CM Punk

Phillip Jack Brooks, more commonly referred to as CM Punk, is a professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. While the Chicago native is widely known for his stint with WWE from 2005-2014, it was his work with Ring of Honor (ROH) that was initially responsible for his cult following. He has held world championships in many different promotions over his career. CM Punk is currently signed to WWE where he returned at Survivor Series: WarGames.

Early Life

Phillip Brooks aka CM Punk was born in Chicago on October 26, 1978. His father was an engineer and his mother was a homemaker. He grew up at Lockport. Phillip attended Lockport High School. He was struggling his entire childhood. While his father was an alcoholic addict, his mother suffered from Bipolar Disorder. Brooks is estranged from his mother.

Brooks has used the CM Punk moniker for his entire professional wrestling career, and his character has been consistently portrayed as outspoken, confrontational, sharp-tongued, anti-establishment, straight edge, and iconoclastic, most of which are inspired by his real-life views and personality.

Professional Wrestling Career

Ring of Honor (ROH)

In 2004, Punk had a legendary trilogy of matches with then-ROH World Champion Samoa Joe where the duo's first two encounters ended in 60-minute draws. The second bout even received 5 stars from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, making it the first North American match to receive the honor since Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House 1997.

Even though Joe eventually prevailed in the trilogy bout, there was no question that Punk had come away as a far bigger star. After signing a contract with WWE in 2005, the Straight Edge Superstar returned to fulfill his remaining obligations to ROH, winning the promotion's World Championship from Austin Aries at Death Before Dishonor III. Punk then went on to turn heel and began a storyline where he mocked the ROH World Championship and even threatened to take it with him to WWE.

This storyline was labeled The Summer of Punk ironically, a similar angle, which was also referred to by the same name, made the Second City Saint a conquering hero to the WWE fans, who had borne witness to a steadily declining product since the end of the Attitude Era, in 2011. Punk dropped the ROH world title to James Gibson in a four-corner elimination match before putting over real-life friend Colt Cabana in a 2-out-of-3 falls match in the last match of his run with the promotion.

WWE

The Voice of the Voiceless made his WWE main roster debut on ECW after a year-long stint at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he caught the eye of Paul Heyman, who was in charge of the developmental territory. However, Punk didn't get his first taste of the spotlight until Survivor Series 2006, where he was clearly one of the most popular performers on the show despite being on the same team as DX and The Hardy Boyz. The Chicago native then won his first world title on September 01, 2007, when he defeated John Morrison to win his first ECW World Heavyweight Championship.

After dropping the strap to Chavo Guerrero, who was aided by an assist from Edge, on January 22, 2018, Punk proved that he was destined for greater things than the ECW title by winning the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 24.

World Heavyweight Champion

Upon being drafted to Raw on June 23, 2008, he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract on Edge, in an ironic twist, to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Unfortunately, the self-proclaimed best wrestler in the world couldn't hold onto the strap for very long as he was forced to forfeit it after an assault from Randy Orton prevented him from competing in a Championship Scramble match. While most critics thought this would be the end of the Second City Saint's Cinderella run, he bounced back in convincing fashion, capturing the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles before becoming the first person to win two Money in the Bank ladder matches at WrestleMania 25.

Punk was drafted to SmackDown in 2009 where he successfully cashed in the Money in the Bank on Jeff Hardy to win his second World Heavyweight Championship, turning heel in the process and embracing a more extreme version of his Straight Edge Persona which he used to antagonize the fans. During his time on the blue brand, Punk feuded with the likes of The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and the Big Show. He even formed a heel stable known as the Straight Edge Society, acting like a cult leader who manipulated Serena Deeb, Luke Gallows, and Joey Mercury. Nearly all of Punk's work on SmackDown was met with critical acclaim.

The former World Champion was then traded to Raw for Edge on October 11, 2010, and he replaced Wade Barrett as the leader of the once-promising Nexus faction. This decision didn't do much for Punk as was defeated by Randy Orton in a regulation match at WrestleMania 27 and the Last Man Standing bout at Extreme Rules 2011.

Pipe bomb and departure

In June 2011, Punk stated that his WWE contract would expire at Money in the Bank 2011 and vowed to leave with the company's top prize, which was then held by John Cena. He then unleashed a vicious, scathing promo, on WWE and its majority owner, Vince McMahon, that almost instantly made him the most popular performer on the roster. Two weeks later, the Voice of the Voiceless defeated Cena to capture the WWE title in what is now regarded as one of the finest matches in modern professional wrestling history.

Even though he dropped the strap to Alberto Del Rio at Summerslam 2011, Punk won it back at Survivor Series and embarked on a 434-day reign as champion that ended when he lost to The Rock at Royal Rumble 2013. After an unsuccessful attempt at ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania 29, the Chicago native was largely embroiled in a series of mid-card feuds before eventually leaving WWE in January 2014 after a dispute with management.

CM Punk UFC Debut

When CM Punk announced to the world that he was going to try his luck in MMA, it caused a huge stir in both the worlds of Mixed Martial Arts and Pro-Wrestling. Possibly the most popular wrestler of the last decade, CM Punk had taken the WWE by storm, and him leaving following a huge fall-out with the company had caused the fans to follow his career with a huge amount of interest. Wrestling fans had been hoping that the differences would be put aside and he would return to WWE, but when the announcement came that he was going to fight in the UFC, no one had expected that.

Training and first fight:

CM Punk moved to the city of Milwaukee to train in the Roufusport gym while still retaining his home in Chicago. A shoulder injury saw his debut in the UFC delayed until 2016. When 2016 came around, it was decided that he will compete in the Welterweight Division against Mickey Gall. Days after, CM Punk suffered a herniated disc which saw him undergo surgery again. He finally fought Mickey Gall on the 10th of September as the WWE and UFC world both looked on to see what would happen. Unfortunately, CM Punk was not able to achieve the success that had been hoped for him, and he lost the fight after he submitted at 2 minutes and 14 seconds of the 1st round.

Second UFC fight and commentary:

The next fight came almost two years later, as in June of 2018, CM Punk faced Mike Jackson in his hometown of Chicago. He lost again after being dominated for the entirety of three rounds. Following the loss, while Dana White said Punk might never fight in the UFC again, Punk is still on contract to UFC, and is meanwhile trying his luck as a commentator on a smaller stage, having signed with Cage Fury Fighting Championship.

All Elite Wrestling (2021-2023)

On August 20, 2021, CM Punk made his debut in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After staying away from the squared circle for seven long years. He had his first match against Darby Allin and picked up the victory on September 5, 2021, at the AEW All Out PPV. Punk also went on to defeat Powerhouse Hobbs, Daniel Garcia, Matt Sydal, and Bobby Fish.

He then went on to collide against MJF in numerous matches in a critically acclaimed feud. Punk lost to MJF in his hometown Chicago before defeating him at AEW Revolution.

AEW World Championship Reigns

He then shifted his focus to AEW World Title and defeated Hangman Page at Double or Nothing for the title. He was scheduled to defend his title against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door, but couldn't do so due to an injury. He was taken away from the programming while still being the champion. Meanwhile, a tournament to crown the interim champion was organized which was won by Jon Moxley.

At Dynamite: Quake at the Lake, after Moxley defeated Chris Jericho, Punk made his return on the same night. Moxley and Punk competed on the 24th August episode of Dynamite where Punk lost. On the next Dynamite, CM Punk signed the open contract put forward by Jon Moxley for a match at All Out. At the event, Punk defeated Moxley after a brutal match and became only the second person after Moxley to win the AEW World Championship twice. After the match, he was confronted by the returning MJF, who had won the Casino Ladder Match earlier the night.

At the post-All Out media scrum, Punk expressed his displeasure on the way the EVPs of the company were working. He took shots at them and reportedly he, Ace Steel, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks got into a backstage shoot fight following the scrum. On the September 7 episode of Dynamite, AEW CEO Tony Khan addressed the situation and suspended Punk for his actions, and took away the world title. For the first time since the All Out Post-Conference, CM Punk was seen for the first time on television. He was seen on the Cage Fighting Fury Championship promotion as a commentator.

Return to All Elite Wrestling

Following a nine-month hiatus, CM Punk made his return to AEW on the first-ever episode of AEW Collision. On June 17, 2023, the premier episode of the programming, he teamed up with FTR and defeated Samoa Joe, Jay White, and Juice Robinson in the main event of the night. He then partook in Men's Owen Hart Foundation tournament where he defeated his longtime enemy Samoa Joe in the semi-finals before losing to Ricky Starks in the finals.

In July, he unveiled his version of the AEW World Championship because he claimed that he had never lost his championship. His title also had an X sign in the middle symbolizing the Straight Edge philosophy he has promoted throughout his pro wrestling career. He feuded against his former rival Samoa Joe leading to a match at AEW All In: London at Wembley Stadium. At the event, he defeated Joe to retain his "Real World Championship".

Altercation with Jack Perry and departure from AEW

At All In, it was reported that Punk was involved in a backstage fight with fellow AEW talent Jack Perry. A disciplinary committee of AEW undertook the investigation and on September 2, unanimously decided to terminate CM Punk's contract with the company.

"The incident was regrettable, and it endangered people backstage." Further Tony Khan said"Never in all [this] time have I ever felt until last Sunday that my security, my safety, my life was in danger at a wrestling show. I don’t think anybody should feel that way at work, I don’t think the people I work with should feel that way, and I had to make a very difficult choice today." Shared Tony Khan, AEW President and CEO

Return to WWE (2023-Present)

At the 2023 edition of Survivor Series, Team Rhodes defeated The Judgment Day in a WarGames match in the main event of the night. Just as the night was about to shut off, The Cult of Personality played in the arena to thunderous cheers from the fans. CM Punk made his official return to WWE after almost a decade. He made his return to WWE in his hometown Chicago. Over the next weeks, Punk made appearances on RAW, SmackDown and NXT before officially signing a contract with Monday Night RAW.

He was then confronted by World Heavyweight Champion Seth 'Freakin' Rollins, who accused Punk of being away for a decade and demanding spotlight for nothing. In December, Punk made his in-ring return against Dominik Mysterio during the WWE Holiday Tour at Madison Square Garden. He also announced himself for the Royal Rumble match.

CM Punk's Movies and TV Shows

Movies

TV Shows

CM Punk's Championships and Accomplishments

CM Punk's Net Worth

As per various online sources, AEW Superstar CM Punk is worth around USD 12 Million as of 2023. Click here to learn more about the net worth of the Second City Saint.

CM Punk's Wife

Former WWE Superstar CM Punk is married to former fellow wrestler April Mendez. Fans better know Mendez by her ring name AJ Lee. Punk and Lee had shared screens on WWE programming quite a few times including dating each other on the screen. The two married on June 13, 2014. This was also the date when he was handed his termination papers by WWE.

AJ Lee, alongside a pro wrestler, is also an author and screenwriter. She was born on March 19, 1987, in Union City, New Jersey. During her time in WWE, Lee held the Divas Championship for a joint-record three times for an overall period of 406 days, which was more than anyone else who had held the title. Lee is generally praised for her role in Divas revolution, which helped for steering towards equal roles of men and women in WWE.