Early career; IWA Mid-South (1997–2005) Brooks' first venture into wrestling was a stint in a
backyard wrestling federation called the Lunatic Wrestling Federation with his older brother Michal and their friends in the mid-to-late 1990s. He had his debut match on October 25, 1997, the day before his 19th birthday, defeating Brawn the Lumberjack. 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; the "CM" originally stood for "Chick Magnet" but was later amended to have no meaning. Unlike his friends, Punk genuinely wanted to be a wrestler and saw it as more than simple fun. 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. who soon adopted the ring 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 Cabana and other fellow Steel Domain graduates Chucke E. Smooth,
Adam Pearce, and
manager Dave Prazak, Punk formed an
alliance named the Gold Bond Mafia. Punk would compete in the company's Super Indy tournament, but never won the championship. Punk's home
promotion for his early career was considered to be the
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South). Punk eventually returned to IWA Mid-South and continued to perform as a wrestler and commentator for them until July 2005.
NWA: Total Nonstop Action (2002–2004) Punk made his debut for
NWA: Total Nonstop Action alongside his trainer Ace Steel on September 18, 2002, where Punk and Steel defeated Derek Wylde and
Jimmy Rave and The Hot Shots (
Cassidy O'Reilly and
Chase Stevens) in a three-way match to qualify for the tag team
Gauntlet for the Gold later in the night, with the winning team facing
America's Most Wanted (
Chris Harris and
James Storm) in a match for the vacant
NWA World Tag Team Championship. Punk then returned to TNA in mid-2003, while simultaneously wrestling for
Ring of Honor. Upon his full-time signing with TNA, Punk was paired with
Julio Dinero as members of
Raven's
stable The Gathering. Around the time of the scuffle, Punk and Dinero stopped appearing on TNA shows, leading to speculation that he was fired for the incident. However, Punk said the scuffle had no bearing on his TNA career.
Ring of Honor (2002–2006, 2022) Second City Saints (2002–2004) Punk's matches with Colt Cabana led him to being hired by ROH. Initially, Punk joined ROH as a
face, trading wins with Cabana at
Night of the Butcher and
Final Battle. Their rivalry was rooted in Punk's straight-edge lifestyle, with him likening Raven to his alcoholic father; At
Night of Champions, Punk and his trainer Ace Steel faced Raven and Cabana in a tag team match, during which Cabana turned on Raven, allowing Punk and Steel to win the match. Consequently, Punk, Steel and Cabana formed a trio called the
Second City Saints. Punk and Raven's rivalry lasted most of 2003 and was considered one of ROH's top feuds of the year. It was settled at The Conclusion in November 2003, where Punk defeated Raven in a
steel cage match. having previously been a trainer for the Steel Domain After concluding the rivalry with Raven, the Second City Saints turned face by feuding with The Prophecy (
Christopher Daniels,
B.J. Whitmer and
Dan Maff), suspecting them of attacking Punk's
on-screen girlfriend
Lucy Fer. Whitmer was revealed to be the assailant, which led to Saints facing Prophecy in a six-man tag team match at
The Battle Lines Are Drawn, which ended in a no contest. The match concluded when Punk drove Daniels with a
Pepsi Plunge off the top rope through a table, thus explaining Daniels' departure from ROH. Around this time, Punk began 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 AJ Styles in the finals. The Second City Saints avenged their loss to the Prophecy by defeating them to retain the titles at
Generation Next. They held the titles throughout the summer before eventually losing them to
The Havana Pitbulls at
Testing The Limit. In mid-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 within the allotted 60 minutes. On October 16 at
Joe vs. Punk II, they wrestled to a second 60-minute draw.
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. In the main event, Punk teamed with
Bryan Danielson to defeat Adam Pearce and
Jimmy Rave in a
tag team match.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2005–2014) Ohio Valley Wrestling (2005–2006) Upon being signed by
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), CM Punk was assigned to
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), its
developmental territory, where he was mentored by
Paul Heyman. Punk's televised introduction followed on the July 4 episode of
ECW on Sci Fi, featuring a straight edge-themed promo alongside a new
Muay Thai-inspired presentation. Punk wrestled his first televised match for the brand on August 1 at
Hammerstein Ballroom, defeating Justin Credible, and later scored additional victories over
C. W. Anderson, Stevie Richards, and
Shannon Moore across subsequent
ECW broadcasts. Punk soon entered a rivalry with
Mike Knox after Knox's on-screen girlfriend Kelly Kelly displayed romantic interest in him. At
Survivor Series on November 26, Punk made his pay-per-view (PPV) debut in a winning effort as part of
the traditional elimination match. Punk's next PPV appearance came at
December to Dismember on December 3, where he was the first eliminated in the
Extreme Elimination Chamber match for the
ECW World Championship. Punk suffered his first ECW singles loss on the January 9, 2007 episode, ending his six-month undefeated streak against
Hardcore Holly. Punk later competed unsuccessfully in the
WrestleMania 23 Money in the Bank ladder match on April 1. The following weeks saw Punk entangled in the
New Breed vs.
ECW Originals feud, initially aligning with the New Breed after being courted by both factions, turning
heel in the process. Punk's heel turn proved short-lived, as he betrayed the New Breed by attacking leader
Elijah Burke during a multi-man tag team match, reestablishing himself as a
fan favorite. Punk defeated Burke in his first singles PPV match at
Judgment Day on May 20, then closed the rivalry at
One Night Stand on June 3 by teaming with
Tommy Dreamer and
The Sandman to defeat the New Breed in a
tables match. After ECW World Champion
Bobby Lashley was drafted to
Raw and stripped of the title, Punk advanced to the tournament finals at
Vengeance: Night of Champions on June 24, 2007. Punk's scheduled opponent
Chris Benoit was replaced last-minute by
Johnny Nitro, who defeated Punk for the vacant championship. Punk challenged Nitro (later renamed John Morrison) in unsuccessful title matches at
The Great American Bash on July 22 and
SummerSlam on August 26. Punk finally captured the ECW Championship by defeating Morrison in a last chance match on the September 4 episode of
ECW. Punk defended the title successfully throughout the fall, retaining against Elijah Burke at
Unforgiven on September 16, overcoming
Big Daddy V via disqualification at
No Mercy on October 7, and defeating
The Miz at
Cyber Sunday on October 28. After surviving another challenge from Morrison on November 6 and a
triple threat against Morrison and The Miz at
Survivor Series on November 18, Punk's 143-day reign ended on the January 22, 2008 episode of
ECW when he lost to
Chavo Guerrero in a no disqualification match following interference from
Edge.
World Heavyweight Champion (2008–2009) in August 2008 On March 30 at
WrestleMania XXIV, Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match, earning him a shot at either the WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW titles at any time. On June 23, Punk was
drafted to the Raw brand during the
2008 WWE draft and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract the following week on
Raw, winning the
World Heavyweight Championship from Edge. Punk continued to hold and defend the title (against the likes of Batista on July 20 at
The Great American Bash and the July 21 episode of
Raw, and JBL at
SummerSlam on August 17) until
Unforgiven on September 7, when he was attacked by
The Legacy and
Randy Orton, who
punted Punk in the head before the
Championship scramble match, ending his reign at 69 days. Punk could not participate in the match due to the attack and so was forced to forfeit 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 failed to regain the title in a steel cage match against Jericho. 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 on November 23 at
Survivor Series, where their team lost to Team Orton after Rhodes eliminated Punk. Punk then entered a number one contender
WWE 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 on December 14, Punk defeated
Rey Mysterio in the tournament finals. Due to this,
Stephanie McMahon awarded Punk a rematch the following week on
Raw, but this time Punk got disqualified. McMahon awarded him another rematch, a no disqualification match on the January 19 episode of
Raw, where Punk defeated Regal to win the Intercontinental Championship. With this win, Punk became the
19th WWE Triple Crown Champion and the fastest ever to accomplish the feat, surpassing
Kevin Nash's record of 203 days. He lost the title on the March 9 episode of
Raw to John "Bradshaw" Layfield. On April 5 at
WrestleMania 25, 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 to the
SmackDown brand. 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 on June 7, which was won by Punk. Later that night, Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat
Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship immediately after Hardy won the title from
Edge in a
ladder match. Punk made his first successful title defense in a triple threat match against both Edge and Hardy on the June 15 episode of
Raw. On June 28 at
The Bash, Punk retained the title even though he lost to Hardy by disqualification (because titles do not change hands on a disqualification) after kicking the
referee. As part of the
storyline, Punk injured his eye and said that he could not see the referee, but Hardy called his eye injury into question, believing it to be feigned, with Punk claiming to be the moral superior of those who support Hardy, due to his drug-free lifestyle, resulting in Punk turning heel in the process. On July 26 at
Night of Champions, Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Hardy. Their feud continued through
SummerSlam on August 23, when Punk regained the title in a
TLC match only to be attacked by
The Undertaker. On the August 28 episode of
SmackDown, Punk concluded his feud with Hardy and achieved his
booked goal of excising him from WWE, defeating Hardy in a steel cage match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship wherein the
loser agreed to leave the company. On September 13 at
Breaking Point, Punk defeated The Undertaker in a
submission match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The Undertaker originally won the match with his "
Hell's Gate" submission hold, but SmackDown
general manager Theodore Long restarted the match after stating that the ban that former SmackDown general manager
Vickie Guerrero had placed on the move a year earlier was still in effect and Punk won the match with the
anaconda vise when referee
Scott Armstrong called for the bell despite Undertaker never submitting (eerily reminiscent to the
Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in
1997). The feud between the two continued and on October 4 at
Hell in a Cell, Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker in convincing fashion in a
Hell in a Cell match. Punk went on to lose two subsequent rematches for the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker on the October 23
SmackDown, and on October 25 at
Bragging Rights in a fatal four-way match also involving Batista and
Rey Mysterio.
Straight Edge Society (2009–2010) –
Serena, Punk (center), and
Luke Gallows – in April 2010 In late-2009, Punk's character began taking on a more sinister direction. On the November 27 episode of
SmackDown, 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 subsequently rid him of his mental troubles. Throughout 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 would also give sermons, including during the annual
Royal Rumble match on January 31, as well as during an
Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship on February 21 at both of the eponymous pay-per-view events. During the first half 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 Aalyah's ninth birthday. Mysterio and Punk faced each other in a match at
WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, where if Mysterio lost, he would join the Straight Edge Society, but Punk lost to Mysterio at WrestleMania. They had a rematch at
Extreme Rules the following month on April 25 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 Punk lost and was subsequently shaved bald. After the match, Punk began wearing a black mask, since he considered himself always pure unlike his followers and was embarrassed by his baldness. On June 20, 2010, at
WWE Fatal 4-Way, Punk challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship against Mysterio,
Big Show and the champion
Jack Swagger, but he was unsuccessful when he was attacked by
Kane, who was accusing various people of attacking The Undertaker. Punk and his stable started a feud with Big Show when on the July 16 episode of
SmackDown, Big Show unmasked Punk. Big Show faced the Straight Edge Society in a
three-on-one handicap match on August 15 at
SummerSlam, winning the match after Punk abandoned his teammates. The next month, at
Night of Champions on September 19, Punk lost to Big Show in a
singles match. The Straight Edge Society angle ended after Serena was released from WWE and Mercury became injured, and Punk defeated Gallows in a singles match on the September 24
SmackDown.
The New Nexus (2010–2011) On the October 11 episode of
Raw, Punk was traded back to the Raw brand after being swapped with Edge and took part in the interbrand tag team match on October 24 at
Bragging Rights after defeating
Evan Bourne to win a place, but Team Raw lost as Punk was eliminated by Rey Mysterio. During the event, Punk suffered a hip injury that prevented him from wrestling for several months. To keep a presence on television, he began commentating on
Raw on November 22. At the end of December 2010, Punk left the commentary team after assaulting
John Cena on the December 20 episode of
Raw and the December 21 episode of
SmackDown with a chair. Punk later revealed that his motives for the attacks were that he had joined and assumed control of
The Nexus. Punk then made each member of the group prove themselves worthy of a spot, with some instead choosing to join
The Corre, which had been started by former Nexus leader
Wade Barrett on SmackDown. On January 30, 2011, Punk and The New Nexus cost Randy Orton his match with
The Miz for the WWE Championship at the
Royal Rumble as 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 match at
WrestleMania XXVII on April 3 and a
Last Man Standing match on May 1 at
Extreme Rules, both of which Punk lost.
WWE Champion (2011–2013) In June, after pinning WWE Champion John Cena on the June 13 episode of
Raw,
Rey Mysterio at
Capitol Punishment on June 19, and finally
Alberto Del Rio in a number one contender's triple threat match (which also included Mysterio) all within one week, Punk revealed that his WWE contract was set to expire on July 17 at
Money in the Bank and vowed to leave the company with the
WWE Championship. On the June 27 edition of
Raw, Punk made arguably his most popular
promo, a scathing, yet highly acclaimed on-air speech, often referred to as the "Pipe Bomb", concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner
Vince McMahon, as well as referencing other promotions, such as Ring of Honor and
New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me. I want you to digest this, because before I leave
in three weeks with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I wanna get off my chest. I don't hate you, John. I don't even dislike you. I do like you, I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back. I hate this idea that you're the best – because you're not. I'm the best. I'm the best in the world. There's one thing you're better at than I am and that's kissing
Vince McMahon's ass. You're as good at kissing Vince's ass as
Hulk Hogan was. I don't know if you're as good as "
Dwayne", though. He's a pretty good ass-kisser. Always was and still is. Oops – I'm
breaking the fourth wall. I am the best wrestler in the world. I've been the best ever since day one when I walked into this company. And I've been vilified and hated since that day because
Paul Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. Yeah that's right, I'm a Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy?
Brock Lesnar. And he split, just like I'm splittin', but the biggest difference between me and Brock is that I'm going to leave with the WWE Championship. I've grabbed so many of Vincent K. McMahon's imaginary brass rings that it's finally dawned on me that they're just that. They're completely imaginary. The only thing that's real is me. And the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years, I've proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, even on commentary. Nobody can touch me. And yet, no matter how many times I prove it, I'm not on your lovely little collectors' cups, I'm not on the cover of the program, I'm barely promoted, I don't get to be in movies, I'm certainly not on any crappy show on the
USA Network, I'm not on the poster of
WrestleMania, I'm not on the signature that's produced at the start of the show. I'm not on Conan O'Brien, I'm not on Jimmy Fallon, but the fact of the matter is I should be. And trust me, this isn't sour grapes, but the fact that "Dwayne" is in the main event of
WrestleMania next year and I'm not, makes me sick! Oh hey, let me get something straight. Those of you who are cheering me right now – you are just as big a part of me leaving as anything else, because you're the ones that are sipping out of those collector cups right now, you're the ones that buy those programs that my face isn't on the cover of, and then at five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face so that you can get an autograph and sell it on eBay, because you're too lazy to get a real job. I'm leaving with the WWE Championship on July 17 and hell, who knows, maybe I'll go defend it in
New Japan Pro Wrestling. Maybe I'll go back to
Ring of Honor. Hey,
Colt Cabana, how you doing? The reason I'm leaving is you people because after I'm gone you're still going to pour money into this company – I'm just a spoke on the wheel – the wheel's gonna keep turning and I understand that. But Vince McMahon's gonna make money despite himself. He's a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why he's not a billionaire? It's because he surrounds himself with glad-handing nonsensical douche bag yes-men like
John Laurinaitis, who's gonna tell him everything that he wants to hear. And I'd like to think that maybe this company will be better after Vince McMahon is dead, but the fact is, it's gonna be taken over by his
idiotic daughter and his
doofus son-in-law and the
rest of his stupid family. Let me tell you a personal story about Vince McMahon. You know we do this whole bully campaign—[the microphone is turned off, Punk taps on it a few times, and then calls out without the microphone] I've been silenced!"At Money in the Bank, Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship. 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 of 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, now a face, returned and upstaged Cena's celebration while also entering 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 on August 14 to decide the undisputed WWE Champion, with Triple H to serve as the special guest referee. At SummerSlam, Punk defeated Cena, 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. , Punk (front) feuded with
John Laurinaitis (background) for several months in 2011–2012. The following months, Punk lost at
Night of Champions on September 18 against Triple H, at
Hell in a Cell on October 2 in a WWE Championship triple threat Hell in a Cell match, and at
Vengeance on October 23 against The Miz and R-truth in a tag team match with Triple H as his partner. This helped transition Punk's anti-establishment voice from Triple H to
John Laurinaitis, who, around this time, became the interim Raw general manager. Punk balked at Laurinaitis' promotion and verbally attacked him as a dull
yes man. At
Survivor Series on November 20, Punk defeated Del Rio to win his second WWE Championship. 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 SuperShow, and then against both Del Rio and The Miz in a triple threat TLC match on December 18 at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. At the
Royal Rumble on January 29, 2012, Punk successfully defended his title against Ziggler despite Laurinaitis acting as the
outside enforcer. On the January 30 pisode of
Raw SuperShow, the returning
Chris Jericho attacked Punk and
Daniel Bryan during their
Champion vs. Champion match, giving Bryan the win. The following week on
Raw SuperShow, Jericho explained his actions by dismissing the WWE roster as cheap imitations of himself and singling out Punk for calling himself "the best in the world", a moniker Jericho used the last time he was in WWE. Their rivalry continued through
Elimination Chamber on February 19, when Punk retained the WWE Championship in the namesake structure, but 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 next night on
Raw SuperShow, Jericho earned a match against Punk on April 1 at
WrestleMania XXVIII and in a bid to psychologically unsettle him, revealed that 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. On the April 2 and 9 episodes of
Raw SuperShow, Punk retained the WWE Championship against
Mark Henry after losing to him via countout and disqualification, being attacked by Jericho following both matches and doused with alcohol. On the April 16 episode of
Raw SuperShow, Punk pinned Henry in a no disqualification, no countout match to retain the title. After repeated altercations, the feud between Jericho and Punk culminated in a
Chicago street fight on April 29 at
Extreme Rules, where Punk defeated Jericho to retain the WWE Championship. On May 20 at
Over the Limit, Punk retained the title against Daniel Bryan after reversing Bryan's submission hold the "
"Yes!" Lock" into a pinning combination, as the pinfall saved Punk from his own submission only moments later. Shortly before Over the Limit, Bryan interfered in a non-title match between Punk and
Kane to frame Punk for attacking Kane with a steel chair, starting a three-way rivalry. On the June 1 episode 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 Lee turned her affections to both Punk and Kane. This feud culminated in a triple threat match on June 17 at
No Way Out, where Punk managed to retain the title after AJ distracted Kane. On July 15 at
Money in the Bank, Punk defeated Bryan in a no disqualification match with AJ as the special guest referee to retain the title and end the feud. On July 23 at
Raw 1000, Punk defended the title against Money in the Bank winner John Cena and lost by disqualification after interference from
Big Show. When the night's special guest
The Rock – who had interrupted Punk earlier to announce he would wrestle for the WWE Championship at the
Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013 – intervened to save Cena from Big Show's assault, Punk attacked The Rock, turning heel in the process. Punk justified his actions the following week on
Raw, explaining he was tired of people like Cena and The Rock overshadowing him when the WWE Champion should be the focus of the company, asserting himself further soon after by disrupting a number one contender's match between Cena and Big Show. As a result, both men were entered into the title match against Punk on August 19 at
SummerSlam, where he successfully retained the title by pinning Big Show after both Punk and Cena submitted Big Show at the same time and Raw general manager AJ Lee restarted the match. In the following weeks on
Raw, Punk demanded respect from people like AJ Lee,
Jerry Lawler and
Bret Hart and eventually aligned with
Paul Heyman in his feud with Cena. On September 16 at
Night of Champions, Punk retained the WWE Championship after he fought Cena to a
draw. Punk continued to feud with Cena despite the latter's arm injury, rejecting the requests of
Mick Foley and
Jim Ross to pick him as his
Hell in a Cell opponent on October 28 and leading to a brawl with WWE chairman Vince McMahon. Cena was eventually pulled from the title match and replaced by
Ryback, whom Punk would defeat at Hell in a Cell in a Hell in a Cell match with help from referee
Brad Maddox to retain the title and also ending Ryback's thirty-eight match undefeated streak. 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 on November 18 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 Survivor Series, Punk won the match by pinning Cena following interference from the debuting faction called
The Shield (
Dean Ambrose,
Roman Reigns and
Seth Rollins), allowing him to retain the WWE Championship and officially hold the championship for one full year. On December 4, Punk underwent surgery to repair a partially torn
meniscus, removing him from his scheduled 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. On January 27 at the Royal Rumble, Punk defended the WWE Championship against The Rock in a match that stipulated that Punk would be stripped of the title if The Shield interfered. 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" (after 1988) until
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar broke that record in June 2018. Punk received a title rematch with The 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 The 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.
Final storylines (2013–2014) On the March 4 episode of
Raw, Punk defeated Big Show, Randy Orton and
Sheamus in a fatal four-way match to earn the right to face
The Undertaker at
WrestleMania 29 on April 7. After the real-life death of
Paul Bearer, The Undertaker's former manager the next day, a somewhat controversial 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. At WrestleMania, Punk was defeated by The Undertaker. Punk then took a two-month hiatus away from WWE television to recover from injuries. Punk returned at
Payback on June 16, defeating
Chris Jericho. Punk started a storyline where he told Heyman to no longer accompany him to his matches and was later attacked by Heyman's other client
Brock Lesnar, thus turning Punk face once again. Heyman also cost Punk a WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match at
Money in the Bank on July 14 when Heyman attacked Punk. This led to a match between Punk and Lesnar at
SummerSlam on August 18, when Punk lost to Lesnar in a No Disqualification match after Heyman interfered. His feud with Heyman continued during the following months, facing his other client, the Intercontinental Champion
Curtis Axel. First, at
Night of Champions on September 15, Punk faced Axel and Heyman in a no disqualification two-on-one handicap elimination match in which he made Axel submit, leaving only Heyman left, but Punk lost the match after
Ryback interfered and put him through a table. Then on October 6, Punk defeated Ryback at
Battleground and the feud ended at
Hell in a Cell on October 27, where Punk faced Heyman and Ryback in a two-on-one handicap
Hell in a Cell match, winning the match by pinning Ryback and after the match performing a "Go to Sleep" to Heyman on top of the cell. heading into
Survivor Series in 2013. Punk moved on to a feud with
The Wyatt Family (
Bray Wyatt,
Erick Rowan and
Luke Harper), forming 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 led 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 on December 15. At TLC, 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. At the
Royal Rumble, near the end of the match, Kane, who was already eliminated earlier in the match by Punk, eliminated Punk from the outside and proceeded to perform a
chokeslam on him through the announce table.
Initial retirement (2014) Punk did not appear on the January 27 episode of
Raw, nor did he appear at the
SmackDown taping on Tuesday despite being advertised for both events. By Wednesday, WWE.com stopped advertising Punk for future events.
The Wrestling Observer reported that on Monday and prior to
Raw, Punk had
legitimately walked out after telling
Vince McMahon and
Triple H that he was "going home". On February 20 during a
conference call to investors, McMahon said Punk was "taking a
sabbatical". On the March 3 episode of
Raw, which took place in Punk's hometown of Chicago, WWE acknowledged his absence on television for the first time when the show started with Punk's entrance music playing, only for former manager
Paul Heyman to walk out to a loud chorus of boos. WWE then proceeded to remove Punk from footage of their promotional videos. This lasted until the first half of July, where WWE used footage of Punk to promote the
WWE Network. In an interview published in late May, Punk was asked how it felt "to be retired at 35" and replied that "it feels good". On July 15, WWE.com officially moved Punk from the active roster to the alumni section of their page without releasing a statement. On the same day, Punk thanked his fans without mentioning WWE. In late July, Punk said 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 finally 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 WWE in January and that after the suspension ended, nobody from WWE contacted him. Punk also said WWE executives gave him a run-around when he reached out to them for unpaid royalties until he was ultimately handed his termination papers and was fired by WWE on his wedding day on June 13, 2014. The manner of firing was the last straw for Punk, stating that he would never return to WWE and that there would be no further working relationship between him and WWE following a legal settlement. 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 during his final months in WWE, he had been working through an untreated and potentially fatal
MRSA infection (Punk later acknowledged on the witness stand that he was not diagnosed with an MRSA staph infection, but that a physician's assistant said he exhibited certain symptoms consistent with an ordinary 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 fully recovering. 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 repeated 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. In a second
Art of Wrestling podcast, Punk publicly rejected McMahon's apology, brushing it off as "insincere" and a "publicity stunt" as McMahon did not contact him directly to apologize and could have apologized much earlier.
Post-retirement appearances (2015, 2019–2020) Punk's first known appearance at a professional wrestling event following his exit from WWE was at a Freelance Wrestling show on December 4, 2015, titled "Raw Power". Draped in a cloak and referred to by announcers as
Kikutaro's "nameless mentor", Punk managed Kikutaro in a match against Darin Corbin and Dick Justice. He tossed around salt before the match but did not get involved in the match itself. 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. On November 12, 2019, Punk made a surprise appearance on the
Fox Sports 1 series
WWE Backstage. He subsequently joined the program as a special contributor and analyst. Punk accepted the job because he would be under contract with Fox instead of WWE directly, and hoped it would help him find his way back into the wrestling business. Regarding an in-ring return, he was not interested but not opposed to the idea, noting it was "a bridge that is gonna have to be built." Production of
WWE Backstage was halted due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently suspended by Fox in June 2020, later being canceled as a series entirely by 2021.
All Elite Wrestling (2021–2023) Initial debut and AEW World Champion (2021–2022) On August 20, 2021, Punk made his debut for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) at
The First Dance event on
Rampage, challenging
Darby Allin to a match at the
All Out pay-per-view event. This marked Punk's official return to professional wrestling after a seven-year retirement. At
All In on August 27, he successfully defended the "Real World Championship" against Joe in what would be his final AEW match. Punk later contradicted Khan's claim of firing him for just cause, stating in an April 2024 interview on
The MMA Hour with
Ariel Helwani that he initially wanted to leave AEW entirely rather than have
Collision be a show revolving around him and not the Elite, and that after the altercation with Perry, he told Khan to his face, "You're a fucking clown, I quit." Punk also further criticized AEW stating that it is "not a real business" and "not about making money". Punk also went on to claim that no one from AEW had spoken to him in six months after the altercation at All Out in September 2022, and that he was forced to pay for his own surgery and do recovery on his own. Footage of the backstage altercation with Perry was shown on the April 10, 2024, episode of
Dynamite as way to further the feud between The Young Bucks and FTR, with the latter being real-life friends with Punk.
Return to WWE (2023–present) Feuds with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins (2023–2025) At the conclusion of
Survivor Series: WarGames in the
Chicago metropolitan area on November 25, 2023, Punk made a surprise return to
WWE in his first appearance in WWE since 2014 (discounting his appearances on Fox's
WWE Backstage in 2019). According to reporters present at the event, his return was greeted by "one of the loudest
pops of all time". He signed with the
Raw brand on the December 11 episode of
WWE Raw, where he announced his entry into the
Royal Rumble match. Punk's first matches back with WWE were against
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, during the WWE Live Holiday Tour, first at
Madison Square Garden in
New York City on December 26, then at the
Kia Forum in
Inglewood, California on December 30, which were both won by Punk. in April 2024 On January 27, 2024, at the
Royal Rumble, Punk wrestled his first televised WWE match since 2014, entering at number 27 during the Royal Rumble match, in which he was the runner-up after being eliminated by
Cody Rhodes. During the match, Punk tore his right triceps, rendering him unable to compete at
WrestleMania XL, thus forcing the cancellation of a planned match between Punk and
World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins at the event. The injury was later turned into a storyline between Punk and
Drew McIntyre, with McIntyre continuously mocking Punk for causing his injury. Punk retaliated by attacking McIntyre after the latter won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL in April, allowing
Damian Priest to successfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract, at
Clash at the Castle: Scotland in McIntyre's home country in June, and at
Money in the Bank in July, when McIntyre attempted to cash in after winning the eponymous ladder match. Punk and McIntyre then had a trilogy of matches, the first at
SummerSlam with Rollins as the special guest referee where Punk lost (after he attacked Rollins, believing he was trying to sabotage him), the second at
Bash in Berlin where Punk won in a
strap match, and the third and final match at
Bad Blood, where Punk defeated McIntyre in a
Hell in a Cell match, ending their nearly ten-month trilogy feud. This storyline received critical acclaim, winning Best Feud awards by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter,
ESPN,
Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and
Sports Illustrated; the Hell in a Cell match between them was also highly acclaimed, being rated
five stars by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter. After a short hiatus, Punk made his return at the conclusion of the November 22 episode of
SmackDown, as the fifth member of
Roman Reigns' team at
Survivor Series: WarGames alongside the returning
Paul Heyman. At the event on November 30, Punk, Reigns,
Sami Zayn, and
The Usos defeated
Bronson Reed and
The Bloodline (
Solo Sikoa,
Jacob Fatu,
Tama Tonga, and
Tonga Loa) in a
WarGames match. On the
debut episode of Raw on Netflix, on January 6, 2025, Punk wrestled his first match on
Raw in almost eleven years, where he defeated
Seth Rollins. in February 2025 At the
Royal Rumble on February 1, Punk entered the titular match at #24 and made it to the final four before being eliminated by
Logan Paul and getting into an altercation with Rollins and Roman Reigns, both of whom he had eliminated. At
Elimination Chamber: Toronto, he lost the Elimination Chamber match to John Cena after being attacked by an already eliminated Rollins. At
WrestleMania 41, Punk wrestled in his first WrestleMania main event when he faced, along with Paul Heyman, Rollins and Reigns in a triple threat match. Rollins defeated Punk and Reigns following a double betrayal by Paul Heyman, who aligned himself with Rollins in the process. After being taken out by Rollins and
Bron Breakker on the April 21 episode of
Raw, Punk returned on the May 5 episode of
Raw, costing Rollins the World Heavyweight Championship. On the June 9 episode of
Raw, Punk confronted the now
villainous Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena for a title match, which was scheduled for
Night of Champions in
Saudi Arabia on June 28, At the event, Punk failed to win the title from Cena after interference from Rollins.
World Heavyweight Champion (2025–2026) On the July 14 episode of
Raw, Punk won a
gauntlet match for the right to challenge
Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at
SummerSlam. In the main event of Night 1 of SummerSlam on August 2, Punk defeated Gunther to win the title. However, he immediately lost the title to Rollins, who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, ending Punk's reign at only five minutes and ten seconds, marking the shortest reign in the title's history. At
Clash in Paris on August 31, Punk failed to regain the title from Rollins in a
fatal four-way match also involving
Jey Uso and
LA Knight after interference from Rollins' wife,
Becky Lynch. At
Wrestlepalooza on September 20, Punk teamed with his wife
AJ Lee to defeat Rollins and Lynch in a
mixed tag team match. On the October 13 episode of
Raw, Punk defeated Knight and Uso in a triple threat match to earn another opportunity at Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship. After Rollins vacated the title due to injury, Punk defeated Jey Uso at ''
Saturday Night's Main Event XLI on November 1 to win the vacant title. At Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29, Punk, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns and The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) lost to The Vision (Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed), Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar in a WarGames match where Punk was pinned by Breakker. At the Raw on Netflix Anniversary Show on January 5, 2026, Punk defeated Breakker to retain the title. Two weeks later, he retained the title against Finn Bálor. On the January 24 episode of Raw'', he retained the championship against
AJ Styles via disqualification after being attacked by Bálor during his defense. At
Elimination Chamber on February 28 in his hometown of Chicago, Punk defeated Bálor in a rematch to retain the title. On April 19 at
WrestleMania 42, Punk lost the title to Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns, ending his second reign at 169 days. ==Professional wrestling persona==