CM Punk

On April 19, 2019, Punk appeared in a masked disguise at an event held by independent promotion MKE Wrestling, where he helped Ace Steel win a match by attacking his opponent with the GTS. While it was implied to be Punk by promotion owner Silas Young, nothing was confirmed by Punk.

Punk made his acting debut in the 2019 horror film Girl on the Third Floor. His performance was praised as "compelling", "down-to-earth", and "energetic and charismatic", with one review stating that he "nails it".

On January 27 at the Royal Rumble, Punk defended the WWE Championship against The Rock in a match stipulated 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, leading Vince McMahon to come out and announce that Punk would be stripped of the title, but he instead restarted the match at The Rock's request. Punk lost, ending his reign at 434 days. WWE recognized this reign as the longest world championship reign in WWE of the "modern era" until Universal Champion Brock Lesnar broke that record in June 2018. Punk received a title rematch with Rock on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, stipulated that The Rock would lose the title if he was disqualified or counted out, but Punk was pinned by Rock after miscommunication with Heyman. On the February 25 episode of Raw, Punk faced Royal Rumble winner John Cena for his number one contendership to the WWE Championship, but he lost.

Punk's second professional bout took place at UFC 225 on June 9, 2018, in his hometown of Chicago, where he lost to Mike Jackson via unanimous decision. After the bout, UFC president Dana White said that Punk would probably not fight for the UFC again.

On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Punk had signed with the Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) promotion (a UFC affiliate) as a commentator. His first event was CFFC 71 on December 14 and it was streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.

In August 2018, Colton filed a lawsuit against Brooks, alleging breach of contract and fraud due to Brooks's alleged agreement and later refusal to pay Colton's legal fees for the Amann suit. Colton sought $200,000 in damages and an additional $1 million in punitive damages. Brooks filed a counterclaim against Colton in June 2019, for $600,000 and additional fees. Both lawsuits were settled and dismissed in September 2019. According to PWInsider, the settlement involved no financial compensation.

In January 2015, Punk began training under Duke Roufus at Roufusport MMA Academy. In June 2015, Punk moved to Milwaukee to be closer to the Roufusport gym while still retaining his home in Chicago. Later, it was announced that Punk would compete in the welterweight division. In October 2015, Roufus announced that Punk had suffered a shoulder injury, delaying his UFC debut until the next calendar year. On February 6, 2016, it was announced that Punk would face Mickey Gall in his first professional mixed martial arts (MMA) contest, but he was diagnosed with a herniated disc and underwent surgery days later.

His first known appearance during a wrestling match, following his exit from WWE, was at a Freelance Wrestling show on December 4, 2015, titled "Raw Power." He would manage Kikutaro in a match against Darin Corbin and Dick Justice. Punk was draped in a cloak and tossed around salt before the match. The commentators referred to him as Kikutaro's "nameless mentor," and Punk didn't get involved in the match.

In February 2015, Marvel Comics' Thor Annual No. 1, partly written by Brooks, was released. He co-wrote "The Most Cursed", which appeared in Vertigo Comics' Strange Sports Stories No. 3 in May 2015. Brooks also co-wrote Marvel Comics' Drax ongoing series. Brooks wrote a one-shot of Marvel's Master of Kung Fu, which was published in November 2017.

Brooks was the cover athlete for the video game WWE '13. In 2015, he was featured in Frank Turner's "The Next Storm" music video.

In February 2015, WWE doctor Christopher Amann filed a defamation lawsuit against Brooks and Scott Colton over Brooks's allegations of medical malpractice on an episode of Colton's podcast (see above). Amann was seeking roughly $4 million in compensation and an undisclosed amount in punitive damages. WWE issued a statement and video in support of Amann. The case went to trial in 2018, where a jury ruled in favor of Brooks and Colton.

After becoming disillusioned with WWE, Punk retired from professional wrestling in early 2014. He pursued a career in mixed martial arts and was signed by the UFC in December 2014. His first professional fight took place in September 2016 at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall, where he was defeated via submission in the first round. He lost his second bout to Mike Jackson via unanimous decision in June 2018 at UFC 225.

Punk moved on to a feud with The Wyatt Family and formed an alliance with Daniel Bryan, with the duo defeating Harper and Rowan in a tag team match on November 24 at Survivor Series. The next night on Raw, Punk was attacked by The Shield while attempting to save Bryan from being "taken hostage" by The Wyatt Family. Punk then insinuated that The Authority, a villainous group who controlled WWE leaded by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, ordered the attack, which resulted in the Director of Operations Kane booking Punk in a three-on-one handicap match against The Shield at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. At the event on December 15, Punk won the match after Reigns accidentally performed a spear on Ambrose. After further altercations between Punk and Kane, Kane made Punk the first entrant in the annual Royal Rumble match on January 26, 2014. Near the end of match, Kane, who was already eliminated earlier in the match by Punk, eliminated Punk from the outside and proceeded to perform on him a chokeslam through the announce table.

In a December 2014 interview, Punk explains why he left WWE earlier that year

The Pro Wrestling Torch documents the Punk interview released in November 2014

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 that after the suspension ended, nobody from WWE contacted him. Punk also told that when he reached out to them for unpaid royalties, he was given a run-around by company executives until he was handed his termination papers and was fired by WWE 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 potentially fatal MRSA infection (Later Punk acknowledged on the witness stand that no physician ever diagnosed him with suffering from an MRSA staph infection), broken ribs, injured knees and multiple concussions, including one at the 2014 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. According to Punk, he found a lump on his back in November 2013 and it was diagnosed as a fatty deposit by Dr Chris Amann, who refused to remove it despite Punk's requests. The week after Punk left WWE, his wife April Mendez convinced him to get the lump checked by her doctor. The doctor told Punk that he could have died due to ignoring it for such a long time. Punk had the doctor evacuate the infection, describing it as the worst pain in his life, but said that once it was treated and he was on stronger medication, he was able to sleep better than he had in months.

Punk adopted his real-life following of the straight edge movement as a major attribute of his professional wrestling character. The character utilizes different elements of Punk's personality and beliefs of the straight edge movement dependent on his alignment. While portraying a crowd favorite, Punk's character 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 personally abstaining from these behaviors. 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. During his WWE career, Punk also incorporated a belligerently anti-establishment and anti-corporate attitude into his persona.

An integral part of Punk are the numerous tattoos that adorn his body, some of which have become symbols associated with Punk as well as mantras and declarations that have been integrated into his gimmick. The tattoos as a whole, due to their large quantity and variety, have also become an attribute identifiable to Punk. The most important of the individual tattoos in Punk's character—whether through association, symbol, or mantra—are the following:

At UFC 181, on December 6, 2014, Punk announced that he had signed a multi-fight contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). When asked if he would compete under his ring name or birth name, he told the Las Vegas Sun: "I've come this far with CM Punk. That's what people know. I'm trying to stick with that. I'm not shying away from it. I'm not ashamed of it". His UFC profile lists him as CM Punk.

Brooks married fellow wrestler April Mendez, better known as AJ Lee, on June 13, 2014. He is an atheist, and supports LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. Like his wrestling persona, he follows a straight edge lifestyle. He is an avid fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Cubs. In his spare time, he reads and collects comic books. He once worked for a shop named All American Comics, and cites Preacher as his favorite comic.

On July 21, Punk made a surprise appearance at a joint WWE–Mattel panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where he mocked new chief operating officer Triple H and offered WWE Championship tournament finalist Rey Mysterio a match for the WWE Championship as long as it was in Punk's hometown in 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 and upstaged the new WWE Champion's celebration while also entering into a title dispute. Triple H later upheld both Punk and Cena's claims to the WWE Championship as legitimate and scheduled the two to a match at SummerSlam to decide the undisputed WWE Champion. At the event on August 14, Punk won, but he lost the title minutes later to Alberto Del Rio, who had cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after Kevin Nash attacked Punk.

The next night on Raw, a furious Mick Foley confronted Punk for refusing to pick John Cena as his Hell in a Cell opponent, leading the two to agree to meet at Survivor Series in a Survivor Series match with Punk choosing Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and The Miz for his team. However, Punk was replaced as captain by Dolph Ziggler the following week on Raw and was instead booked in a triple threat WWE Championship match against John Cena and Ryback by Vince McMahon. At the event on November 18, Punk won the match by pinning Cena following interference from the debuting faction called The Shield, allowing him to retain the WWE Championship and hold the championship for a full year. On December 4, Punk underwent surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus, removing him from his title match against Ryback on December 16 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Despite his injury, Punk became the longest-reigning WWE Champion in the past 25 years on December 5, when he hit 381 days, surpassing John Cena's 380-day reign. Punk returned to in-ring action on the January 7, 2013, episode of Raw, retaining the WWE Championship against Ryback in a TLC match following interference from The Shield.

In March 2013, Punk set his sights on ending The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak in an effort to "take something away from the fans" as he believed they had taken the WWE title away from him. He defeated Big Show, Randy Orton and Sheamus in a fatal four-way match to officially earn the right to face The Undertaker. After the death of Paul Bearer, Undertaker's former manager, a storyline involving Punk regularly spiting The Undertaker through displays of flippancy and disrespect towards Bearer's death began, including Punk stealing Bearer's trademark urn. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Punk was defeated by The Undertaker, who took back the urn.

In 2013, Brooks wrote a foreword for his friend and ex-girlfriend Natalie Slater's cookbook Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans.

On the October 31 episode of Raw, Punk strong-armed his way into a match with Del Rio at Survivor Series, regaining the WWE Championship at the event on November 20. Punk 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 on December 18 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. On the December 26 episode of Raw, Punk was defeated by Dolph Ziggler in a gauntlet match and as a result Ziggler became the number one contender to the WWE Championship. The following week on Raw, Punk was defeated by Ziggler by countout after Laurinaitis interfered, 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 on January 29, 2012, Punk successfully defended his title against Ziggler despite Laurinaitis acting as the outside enforcer.

Brooks wrote the introduction for the hardcover edition of Marvel Comics' 2012 crossover event Avengers vs. X-Men and described the opportunity as a "geek dream come true".

In January 2011, Punk and The Nexus cost Orton his match with The Miz for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble as a revenge for Orton prematurely ending Punk's first World Heavyweight Championship reign in 2008. In turn, Orton responded by taking out all of the New Nexus members by punting them in the head, leaving Punk alone as the sole surviving member of the group. This led to a WrestleMania XXVII match on April 3 and a Last Man Standing match on May 1 at Extreme Rules, both of which Punk lost.

In June 2011, after pinning WWE Champion John Cena on Raw, Rey Mysterio at Capitol Punishment, and finally Alberto Del Rio in a No. 1 contendership match all within one week, Punk revealed that his contract was to expire on July 17 at Money in the Bank and vowed to leave the company with the WWE Championship. After making a scathing yet highly acclaimed on-air speech concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner Vince McMahon, Punk was given a storyline suspension from televised WWE events. Punk would be reinstated on Cena's insistence. Upon his return, Punk ceased to appear with the remaining members of The Nexus and the group quietly dissolved that month, turning Punk face. At Money in the Bank, Punk defeated Cena to become the WWE Champion on his final night under contract with WWE. The match received a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer, marking Punk's second performance to attain a five-star rating.

Reporters, wrestlers, and fans alike, praise CM Punk's verbal skills, especially his in-ring promos. His 2011 "Pipebomb" promo has later beencited a both "historic" and very important professional wrestling promo. Punk is credited with beong one of the first independent wrestlers to have success in WWE, which in turn the door for other independent wrestlers to both be signed and pushed in WWE. In 2020, Ring of Honor made an online poll that included several former ROH wrestlers in a vote-off tournament. Punk went to the final round, losing the final vote to Bryan Danielson.

His character took on a more sinister direction on the November 27 episode of SmackDown when Punk revealed that he had converted Luke Gallows, who had previously been portrayed as the mentally incompetent wrestler Festus, to the straight-edge lifestyle which had rid him of his mental troubles. 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. After converting many people who were not seen again, convert Serena began accompanying Punk and Gallows to form The Straight Edge Society. As well as leading this alliance, Punk was also the mentor of NXT rookie Darren Young who flirted with the idea of becoming straight edge before refusing just before his head was to be shaved. Punk also gave sermons including during the annual Royal Rumble match in January 2010 as well as during an Elimination Chamber match in February 2010 at both of the eponymous pay-per-view events.

During the first months of 2010, Punk feuded with Rey Mysterio, being eliminated by him during the Elimination Chamber match. After Mysterio prevented him from winning a Money in the Bank qualifying match, Punk interrupted Mysterio's celebration of his daughter's ninth birthday. Mysterio and Punk faced each other in a street fight at WrestleMania XXVI, where if Rey lost, he would join the Straight Edge Society, but Punk was defeated. They had a rematch at Extreme Rules where Punk would have to shave his head like his disciples if he lost, but he won this match after interference from Joey Mercury, a fourth member of the Straight Edge Society. On May 23 at Over The Limit, a third and final match between Punk and Mysterio was booked with both stipulations reactivated, but he lost and was subsequently shaved bald.

On the October 27 episode of Raw, Punk and Kofi Kingston defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to win the World Tag Team Championship. The duo were members of Team Batista at Survivor Series, where their team lost to Team Orton on November 23. Punk then entered in a number one contender Intercontinental Championship tournament, defeating Snitsky and John Morrison in the first two rounds. Punk and Kingston lost the World Tag Team Championship to John Morrison and The Miz on December 13 at a live event. The next day at Armageddon, Punk defeated Rey Mysterio to win the tournament. On the January 5, 2009, episode of Raw, Punk received his title match against William Regal, which ended in a disqualification when Regal grabbed the referee's jersey. Due to this, Stephanie McMahon awarded Punk a rematch the following week on Raw, but this time it was himself that was disqualified. McMahon awarded him another rematch, a no disqualification match on the January 19 episode of Raw, where Punk won the match and the title. With this win, Punk became the 19th WWE Triple Crown Champion and the fastest to accomplish the feat, shattering Kevin Nash's old record at 203 days. Punk lost the title on the March 9 Raw to John "Bradshaw" Layfield. On April 5 at WrestleMania XXV, Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match and became the first person to win the match twice. On April 13 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, ultimately resulting in a Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules, which was won by Punk.

On July 28, 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 to Deuce Shade and "Domino" Cliff Compton. Later that month, Punk also lost the OVW Heavyweight Championship when he was defeated by Chet Jablonski. Punk continued to make sporadic appearances for OVW until WWE and OVW ended their developmental partnership on February 7, 2008.

At the September 1 ECW taping, Punk defeated Morrison in a last chance title match to win the ECW Championship. In the following months, Punk 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 November 6 on ECW, Punk retained the ECW Championship in a match against Morrison following The Miz's interference. On November 18 at Survivor Series, Punk retained the title in a triple threat match against The Miz and John Morrison. On January 22, 2008 on ECW, Punk lost the ECW Championship to Chavo Guerrero in a no disqualification match after Edge performed a spear on him, ending his reign at 143 days.

On June 23, Punk was drafted to the Raw brand during the 2008 WWE draft. In his first night on Raw the following week, Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after Batista beat down World Heavyweight Champion Edge and won the title, making his first defense later that same night against John "Bradshaw" Layfield, who had challenged him shortly after his win. Punk continued to hold and defend the title (against the likes of Batista at The Great American Bash and JBL at SummerSlam) until Unforgiven, when he was attacked by The Legacy and Randy Orton finished the assault by punting Punk in the head before the Championship scramble match on September 7, ending his reign at 69 days. Punk could not participate in the match due to the attack and so forfeited the title, being replaced by Chris Jericho, who won the match and the title. On the September 15 episode of Raw, Punk received his title rematch, but he failed to regain the title in a steel cage match against Jericho.

In 2008, Brooks appeared as the Sports Grand Marshal of the nationally televised McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Chicago. He reprised this role in 2012.

Following the event, on January 9, 2007, Punk had his first loss in ECW against Hardcore Holly, ending his six-month unbeaten streak in singles competition. He also participated on the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23, WWE's biggest PPV, but lost the match. On April 10, Punk was involved in the feud between the New Breed, a group of young wrestlers and ECW Originals, the group of veteran wrestlers from the original ECW. On April 10, Punk joined the New Breed after several weeks in which both the New Breed and the had attempted to recruit him. However, two weeks later he betrayed the New Breed during a four-on-four tag team 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 which Punk proceeded to deliver his finisher, the "Go to Sleep". On May 20 at Judgment Day, Punk defeated Burke in his first singles match on a WWE pay-per-view event. Punk then went on to One Night Stand on June 3 and teamed up with Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in a tables match to defeat the New Breed and end the storyline.

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 the TNA's Against All Odds event scheduled the next day. In the main event, Punk teamed with Bryan Danielson to defeat Adam Pearce and Jimmy Rave in a tag team match.

On November 9, 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 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 during the match and was replaced by Aaron "The Idol" Stevens, who won the match and became the new OVW Television Champion. After Matt Cappotelli vacated the OVW Heavyweight Championship because of a brain tumor in February, a tournament was held to crown a new champion and Punk lost to Albright in the finals. 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, Punk defeated Albright in a strap match to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As champion, Punk retained the title in matches against opponents such as Ken Kennedy, Johnny Jeter, and Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.

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 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 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, defeating Justin Credible. Punk established himself in ECW by going undefeated, defeating opponents such as Christopher W. Anderson, Stevie Richards and Shannon Moore.

Brooks began his professional wrestling career on the American independent circuit, primarily with Ring of Honor (ROH) until signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2005. During his 15-year career, he won the WWE Championship twice, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times, and the ECW and ROH World Championships once each. By winning WWE's World Tag Team Championship (with Kofi Kingston) and Intercontinental Championship, he became WWE's 19th Triple Crown Champion and the fastest to achieve this feat (203 days). He was voted WWE Superstar of the Year at the 2011 Slammy Awards and Wrestler of the Year in 2011 and 2012 by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

After a try-out match on May 9, 2005, which aired May 15, where he lost to Val Venis on the Sunday Night Heat show, Punk accepted a deal offered by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in June. Though he had accepted the deal, Punk defeated Austin Aries to win the ROH World Championship on June 18 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, referred to by ROH as the "Summer of Punk", 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, Punk lost the ROH World Championship to James Gibson in a four corner elimination match which also involved Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels. Punk's final scheduled match in ROH took place at Punk: The Final Chapter on August 13, against long-time friend Colt Cabana in a two out of three falls match, which he lost.

In September 2005, Punk was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, a WWE developmental territory. He made his debut as a heel on September 8 in a dark match, where he, Nigel McGuinness and Paul Burchill were defeated by Deuce Shade, Elijah Burke and Seth Skyfire. On September 26 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.

In 2004, Punk faced off against ROH World Champion Samoa Joe for the championship in a three-match series. On June 12 at World Title Classic, the first match 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. On October 16 at Joe vs. Punk II, 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 at All-Star Extravaganza 2 in which there was a no-time-limit stipulation.

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. However, Punk said the scuffle had no bearing on his TNA career. Brooks said the reason he and Dinero stopped appearing on TNA's pay-per-view events was that TNA officials believed that he and Dinero had not connected with the fans as villains, having turned against the popular Raven and instead formed a villainous tag team managed by James Mitchell. The officials decided that since the team was not working as villains, the storyline would be put 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.

Punk's home promotion for his early career was considered to be the 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 wrestlers like A.J. Styles, Cabana and Eddie Guerrero in matches for the heavyweight championship. Punk's feud with Hero included a 55-minute Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match, a 93-minute two out of three falls match and several 60-minute time limit draws. From July 2003 until May 2004, Punk refused to wrestle for IWA Mid-South, explaining this as a protest to Ian Rotten's mistreatment of Chris Hero in the company. However, Hero 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. Punk eventually returned to IWA Mid-South and continued to perform as a wrestler and commentator for them until July 2005.

Punk's matches with Colt Cabana led him to being hired by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. Initially, Punk joined ROH as a face, but quickly turned heel in a feud with Raven that featured numerous variants of no disqualification matches. Their rivalry was rooted in Punk's straight-edge lifestyle, with him likening Raven to his alcoholic father; it lasted most of 2003 and was considered one of ROH's top feuds of the year. Their rivalry was settled at The Conclusion in November 2003, where Punk defeated Raven in a steel cage match.

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 (Punk and Cabana defeated the Briscoe Brothers to win the championship both times). 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.

Brooks 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 began wrestling at Steel Domain Wrestling in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1999. 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 promotions, as both opponents and tag team partners. In the independents, along with fellow Steel Domain graduates Colt Cabana, Chucke E. Smooth, Adam Pearce and manager Dave Prazak, Punk formed an alliance named the Gold Bond Mafia.

Brooks'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. Brooks 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 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 and not have spoken since.

Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competes in the welterweight division, and to Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC), where he works as a commentator. He also appears on the Fox Sports 1 series WWE Backstage as an analyst. He is perhaps best known for his time in WWE, where his 434-day WWE Championship reign stands as the longest of the 21st century and the sixth-longest in history.

Phillip Jack Brooks was born in Chicago on October 26, 1978, and raised in nearby Lockport. He is one of five children. His father was an engineer, while his mother was a homemaker. Brooks's father struggled with alcoholism which inspired him to become straight edge from an early age, while his mother struggled with bipolar disorder, causing him to become estranged from her. He attended Lockport Township High School.