CM Punk

A straight-edge kid from Chicago soared through the ranks of a popular TV show, becoming a beloved character and person. That doesn't immediately sound like it'd be the story of a man who is best known as CM Punk, but it is. CM Punk's career as a legendary WWE wrestler had its ups and downs, but throughout all of it, he kept to his convictions. He's always been straight edge, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and he's always strived to be the best at what he does. At moments during his career, he was at the top of the league, and certainly carved his name into wrestling history.

CM Punk was born Phillip Jack Brooks and grew up the son of a drunk in Chicago, IL. After witnessing his father and his friends around him, Punk decided to not drink or do drugs, something that carried with him over his entire career, even working its way into his on-stage persona. He challenged his hard upbringing into kickboxing and karate, eventually turning it into his full-time job at the age of 23. He quickly rose through the independent wrestling ranks, becoming notable for his charisma and unique straight-edge personality. Over the next five years, he won his fair share of independent wrestling titles, taking down noted wrestlers and becoming a fan favorite. In 2005, the WWE took notice, signing Punk to a developmental contract where he started at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). From there, he moved over to the newly revived ECW (Syfy 2006-2010) in 2006, and joined the cast of WWE Raw (USA 1993- ) in 2008. He became WWE Champion in 2011 and held onto the title for 434 days, the longest amount of time in the modern WWE era. Punk also made appearances on other shows, appearing as himself on Ghost Hunters (Syfy 2004- ) and Talking Dead (AMC 2011- ). In January 2014, Punk took a sabbatical from the WWE.