CM Punk

Biography

Phillip Jack Brooks is a professional wrestler currently under contract for World Wrestling Entertainment, though he has not appeared on their programming since January, 2014’s Royal Rumble event. He debuted in professional wrestling in 1999.

As CM Punk, Brooks enjoyed a long tenure with both promotions Ring of Honor (RoH), in which he was part of the Second City Saints stable with fellow Chicago natives and friends Ace Steel and Colt Cabana, and Total Nonstop Action (TNA). Punk began in the WWE in their then-developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, before being moved into the ECW show which formerly aired on the Syfy Channel. He held the WWE Championship title for an unprecedented for 434 days from November 20, 2011 to January 27, 2013. His eclectic wrestling style incorporates lucha libre, submission moves, and Japanese strong-style, making him both a formidable opponent in the ring, as well as an excellent entertainer. He is infamous for his “pipe bombs,” his in-ring diatribes. In the ring, he was affiliated with his long-time friend, Paul Heyman.

CM Punk self-identifies as straight-edge, a person who lives a drug-free and alcohol free life, and as an anti-authority iconoclast. Before his recent departure from WWE programming, he was involved in a storyline against Kane, who abandoned his “big red monster” persona to serve the Authority, the powers-that-be within the WWE. His contract has since lapsed. At the 2014 AP (Alternative Press) Awards where he was a presenter, when asked if he would ever return to the squared circle, Brooks shook his head and said “no.”

In his personal life, he has been romantically linked to several female wrestlers, including Lita (Amy Dumas) and Daffney (Shannon Spruill). On June 13, 2014, Brooks married fellow WWE roster member, AJ Lee.

Brooks is also a comic book fan, and often tweets about his own reading trends. In part of his ring entrance, CM Punk checks his figurative watch and shouts, “It’s Clobberin’ Time!,” borrowed from the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed idol of millions, the Thing. Punk also offers commentary in the direct-to-DVD Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics.

In Comics

CM Punk appears as a character in the WWE Superstars comic book series, written by prolific professional wrestler Mick Foley and published by Super Genius. He appears in the foreground on the Jill Thompson variant cover of the first issue in an homage to Jack Kirby’s classic Fantastic Four #51 – This Man…This Monster cover.

In the comic’s narrative, CM Punk is a vigilante working to overthrow the corrupt government of Titan City. He organizes the “Take Back the City” rally to stir the residents to action. He tries to gain the support of Kane and the Undertaker. This fictional version of Punk is also characterized as being straight edge.