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.
For the first time since the All Out Post-Conference, CM Punk was seen for the first time on the television. He was seen on the Cage Fighting Fury Championship promotion as a commentator.
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 estranged from his mother.
He was married to fellow wrestler April Mendez aka AJ Lee in 2014. Brooks once worked for a shop named All American Comics. He is also regarded by many as one of the greatest wrestlers in professional wrestling. And highly regarded for his skills.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 EVPs of the company were working. He took shots at them and reportedly he, Ace Steel, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks got in 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 the television. He was seen on the Cage Fighting Fury Championship promotion as a commentator.
His real name of Phillip Jack Brooks.
His wife name is April Mendez (AJ Lee)
He is currently 43 years old.
Phil, The Voice of the Voiceless, The Best in the World.
*Updated on 11th November, 2022
