BEST IN THE WORLD | The CM Punk Story (Full Career Documentary)

Since Stone Cold Steve Austin's retirement from the ring in 2003, arguably no wrestler has come as close to capturing the zeitgeist and ushering in a new boom period in wrestling as CM Punk back in 2011,

punk

was ready to explode after cutting the promotion of its life, in fact, many dormant fans who have since returned to wrestling credit this with being the event that made them watch it again, even current superstars as Adam Cole and Ria Ripley have called him a huge influence, so what was so special about him? Well,

punk

. He had a lofty goal, he wanted to change the culture of wrestling itself, so did he manage to achieve it or was it all for nothing?

Join us today as we answer this question by also delving into his entire

career

journey. as a consequence of the

best

in the

world

, the

story

of cm punk cm punk was born philip jack brooks on october 26, 1978 in chicago illinois brooks saw his father struggle with alcoholism during his childhood and this would lead him to lifelong abstinence of drink or drugs, something that in many ways would define him for the rest of his life. He had been a wrestling fan as a child, but his first opportunity to wrestle for himself came in the Lunatic Wrestling Federation's backyard promotion, where he and his brother Mike performed in the mid-to-late '90s. here It was where he developed the ring name cm punk after being put on a tag team with other backyard wrestlers cm venom because years later he would be subject to fan speculation about what cm meant in the punk name for some of the suggestions that included chicago cookie monster. made and charles montgomery, a reference to mr burns from the simpsons, punk himself seemed happy to follow the speculation, often giving a different answer each time he was asked years later, however it would be revealed during a court case that in reality It meant "chick magnet." making us wish we had never discovered it, sometimes it is better to leave the mystery simply because, seeking more of wrestling, the young upstart finally left the crazy wrestling federation and enrolled in the steel nominated wrestling school in Chicago, he went there where it was met Scott Colton, more familiar to wrestling fans as Colt Cabana, the two quickly became

best

friends and spent most of their early

career

s working together as opponents and teammates.

The local punk promotion during these early years was iwa mid-south, where also having memorable feuds with cabana, he also faced the likes of chris hero aj style and eddie Guerrero after becoming a five-time heavyweight champion for the promotion he he quit in protest of notorious bastard Ian Rotten's treatment of his hero friend, showing punk's willingness to stick to his morals no matter what, even at the cost of a job, after this he joined Ring of Honor, where he brought his righteous lifestyle to the forefront of his wrestling persona by feuding with Raven, berating him for his drug and alcohol problems over the years. program all culminated in a steel cage match in November 2003, from there he rose through the company's ranks winning the tag team titles twice with Colt Cabana.

He also spent a brief period with tna, although characteristically this came to an end when Punk resigned from the company in protest for attempting to prevent wrestlers from working with other promotions in the ring of honor, although he and Samoa Joe would perform three classic matches. In short succession, gaining the attention of wrestling fans everywhere and putting them on the map for the first time, the first two matches ended in 60-minute time-limit draws and the second became the DVD release Ring of Honor's best-selling at the time. This match also received five stars in Dave Melzer's Wrestling Observer newsletter.

The first to do so in North America in seven years, the third and final match of the series would end with Joe obtaining the victory, although both men's value has increased significantly as a result. Inevitably, this caught the attention of WWE, who offered him to punk a tryout match on May 9, 2005. He impressed the right people and struck a deal to start the company shortly after, though he still made sure he could work his previously booked independent dates before surprising the fans who already knew that he had signed the big contract with punk. He would later defeat Austin Aries and win the Ring of Honor

world

title.

This began the Summer of Punk, where the new champion mocked both Roh's locker room and the fans and threatened to leave the company and take the belt to WWE. He even went so far as to sign his contract on the ROH title in a show of disrespect to the promotion that had made him an indie darling. This was the hottest

story

the company had seen at the time and it drew a lot of eyes towards them, as did some. I felt Punk could appear on WWE TV with the belt, of course he eventually lost it to James Gibson.

However, the Summer of Punk remains one of the most exciting stories in the history of independent wrestling. There have been attempts to recreate it since then with the likes of aj style and tna, as we covered in our recent video about him and punk once again in the wwe, although neither of them were able to capture the same lightning in a bottle a second time after This, the newly signed WWE Superstar reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling. During the company's developmental promotion at the time, he found quick success becoming the Television Champion on November 9, 2005 and later the World Champion on May 3, 2006.

He subsequently defended the World Title against future superstars. from WWE like The Miz and Ken Kennedy, but of course, Punk. he was destined for bigger things than this on june 24, 2006 he made his debut in ecw or at least in the reboot of ecw in a house show match where he beat stevie richards just a couple of weeks later he made his television debut for The Brand Unconditional made a promo to introduce the public to his avant-garde character. Even more notable here is the fact that he managed to keep the name independent of him, something that was almost unheard of at the time, as Vince McMahon notoriously liked to have control over his intellectual. properties During his early days in ECW, he went on an undefeated streak and quickly surpassed himself with fans for his in-ring work, excellent verbal skills, and featured tricks.

Punk had always been popular among hardcore fans, but now he was proving that he could be just as popular. Also with the general public, he even ended up landing a spot on the 2006 Survivor pay-per-view series, where he teamed up with Degeneration stars in the ring That night probably surprised some backstage that punk got the loudest reactions from the live crowd and Triple H was even forced to acknowledge it and put it in a pre-match promo. He was rewarded with another pay-per-view appearance at Money. in the banker match at Wrestlemania 23 and later that year he became ECW Champion, the title had recently been vacated and the new champion would be decided through a tournament.

The finals were originally scheduled for June 24, 2007, the night of Revenge of the Champions. -per event with punk taking on chris benoit, however this would be the weekend that benoit murdered himself and his family so it obviously never had a chance to happen, although punk would have the unfortunate distinction of being the last person to appear on television with the lippler instead johnny nitro took benoit's place where nitro would win the match in just eight minutes to become the new ecw champion the rumors backstage that management didn't see anything big in the future of punk seemed more and more true it has been said that neither vince mcmahon nor triple h saw him as a big star believing that he was too small and would not make it on raw or smackdown supposedly mcmahon at one point even told paul heyman, vcw's former head writer, fired punk and punk's job was only saved after heyman.

He refused, however, Punk would eventually win the title on the September 4, 2007 edition of ECW TV, where he would have a successful run with the belt, perhaps impressing the bosses backstage in the process, as he would keep the title. title for 143 days putting in some top-notch performances as champion, however, the true test for punk would come once he made it to the main roster. Now that's not to say that Punk wasn't successful once he was drafted to raw on June 23, 2008. Months before that, he had won the Money in the Bank ladder match, which gave him a title shot. world championship at the time of his election and would take advantage of that opportunity to win the belt in his second week on Raw, even when he lost it after a 69 day Reign, he was protected in defeat, kayfabe was injured by Randy Orton and had to lose title.

He also scored big wins over main entrants like Batista and JBL and became tag team champion with Kofi Kingston and also Intercontinental Champion at the top. out of all this, he won the money in the bank contract for the second year in a row at wrestlemania 25 and then traded it with jeff hardy after he was drafted to smackdown and won the world title for the second time, the problem was that during these titles Reigns , he was never treated like a big guy, always playing second fiddle to someone else and never feeling like a serious threat, perhaps it was Vince McMahon's perceived lack of faith in him.

Punk certainly didn't help him with his backstage attitude, although he was notoriously difficult with writers and producers backstage on a regular basis, he has since responded to these accusations by saying that he was just trying to prove himself to his bosses regardless. his disappointment, the second world title run did feature a great storyline between him and hardy playing into jeff's addiction issues and punk sobriety, it was probably the best angle he had been in while in the company, at that time He would get an even better program to sink his teeth into, however, when, after losing the world title to the Undertaker, he formed the Vanguard Society on November 27, 2009, a group of righteous, more Saints Than Thou, whose ranks also included Luke Gallows and current NWA Women's Champion Serena Deeb, as part of this punk gimmick, began regularly preaching their superior lifestyle to the audience, even delivering a memorable sermon during the Royal 2010.

After this he feuded with Rey Mysterio, a show that ended up on that year's over the limit PPV, while as per the stipulation a losing punk had to shave his head, this turned out to be a great way so that the heel was obtained. More heat as he would now come to the ring wearing a black mask and denying the fans the satisfaction of seeing the new look of him. These taunts continued for a while until he was finally unmasked by the big show on July 16 and shortly after by the avant-garde society. The gimmick would be abandoned after Serena Deeb was released from her contract.

At this point in his career, one could certainly have argued that this would probably be the peak of punk. The WWE had a completely entertaining angle that featured some great matches and showed off his excellent promotional skills and overpowered the fans at this point, few believed that the company saw him as WWE Championship material, so if this was what highest he was going to go, so it was a small success, they didn't know what was coming next in June 2011. CM Punk revealed on WWE TV that his WWE contract was expiring and that he would not sign a new one while this was used as history.

It also turned out to be the truth that he was exhausted with backstage politics and was also not happy with his position on the card. He intended to quit and go train in MMA as a way to try to convince him to stay, the company put to the frustrated star in a WWE title show with John Cena and a money-in-the-bank match was set for that year. PPV in Chicago Hunk's hometown also coincided with the last day of his contract, this was where reality and fiction began to bleed together in a way that only professional wrestling can achieve and when it does, it's magical in the The June 27 edition of Raw Punk attacked Cena, then walked up the ramp and sat cross-legged with a microphone in his hands, from there he cut his now iconic pipe bomb promo, breaking the fourth wall and criticizing politics backstage at the company that caused him to quit, criticized The Rock for returning and taking away a Wrestlemania main event spot from othersartists.

She was infuriated by the hypocrisy of the company's anti-bullying campaign. He referenced Ring of Honor Cult Cabana and New Japan Pro Wrestling. He told the world that WWE only got better after Vince McMahon died, all before his microphone was cut off, the internet was instantly abuzz with whether this had been real or not, a notice even appeared on the WWE website saying that Punk had been suspended for his comments, no one knew what. was happening, the reality was that Vince McMahon was still trying to get Punk to sign a new contract, so I hope to appease him by building a title fight like no other.

He told her to come out with a live microphone and voice his unscripted grievances live. tv and this is exactly what punk did while it was planned, he was serious and people could feel that this became all wrestling fans could talk about in the space of a promotion, he had become the star biggest in wrestling and now his next title match with john cena at money in the bank, which would once again move forward after cena's story convinced mcmahon to reinstate punk, became the biggest event largest that the company had promoted in years. He came back from the suspension of his story to tell everyone that he still hadn't signed a new contract that he actually hadn't and that he was going to win the title and run away with it effectively recreating his punk summer story from years before, except Now on a much bigger stage, what made this all so special was that enough reality was injected into it.

In the situation where sometimes you couldn't really tell what was real and what wasn't at Money in the Bank in front of a home crowd, CM Punk came out to an electric reaction from the crowd and as he sat in the ring and dove into The worship dinner went out to absolutely nuclear heat, the commentary team informed us that Punk still hadn't signed a new contract and as far as the public knew he really hadn't, no one had any idea what was going to happen when Punk covered At dinner to win the WWE title after 34 minutes, the roof was blown off the spot where McMahon immediately grabbed a headset in the ring and ordered Alberto Del Río to come out and collect his contract money in the bank before Punk He could leave but it was no use, he left Del Rio and then went through the crowd giving Vince a goodbye kiss.

It was masterful. This entire story, from the pipe bomb to the title win, is possibly the best thing WWE has done in the last 20 years and the match itself received five stars in Dave Melzer's Wrestling Observer newsletter, the first match of WWE to do so since 1997 and the second time Punk would receive that award, the reality was that he had signed a new contract, although negotiations were still ongoing as the show progressed. The air that night after the game was lively and many inactive fans found themselves interested again for the first time in years. There was even talk that this story could trigger a new boom period.

Punk was hot and about to capture the cultural zeitgeist of the time. In the same way that Steve Austin did it more than a decade before people wondered where he would go with the belt expecting him to represent history for months by appearing on independent shows and proclaiming himself as the true WWE champion, so too should Keep in mind that this was the period where John Cena almost turned heel to prepare for his upcoming wrestlemania match with The Rock even going so far as to make new equipment before the idea was rejected, just think there's an alternate universe there out where cena had a hulk hogan level heel turn and cm punk became steve austin's new baby face and returned to the company to reclaim his spot after months of making random appearances elsewhere and shooting the company in the face. levels of popularity he had been enjoying in the late 90s, unfortunately this is not the case.

What happened, Punk returned three weeks later, lost the title to Alberto Del Rio Cash at Summerslam and then got stuck in a no-win feud with Kevin Nash at Triple H, where Game bafflingly beat him by killing Great part of punk heat in the process when he regained the belt on that year's survival series, it was too late. WWE had been given a once-in-a-generation opportunity and they had squandered it. Punk was still a star, of course, but he should have been a supernova. and this would build up in the back of his mind to the point where he would leave the company a few years later.

This has yet to happen, although he would go on to a legendary 334-day run as WWE Champion with a major title. defenses against the likes of chris jericho and daniel bryan, the title reign lasted so long, in fact, that he even turned heel and chose paul heyman as his manager throughout the process, although he was always second fiddle to john cena, rarely in main events at big shows. and never felt like the star he should have been when he finally lost the belt to The Rock at the 2013 Royal Rumble. Hardcore fans were outraged that the company had sacrificed him again to give the title to a Cena Rock rematch behind the scenery.

The punk was also unhappy to see him. The decision is shortsighted considering the fact that The Rock was now working part time and was there week after week and week he also begged WWE to include him in the upcoming WrestleMania main event between the two, making it a trio and allowing him To check that last box off his wish list, the company refused, however, instead he received a challenge for the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak, a match that ended up being the best thing on the card that night and Triple H even supposedly told him afterwards that he should do it.

Overall, this was little consolation to punk, although he was unhappy, exhausted, he had tried to generate something new in the industry and usher in another boom period. He had tried to change the culture and bring more reality to the increasingly cartoonish product that had tried to lead a successful new movement in wrestling, but the WWE seemed determined to cut off his legs at every opportunity, he didn't know what to do next. , as a result of this, he paused briefly when he returned. He visibly stopped caring, now sporting unkempt hair and giving fans performances that often seemed like he was just going through the motions.

His last appearance in WWE was at the 2014 Royal Rumble, the night after he appeared backstage at Raw and told Vince McMahon on Triple H that he was leaving and wouldn't return, later doing a revealing podcast with Colt Cabana. burning all remaining bridges with the company and accusing them of medical malpractice because he said he had been working with a staph infection that they had been hesitant to treat. fearing it would run him off the road, this eventually led to a very bitter court case that ended with punk and cabana winning, but at the cost of their friendship, punk's wife, aj lee, also a wwe superstar, as well.

He left the company when his contract expired. It was too uncomfortable to stay there with everything that was going on. CM Punk left wrestling after this and went on to fulfill his dream of competing in the UFC by competing in two separate fights with the company once in 2016 where he was defeated by Mickey Gall and then again in 2018 in another losing effort against Mike Jackson. before retiring from the sport of MMA. He would also write some comics for Marvel at this time and take on some acting roles recently, with the first starring role being his in independent horror. film the girl on the third floor, however, despite insisting that he would never do it, he eventually returned to WWE through Fox Sports signing a contract with them as an analyst on the WWE network talk show Behind the. scenario, this led many fans to turn against punk. and label him a hypocrite even to this day there is perhaps no one in wrestling more divisive even all these years after he left to some he is a hero a rebel who tried to rebuild the system for the better to others he is a villain a man who sold out his principles and screwed his friends like a cult shack with his bitter attitude, no matter how you feel about him, the truth is he may not have been able to beat the system, but he was able to change things for the better on his own. a little when he left. in the company, he forced them to rethink that year's Wrestlemania plans, this ultimately led to Daniel Bryan's now iconic title win if punk hadn't walked, the reality is this probably never would have happened.

The podcast after his departure also highlighted the independent contractor status that WWE wrestlers have. By not giving them the right to medical care, he has also been widely regarded as the man who, along with Daniel Bryan, was responsible for WWE changing its attitudes towards smaller independent wrestlers and them becoming true stars within the company. Without it, we may never have seen the likes of Aj Style, Seth Rollins or Kevin Owens reach the levels that they have. If the truth of the matter is that in many ways CM Punk's war to change the culture was successful it just had to stop. the wwe to be able to achieve it well guys what did you think of the video let us know in the comments below, don't forget to press the like button, subscribe to the channel and follow Wrestlewithandy on Instagram and Twitter, thanks for watching and see you next time.