg-a-whirl backbreaker
 * Nicknames
 * "The Straight Edge Superstar"
 * "Mr. Money in the Bank"
 * "The Second City Saint"
 * "The Straight-Edge Savior"
 * Managers
 * Luke Gallows
 * Serena
 * Joey Mercury
 * Wrestlers managed
 * Darren Young
 * Luke Gallows
 * Serena
 * Joey Mercury
 * Tag Teams and Stables
 * Straight Edge Society
 * Nexus
 * Entrance themes
 * "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage
 * "Cult of Personality by Living Colour


 * Independent circuit


 * Finishing moves
 * Anaconda Vice or an arm triangle choke
 * Pepsi Plunge (Diving double underhook facebuster)
 * Shining wizard
 * Signature moves
 * Arm wrench followed by stepping a leg over the wrenched arm and performing a mule kick with the leg below the opponent's face
 * Corkscrew diving neckbreaker
 * Crooked Moonsault (Split-legged moonsault)
 * Delayed vertical suplex
 * Devil Lock DDT (Hammerlock legsweep DDT)
 * Facewash
 * Inverted facelock neckbreaker
 * Inverted frankensteiner
 * Jackie Chan (While sitting in a corner Punk grasps the top rope with one hand on each side of the turnbuckle and when the opponent attempts to pull Punk off the ropes by his legs, Punk performs a back tuck, landing on his feet)
 * Pepsi Twist (Jumping hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat)
 * Punk–Handle Piledriver (Pumphandle reverse piledriver)
 * Rolling fireman's carry slam
 * Slingshot somersault senton
 * Springboard corkscrew crossbody
 * Suicide dive
 * Welcome to Chicago, Motherfucker (Double underhook backbreaker)
 * With Julio Dinero
 * Double superkick
 * Near Death Experience (Diving neckbreaker (Punk) / Powerbomb (Dinero) combination)
 * Managers
 * Milo Beasley
 * Tracy Brooks
 * Bobby Heenan
 * Alexis Laree / Vicki Adams
 * Lucy
 * Joshua Masters
 * James Mitchell
 * Dave Prazak
 * Entrance themes
 * South of Heaven" by Slayer
 * A Call for Blood" by Hatebreed
 * Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)" by AFI
 * Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
 * Night Train" by The Bouncing Souls
 * ¡Olé!" by The Bouncing Souls
 * This Fire Burns by Killswitch Engage
 * This Fire Burns (Remix) by Killswitch Engage

Championships and accomplishments

 * Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
 * IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
 * IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * International Wrestling Cartel
 * IWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Mid-American Wrestling
 * MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Cyberspace
 * NWA Cyberspace Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Julio Dinero
 * NWA Revolution
 * NWA Revolution Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Ohio Valley Wrestling
 * OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Skyfire
 * OVW Television Championship (1 time)
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI ranked him #3 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010.
 * Ring of Honor
 * ROH World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Colt Cabana
 * ROH World Championship (1 time)
 * St. Paul Championship Wrestling
 * SDW Northern States Television Championship (2 times)
 * SPCW Northern States Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wrestling Entertainment
 * ECW Championship (1 time)
 * World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 * WWE Championship (2 times) (current)
 * World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kofi Kingston
 * WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
 * Mr. Money in the Bank (2008, 2009)
 * 2008 Slammy Awards - "OMG" Moment of the Year Cashing in Money in the Bank to win the World Heavyweight Championship
 * 2009 Slammy Awards - Shocker of the Year Forcing Jeff Hardy out of the WWE after Steel Cage match victory
 * 2010 Slammy Awards - Despicable Me Award Harassing Rey Mysterio and his family
 * Nineteenth Triple Crown Champion


 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * 5 Star Match vs. Samoa Joe at ROH Joe vs. Punk II on October 16, 2004
 * Feud of the Year (2009) vs. Jeff Hardy
 * Best Gimmick (2009)

Trivia

 * Punk is the only person to win the Money In The Bank Ladder Match twice in a row, and is the second person to have MITB twice.
 * Punk is also the second Mr. Money In The Bank to be cashed in on, as in August 2011, Punk was cashed in on by Alberto Del Rio. (Edge is the first Mr Money in the Bank to be cashed in on, with Punk cashing in on him in 2008)
 * Punk is the second person to pin John Cena 5 times, with all being in Singles competition and in a tirple threat match.
 * Punk has stated if he is ever injured or has to retire or anything that stops him from In-ring competition he would gladly take a job as Announcer for WWE.
 * Phillip is friends off-screen with John Cena, Randy Orton, Dave Batista, Jeff Hardy and The Undertaker.
 * He is formally a friend of Rey Mysterio but in an interview in September 2011, that he is no longer friends with Mysterio for "personal issues"
 * Punk is the second person to win the WWE, Heavyweight & ECW Championships.(The first being Kane.)
 * In Punk's DVD "The Best in the World" Punk states that he was told he would never get any farther then ROH, which Punk goes on to state he believed them, and was eventually signed to WWE's developmental territory OVW, in which Punk also states that if it weren't for Paul Heyman, he wouldn't have gotten any futher then OVW and ECW.
 * In CM Punk's DVD "The Best in the World" Punk describes himself as "The Final Territorial Champion" during his Independent Circut days, during his rivalry with Colt Cabana, when he proclaimed he took a title to diffrent promotions. Punk's friends John Cena and Paul Heyman also called Punk "King of the Territorials".

External videos
CM_Punk Phillip_Jack_Brooks CM Punk