CM Punk

**Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks** (October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name **CM Punk**, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE.

In professional wrestling, Punk is a one-time World Champion having held the WWE Championship, inaugural WWE World Television Championship, Smackdown! World Tag Team Championship (with Colt Cabana). Between WWE and Ring of Honor (where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion) and IWA: Mid-South (where he is a five-time Heavyweight Champion, he was also the winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match of 2008.

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 Professional wrestling promotion|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 Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, a 93-minute Professional wrestling match types 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.

### Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2005)

#### Storylines with Raven (2002–2004)

Initially, Punk joined Ring of Honor (ROH) as a Face (professional wrestling)|crowd favorite, but quickly became a villain in a feud with Raven that featured numerous variants of Professional wrestling match types#No Disqualification match|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 Teddy Hart 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.

#### 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.

## Personal life

While working for Ring of Honor he was romantically linked to professional wrestlers Daffney|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 on Syfy|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, 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.

## In wrestling

* **WWE|World Wrestling Enterprise**
	+ **Finishing moves**
		- *Anaconda Vice* (Arm-trap triangle choke)
		- *GTS – Go To Sleep* (Fireman's carry dropped into a knee lift)
	+ **Signature moves**
		- Arm trap swinging neckbreaker
		- Arm wrench followed by stepping a leg over the wrenched arm and performing a mule kick with the leg below the opponent's face
		- Bulldog
		- Diving crossbody
		- Diving elbow drop – adopted from and used in tribute to Randy Savage
		- *Pepsi Twist* (Hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat)
		- Koji Clutch
		- Mongolian chop
		- kick variations
			* Roundhouse
			* Step-up enzuigiri
		- Sitout suplex slam
		- Slingshot somersault senton
		- Springboard clothesline
		- Step-up high knee to a cornered opponent followed by a bulldog or a short-arm clothesline
		- Suicide dive
		- Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker
		- *Welcome to Chicago...* (Double underhook backbreaker)

* **Independent circuit**
	+ **Finishing moves**
		- Anaconda vice
		- *Pepsi Plunge* (Diving double underhook facebuster)
		- *GTS – Go To Sleep* (Fireman's carry dropped into a knee lift)
		- 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 dive transitioned into a diving neckbreaker
		- *Crooked Moonsault* (Split-legged moonsault)
		- Delayed vertical suplex
		- *Devil Lock DDT* (Hammerlock legsweep DDT)
		- Facewash
		- Inverted facelock backbreaker
		- Inverted frankensteiner
		- *Jackie Chan* (While sitting in a corner, grasps the top rope with one hand on each side of the turnbuckle and when the opponent attempts to pull him off the ropes by his legs, he performs a back tuck, landing on his feet)
		- *Pepsi Twist* (Jumping hammerlock Spinning headlock elbow drop 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)

* **Manager (professional wrestling)|Managers**
	+ Milo Beasley
	+ Tracy Brooks
	+ Bobby Heenan
	+ Mickie James|Alexis Laree / Vicki Adams
	+ Daffney|Lucy
	+ Joshua Masters
	+ James Mitchell
	+ Dave Prazak

* **Nicknames**
	+ "The Second City Saint / Savior"
	+ "Money in the Bank ladder match|Mr. Money in the Bank"

* **Tag teams and stables**
	+ CM Punk & Colt Cabana

* **Music in professional wrestling|Entrance themes**
	+ **Independent circuit**
		- "South of Heaven (Theme Song)|South of Heaven" by Slayer
		- "A Call for Blood (Theme Song)|A Call for Blood" by Hatebreed
		- "Miseria Cantare (The Beginning) (Theme Song)|Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)" by AFI
		- "Cult of Personality (Theme Song)|Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
		- "Night Train (Theme Song)|Night Train" by The Bouncing Souls
		- "¡Olé! (Theme Song)|¡Olé!" by The Bouncing Souls
	+ **WWE|World Wrestling Entertainment**
		- "This Fire Burns (Theme Song)|This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (August 1, 2006 – Present)

* **Glossary of professional wrestling terms#T|Wrestlers trained**

* Anthony Franco
* Bobby Dempsey
* Davey Andrews
* Evan Starsmore
* Grizzly Redwood
* Jay Jensen
* Pelle Primeau
* Shane Hagadorn
* Smash Bradley

## Championships and Accomplishments

* **Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South**
	+ IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship#Title history|5 times)
	+ IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship#Title history|2 times)
* **International Wrestling Cartel**
	+ IWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **Mid-American Wrestling**
	+ MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Cyberspace**
	+ NWA Cyberspace Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brian Wohl|Julio Dinero
* **National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Revolution**
	+ NWA Revolution Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* *Ring of Honor*
	+ ROH World Tag Team Championship (ROH World Tag Team Championship/Champion history|2 times) – with Colt Cabana
* **St. Paul Championship Wrestling**
	+ SDW Northern States Television Championship (2 times)
	+ SPCW Northern States Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **World Wrestling Enterprise**
	+ WWE Championship|1 time)
	+ Smackdown! World Tag Team Championship (World Tag Team Championship (WWE)/Champion history|1 time) – with Kofi Kingston
	+ Mr. Money in the Bank (Money in the Bank ladder match#2008|2008)

* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ Dave Meltzer#Rating system|5 Star Match vs. Samoa Joe at ROH Joe vs. Punk II on October 16, 2004

## External links

* File:CM Punk Logo2.png|50px CMPunk.com (Official website)
* File:Wwe2014.png|50px WWE.com Profile
* File:Twitter-logo.png|50px CM Punk on Twitter (@CMPunk)

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