Formation Before The Straight Edge Society was formed, the
heel CM Punk
feuded with
Jeff Hardy over the
World Heavyweight Championship while making allusions to Hardy's real life drug usage. In the end, on the August 28, 2009, episode of
WWE SmackDown, Punk retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a Loser Leaves WWE
steel cage match and Hardy left the WWE. The formation of the
stable began on the November 27 episode of
SmackDown where Punk transformed the formerly mentally disabled and unresponsive
Festus into the focused and driven Luke Gallows, who explained that his friends got him hooked on prescription pain medication, which explained his behavior as Festus, and he also credited Punk with cleaning him up and "showing him the way", and became Punk's main enforcer. Gallows assisted Punk in his feuds with
R-Truth and
Matt Hardy. A few weeks later, the two began shaving the heads of (
planted) fans in the audience who wished to follow the straight edge lifestyle, demonstrating a "new beginning" for their lives. Before Punk was able to find a third person to convert, a woman named Serena came out of the crowd begging to be saved by Punk; instead of having security escort her out, he accepted Serena and shaved her head. From thereafter, Serena accompanied Punk and ran interference in his matches. Punk interrupted many events in an attempt to recruit members to The Straight Edge Society, starting from the
Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010, where he preached while eliminating
Dolph Ziggler,
Evan Bourne,
JTG,
Beth Phoenix, and
Zack Ryder; he was ultimately eliminated from the speaking platform by
Triple H, whom he had tried to convert previously and who had espoused that he too avoided drugs, smoke, and alcohol but did not think it was right to be preaching like Punk was doing. On February 23, it was revealed that Punk would be mentoring
Darren Young, a "South Beach Party Boy", on the
first season of
WWE NXT. A few weeks later, Young became fascinated with The Straight Edge Society and decided to join them, only to quickly change his mind after finding out he had to shave his head as initiation.
Feud with Rey Mysterio The Straight Edge Society began a feud with
Rey Mysterio at the
Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on February 21, where CM Punk was eliminated by Mysterio in an
Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The feud then intensifed on the February 26 episode of
SmackDown when Mysterio cost Punk a qualifying match against
Shelton Benjamin the
Money in the Bank ladder match at
WrestleMania XXVI. The Straight Edge Society then interrupted Mysterio's daughter's ninth birthday party, enticing Mysterio into challenging Punk to a match at WrestleMania XXVI, where if Mysterio lost, he would have to join The Straight Edge Society. At the event on March 28, Punk was defeated by Mysterio. A rematch was made at
Extreme Rules on April 25 where Mysterio said if Punk lost, he would have his head shaved; however, Punk won the match with interference from a mysterious fourth member who concealed himself either with a hood or a
mask, thus Punk kept his head from being shaved. On the following episode of
SmackDown, after getting assaulted by Mysterio during a match with Luke Gallows against
Montel Vontavious Porter, the two agreed to face each other at
Over the Limit on May 23 in a match that combined the stipulations of their previous two pay-per-view matches. At Over the Limit, Punk was defeated by Mysterio and ended up getting his head shaved after interference from
Kane. To conceal his baldness, Punk then began to wear a mask. Punk participated in a
fatal four-way match at the
Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view event on June 20 for
Jack Swagger's World Heavyweight Championship that also featured eventual winner Rey Mysterio and
Big Show. Near the end of the match, Kane interfered and took Punk from the ring, allegedly accusing him of injuring
The Undertaker, causing Punk to lose the match and not win the title. On the June 25 episode of
SmackDown, Punk faced Kane in a
no disqualification match, where Punk
legit injured his arm and left the building, resulting in a
no contest. After an ultimatum was set by Kane to show Punk's innocence concerning a recent attack on The Undertaker, Serena showed security camera footage of herself breaking edge by drinking at a bar with an unknown man on the same night The Undertaker had been attacked, only for the other Straight Edge Society members to arrive on the scene and angrily trash the place. Despite facing expulsion from The Straight Edge Society, Serena was forgiven by Punk after she told him she showed the video to protect him from Kane, promising to never break the code again.
Feud with Big Show, split, and aftermath The following week on
SmackDown, CM Punk got into a verbal altercation with Big Show with regards to the upcoming
Money in the Bank pay-per-view and a ladder custom made for Big Show; retaliating against an attack from The Straight Edge Society, Big Show chased Punk up the ladder and pulled his mask off, revealing his bald head. On the July 23 episode of
SmackDown, after the "mystery man" wrestled and lost to Big Show, the mystery man's mask was then pulled off, revealing him to be Joey Mercury. The next week on
SmackDown, Punk berated the three other members, stating that they are nothing without him; this changed after Gallows lost to Big Show later in the night by
disqualification after all four members of The Straight Edge Society attacked Big Show and crushed his hand repeatedly on the steel steps, with Punk revealing that his arm had healed. Big Show then challenged all three members of The Straight Edge Society in a 3-on-1
handicap match at
SummerSlam, which Big Show won. On the following episode of
SmackDown, Serena and Gallows competed in a
tag team match against Big Show and
Kelly Kelly, which they won; if Gallows and Serena had lost, they would be kicked out of The Straight Edge Society. On the August 27 episode of
SmackDown, after defeating JTG, Punk ordered The Straight Edge Society to assault Big Show during his match with Gallows. Big Show defeated Gallows, showing signs of discontinuity in the Straight Edge Society. Later on in the night, WWE.com announced that Serena was released from her contract, severing her ties to The Straight Edge Society. On the September 3 episode of
SmackDown, after losing a handicap match to Big Show, a visibly frustrated Punk executed a
Go to Sleep to Gallows and left the ring. On the September 24 episode of
SmackDown, Gallows confronted Punk by saying that after defeating him later in the night, he would celebrate by having a beer; Punk went on to win the match and Gallows was later be released from the company shortly thereafter, fully disbanding The Straight Edge Society. Punk moved to
Raw months later and assumed leadership of
The Nexus, which was then renamed to
The New Nexus in 2011. == Members ==