CM Punk Phillip Jack " Phil " Brooks ( October 26 , 1978 ) , better known by his ring name CM Punk , is an American mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler . He is best known for his time with WWE . He was titled in the company as " the longest - reigning WWE Champion of the modern era " , having held the title for 434 days from November 20 , 2011 to January 27 , 2013 . Punk is officially recognized as having the sixth - longest championship reign of all time . He is the fifth longest - reigning champion in the title ' s history , after Bruno Sammartino & Bob Backlund ( who had over 2000 ) and Hulk Hogan & Pedro Morales ( who had over 1000 ) . Punk ' s reign is the longest during the time it was called ' WWE Championship ' while Hogan ' s is the longest during the time it was called ' WWF Championship ' ( narrowly eclipsing Backlund ' s second reign ) . Sammartino ' s reign occurred when it was called ' NWA Championship ' and his second reign made him the longest - reigning in the ' WWWF Championship ' as well ( narrowly eclipsing Morales ) . In professional wrestling , Punk is a seven - time World Champion , having held the ROH World Championship and ECW Championship once each , WWE ' s World Heavyweight Championship three times , and the WWE Championship twice . He has also won the World Tag Team Championship ( with Kofi Kingston ) and the WWE Intercontinental Championship , making him the 19th WWE Triple Crown Champion and the fastest man in WWE history to achieve this record at 203 days . Between WWE and Ring of Honor ( where he is a two - time World Tag Team Champion ) , Punk has won a total of 11 championships . He was also the winner of the 2008 and 2009 Money in the Bank ladder match es ( the only wrestler to win the match twice in a row ) , and was the 2011 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner . Punk initially came to prominence through his career on the professional wrestling independent circuit , primarily as a member of the ROH roster . There , he was the first head trainer of the ROH wrestling school . Also while competing in ROH , Punk won both the company ' s championships . In 2005 , Punk signed a contract with WWE and was sent to its developmental promotion , Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) , where he won every championship available in that promotion . On June 24 , 2006 , Punk made his WWE television debut , performing in ECW , which was then a branch of WWE . Throughout his career , Punk has consistently used the gimmick of being an outspoken , sharp - tongued , and straight edge iconoclast . Punk ' s straight edge principles when in character are based on his actual way of life out of character . Depending on Punk ' s alignment as a fan favorite or villain , he has emphasized different aspects of the culture to arouse the desired audience reaction . Following his retirement from professional wrestling , Punk had signed with a deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC ) and began to pursue a career in mixed martial arts . Professional wrestling career . 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 . Independent Wrestling Association : Mid - South ( 2000 – 2005 ) . 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 ( 2002 – 2005 ) . Storylines with Raven ( 2002 – 2004 ) . 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 - view s 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 . World Championship pursuits ; " Summer of Punk " ( 2004 – 2005 ) . 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 . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2005 – 2014 ) . 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 , Mike 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 Judgement 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 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 ) . On 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 . Show beat Punk in a singles match at Night of Champions . 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 XXVII . 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 Championship s 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 . 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 , 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 Daniel 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 . Heel Turn and Longest Reigning WWE Champion of the Modern Era ( 2012 – 2013 ) . On the 1000 Episode of Raw , it was announced the WWE Champion at that time would face The Rock for the WWE Championship 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 People ' s Elbow , Punk ran in and clotheslined 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 . 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 ' 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 ' 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 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 . On the December 3 , 2012 edition of RAW , Punk was injured during an assualt by Ryback . It was reported the following day he will miss , and possibly even miss Royal Rumble 2013 . On the January 7th edition of 2013 , CM Punk defeated Ryback , to retain the title with the help of The Shield . At the Royal Rumble on January 27 , Punk defended the WWE Championship against The Rock in a match with the stipulation that if The Shield interfered , Punk would be stripped of the title . Punk originally pinned The Rock to retain after The Shield put Rock through a table while the arena lights were out . Vince McMahon began to announce that Punk would be stripped of the title , but he instead restarted the match at The Rock ' s request . Punk then lost the WWE Championship to The Rock , ending his reign at 434 days . Punk got a rematch at Elimination Chamber where if The Rock was disqualified or counted out , the championship would go him . Punk ended up hitting Paul Heyman with the championship belt while the referee was knocked out and allowed for The Rock to capitalize and retain his championship . On March 4 , 2013 , Punk won a Fatal Four - Way match to face Undertaker at WrestleMania 29 . On March 11 , Punk interrupted Undertaker while he was paying tribute to the late Paul Bearer , after a real - life death . This angered not only Undertaker but Kane as well . This led to a no DQ match between Punk and Kane , which Kane won . After the match , Kane and Undertaker both paid tribute to Paul Bearer . Punk then attacked Kane with the urn , Undertaker ' s urn , that Kane bought to the ring . Punk ran off with the urn angering the Undertaker . The next week , Undertaker demanded that Punk return the urn . The next week , The Undertaker would come out to eviscerate Punk by talking about his historic title run and demand his urn back . However , the druid music would play with druids emerging from the stage and Paul Heyman imitating Bearer , Punk would then reveal himself as a druid and attack the Undertaker . Punk then poured all the ashes all over taker and himself to end that episode of Raw . However at WrestleMania 29 , CM Punk would be defeated by The Undertaker , raising Taker ' s streak to 21 - 0 . On the April 15 episode of Raw , Punk addressed the crowd and recalled his WWE Championship reign , as well as his matches with The Rock and The Undertaker . He then suddenly dropped the microphone and left the arena , leaving the crowd and Paul Heyman wondering what had happened . Face Turn and retirement ( 2013 – 2014 ) . On June 16 , Punk returned to WWE Payback , Where he defeated Chris Jericho , and during the match , Punk showed signs of a face turn , high fiving fans several times and engulfing himself in their cheers . On the June 17 episode Of Raw , Punk announced he wanted a match with new World Champion Alberto Del Rio , Punk asked Paul Heyman to not be at ringside with him , Punk won the match by countout , After he won the match , Brock Lesnar returned to Raw and attacked Punk . The following week on RAW , Punk confronted Heyman about Lesnar ' s attack to which Heyman claimed Lesnar was acting on his own . Punk in turn claimed he trusted Heyman and allowed him to stay at ringside for his match against Darren Young , which Punk won and following the match he was attacked by Titus O ' Neil and in turn Heyman summoned his newest client Curtis Axel to save Punk , much to his dismay . The following week , Punk was forced to team with Curtis and together , they defeated the Prime Time Players . At Money in the Bank , CM Punk nearly won the briefcase but he was attacked by Paul Heyman , whom struck Punk with a ladder several times , stopping Punk from winning the match . The following night on RAW , Punk called out Heyman who claimed that without him , Punk wouldn ' t be the Best in the World , and proceeded to have Brock Lesnar attack Punk . The following week on Raw , Punk challenged Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam , which Heyman accepted on Lesnar ' s behalf . On the August 5 Raw , Punk wrestled Axel to a no - contest , after Heyman attacked him . Lesnar then came out and brawled with Punk , eventually getting the upper hand . Punk got revenge the next week by attacking Lesnar with a camera and a steel chair , after Heyman tried to change the scheduled match between Punk and himself to a handicap match involving Lesnar . He then delivered a Go To Sleep to Axel , who had interfered while Punk was chasing Heyman . Six days later , at SummerSlam , Punk lost to Lesnar in a No Disqualification match , after interference by Heyman . On the next Raw , Punk had the chance to again become a " Paul Heyman guy " , but declined by attacking Axel . The next week , Punk defeated Axel before being assaulted by him and Heyman . Punk was then scheduled to face Axel and Heyman in a handicap elimination match at Night of Champions , later adding a No Disqualification to the stipulation . During the match , Punk tapped Axel out , leaving only Heyman left to deal with , but in the process of attacking Heyman , Ryback attacked Punk and placed Heyman on top of Punk for the pin . At Battleground , Punk defeated Ryback after executing a low blow , while the referee was distracted by Heyman attempting to interfere in the match . On the October 14 episode of Raw , Punk defeated Axel in a Beat a Clock challenge match to determine the stipulation for his rematch with Ryback at the Hell in a Cell pay - per - view . He announced that his match would a be two - on - one handicap match in the Hell in a Cell , in which he would face Paul Heyman and Ryback . On October 27 , at Hell in a Cell , Punk defeated Ryback and Paul Heyman . Punk faced Ryback again in a Street Fight match the following night on Raw , defeating Ryback by submission , thus ending their feud . After the match , he was attacked by The Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt , Luke Harper and Erick Rowan ) , starting a feud , and later formed an alliance with former rival Daniel Bryan . At Survivor Series , Punk and Bryan defeated Harper and Rowan in a tag team match . After Bryan was " abducted " by the Wyatt Family the following night on Raw , Punk was attacked by old allies The Shield ( Dean Ambrose , Seth Rollins , and Roman Reigns ) . The following week on Raw , Kane announced that Punk would face The Shield in a 3 - on - 1 Handicap match at , which Punk won after Reigns accidentally speared Ambrose . At the Royal Rumble , Punk entered in at entrant # 1 . After having lasted until the final four , Kane , who was already eliminated earlier in the match by Punk , ran back to the ring and eliminated Punk from the outside . Punk did not appear on the episode of Raw on the Monday after the Rumble . Despite being advertised for the SmackDown taping on Tuesday , he also did not appear in front of the live audience . By Wednesday , WWE . com stopped advertising Punk for future events . It was reported by the Wrestling Observer that on Monday , Punk had legitimately walked out on WWE when he informed Vince McMahon that he was " going home " . In an interview published in late May , Punk indicated that he had retired ; he was questioned " How does it feel to be retired at 35 ? " and replied with " It feels good . " On July 15 , 2014 , WWE ( through WWE . com ) moved Punk from the active roster to the alumni page without releasing a statement . On the same day , Punk thanked his fans without mentioning WWE . In late July , Punk claimed that he was " never ever " going to return to wrestling . On an episode of Colt Cabana ' s " Art of Wrestling " podcast released in November 2014 , Punk broke his silence regarding his exit from WWE . In a detailed interview , Punk said that he was suspended for two months after walking out on the company in January , and was fired by WWE months later on his wedding day in June 2014 . The manner of firing was the last straw for Punk , stating that he would never return to WWE and that following a legal settlement with WWE , there would be no further working relationship between them . The settlement included Punk giving WWE permission to sell his remaining merchandise . Punk cited his health as the main reason he left WWE , describing that in his final months in the company , he had been working through an untreated and possibly fatal MRSA infection , broken ribs , injured knees , multiple concussions including one at the Royal Rumble , as well as having lost his appetite and ability to sleep well . Punk felt that WWE was pressuring and rushing him to wrestle before he had fully recovered . Other sources of unhappiness Punk had with WWE were his failure to main event a WrestleMania ( deeming his entire career to be a failure as a result ) , being paid less than other top wrestlers for WrestleMania 29 , being " creatively stifled " and feeling that there were no long - term plans for wrestlers other than John Cena , as well as receiving smaller paychecks and not getting answers as to how the WWE Network would effect wrestlers ' salaries . Lastly , Punk described having left with " zero passion " for wrestling , but described himself at the time of the interview to be the happiest in many years . Less than a week later , when Vince McMahon was interviewed on " The Steve Austin Show " via the WWE Network , he apologized to Punk for the manner of his termination , which he termed a " coincidence " while blaming a lack of communication within the organization . McMahon said that he was open to working with Punk again . In a second " Art of Wrestling " podcast , Punk rejected McMahon ' s apology as insincere and a " publicity stunt " as McMahon did not contact him directly to apologize and could have apologized earlier . Mixed martial arts career ( 2014 - present ) . Ultimate Fighting Championship . At UFC 181 on December 6 , 2014 , Brooks announced that he had signed a multi - fight contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship and will fight as a professional mixed martial artist in the middleweight or welterweight division in 2015 . This was confirmed on the UFC Twitter the same day . Brooks , 36 at the time of signing , has no amateur wrestling background , but has a background in kempo and also trained in Brazilian jiu - jitsu . Although he only has a white belt , he has been training for years and has refused to apply for higher belt levels , calling himself a " white belt for life " , so it is unclear what belt - equivalent his skills are at . Regarding Brooks ' signing , UFC President Dana White mentioned that while he " can definitely sell some pay - per - views " , that was not the sole motivation for it . On Brooks ' future longevity in UFC , White said : " He could be one and done , or he could have a career here . I don ' t know . We ' ll see . " White did not confirm a date for Brooks ' UFC debut , but predicted it to be around six or seven months later . Brooks will likely debut against someone who , like himself , has completed very few fights . Actor / Martial artist Jason David Frank , best known as Tommy Oliver , the Green Power Ranger from " Power Rangers " , but also a 41 - year - old mixed martial artist with a 1 – 0 record , offered to fill that role . According to Frank ' s manager , he has been considering fighting Brooks for over a year , stemming from fan interest for the idea while the two toured Wizard World conventions together . 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 . Tattoos . CM Punk has become well known for the various tattoos that cover his body . They have also been integrated into his gimmick and merchandise and were featured on WWE . com , as well as Inked magazine . Left Arm Right Arm Others Chikara Issue . Punk ' s character and gimmick have been parodied by the wrestling federation Chikara with the mascot character CP Munk , the straight edge chipmunk . Punk appeared regularly on early Chikara shows until no - showing a scheduled appearance ; the federation created CP Munk in response . 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 . 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 ' . Brooks at one point dated Amy Dumas . However , as stated in a Matt Hardy interview in March 2010 , Brooks and Dumas are no longer dating . By 2013 , the couple had reconciled and split once again . Punk is good friends with fellow wrestlers Colt Cabana , Luke Gallows , Joey Mercury , Cliff Compton , Bryan Danielson , and traveled with Kofi Kingston . Brooks married WWE Diva April Jeanette Mendez , better known as AJ Lee on June 13 , 2014 .