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(Buy CM Punk: Best in the World: The Unauthorized Biography of Phil Brooks for ₹182.00)
CM Punk Beats John Cena for the WWE Championship - July 17, 2011
On July 17, 2011, CM Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank 2011. After weeks claiming that he was going to win the WWE Title and then walk out of the company, it looks like the Punker has done just that. In a match that used the strengths of both Punk and Cena to their best possible ends, the Chicago native Punk started off with the internet fans and Second City denizens squarely in his corner, but ended up with pretty much everyone else on his side too, despite the best efforts of the commentary team. Punk's turn tonight and the incredible fan response proves that WWE has the potential for another Steve Austin level crossover star on their hands, making Punk's wearing a "Stone Cold" t-shirt a few weeks ago fittingly prophetic, especially taking into account Austin's face-turn during his legendary match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania13.
We'll have to wait until tomorrow's Monday Night Raw to figure out what comes next and whether Punk will be hanging around the company or not, but we couldn't wait to come home and write something about it. And finally, this being the most recent occurrence in CM Punk's stellar career, this should absolutely be the No. 1 entry. But after spending three hours in a New York City bar with people chanting Punk's name, we're inclined to believe that this deserves top billing. Here we are with a bunch of other guys losing our minds for CM Punk:
CM Punk Wins the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Title - June 18, 2005
Back in 2004, Ring of Honor was still the new kid on the block, but CM Punk brought the entire industry’s attention to the upstart promotion with a series of phenomenal matches against then-World Heavyweight champ Samoa Joe. Though the Punker couldn’t capture the title from the Samoan Submission Machine, he went on to win it the following year at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor III, on June 18, 2005. After hitting Austin Aries with the Pepsi Plunge (a Pedigree delivered from the top rope), Punk wrapped the title around his waist and promptly embarked on a heel turn, signing his new WWE contract on ROH’s most coveted prize.
CM Punk Debuts in ECW - July 4, 2006
After a year in WWE’s former developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, CM Punk was deemed ready for prime time and brought up to the re-launched ECW. At the time, Paul Heyman was still booking the show and it was clear that the mastermind of the original ECW saw something in the young wrestler. The Punker got almost immediately over by way of some promos about his straight edge lifestyle and a particularly great taped segment that saw him call Shannon Moore a “poser” before slapping the taste out of his mouth. Between Punk’s unique look, fantastic work between the ropes and six-month winning streak (in singles competition), the straight edge superstar quickly became one of ECW’s top attractions.
CM Punk Wins the ECW Championship - September 4, 2007
By the middle of 2007 CM Punk had been elevated to ECW’s main event scene and was set to face Chris Benoit for the vacated ECW Title at Vengeance: Night of Champions 2007. However, as a result of the Benoit murder-suicide, John Morrison (then going by Johnny Nitro) was placed into the match and ended up winning the title. Punk and Morrison went on to have a feud that showcased what were some of the best matches in the promotion, before finally earning his first title in WWE on September 1, 2007. This led to a great run that saw Punk fight off challengers such as Elijah Burke, Big Daddy V and the Miz before finally losing the title to Chavo Guerrero. It all turned out for the best, as shortly after the two gave us one of our favorite moments from the re-launched ECW: The Gulf of Mexico match.
CM Punk Wins Money in the Bank at WrestleMania XXIV - March 30, 2008
When WrestleMania XXIV rolled around, CM Punk was still relegated to ECW, but the company clearly had bigger plans for the wrestler than just tossing Chavito into various bodies of water. In his second Money in the Bank match appearance, the Punker beat out veterans like Chris Jericho and Shelton Benjamin, as well as rising stars Mr. Kennedy and MVP to grab the coveted briefcase. Though he’d been appearing on WWE television for almost two years, WrestleMania XXIV gave Punk more exposure than ever, and by becoming “Mr. Money in the Bank,” a future world title run was all but guaranteed.
CM Punk Beats Edge for the World Heavyweight Title - June 30, 2008
After almost two months of lugging the Money in the Bank briefcase around ECW, CM Punk was drafted to Monday Night Raw. Just one short week of joining the brand, Punk made history by cashing in his Money in the Bank on World Heavyweight Champion, Edge. The ultimate opportunist had just taken a savage beating from Batista. This made him an easy target for the Punker, just as Edge himself had used MitB to take advantage of an exhausted John Cena at New Year’s Revolution back in 2006. The difference, of course, is that Edge was one of WWE’s most hated heels at the time, so when Punk defeated him for the title, he instantly became a top-level face.
CM Punk Becomes WWE’s 19th Triple Crown Champion - January 19, 2009
Like most first-time world title holders in WWE, CM Punk’s reign as World Heavyweight Champion was somewhat undistinguished. The Punker regularly got the snot kicked out of him by pretty much everyone, with far too many of his matches ending in ways that left him looking exceptionally weak. Following an attack by Randy Orton and his goons, Punk was forced to vacate his title at Unforgiven 2008, but he soon bounced back. Less than two months later, Punk and his somewhat unlikely teammate, Kofi Kingston, won the World Tag Team Titles, which they held until December 13, 2008. The straight edge superstar had already moved onto his next goal, however, pursuing the Intercontinental Championship, which he eventually won from William Regal on January 19, 2009. Punk was now holding a world title, a secondary title and a tag team title in WWE. He not only became the company’s 19th Triple Crown Champion, but was also recognized as the person who accomplished the feat in the shortest amount of time, shattering the record previously set by Kevin Nash.
CM Punk Wins Money in the Bank Again at WrestleMania XXV - April 5, 2009
Though CM Punk lost the Intercontinental Championship to JBL on March 9, 2009, it turned out that WWE was really just making some room around Punk’s waist. The powers that be moved the straight edge superstar back to the top of the card with a victory in the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania XXV. Not only was the Punker the first person to ever win the grueling ladder match twice, but he managed to do it back-to-back, a feat which has yet to be replicated (Note: Edge cashed in Money in the Bank twice, but only won the match a single time. His second cash-in was with a briefcase he won from Mr. Kennedy).
CM Punk Wins World Heavyweight Title, Begins Heel Turn - June 7, 2009
Following a brutal ladder match between Edge and Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules 2009, with the World Heavyweight title literally hanging in the balance, CM Punk made his way to the ring with his Money in the Bank briefcase in hand. But when the Punker cashed in his MitB the fans were none too pleased, because the man he beat with two successive Go-to-Sleeps was the mind-numbingly popular Jeff Hardy. Punk was good as a face, but he is absolutely phenomenal as a heel, and this win was the start of the wrestler’s still ongoing run as a villain. The straight edge superstar played off of Jeff Hardy’s well-documented real life struggles with substance abuse, preaching the values of temperance and garnering insane amounts of heat in the process. As if that didn’t have fans riled up enough already, Punk not only defeated Hardy in a Loser Leaves Town match, but he showed up to SmackDown dressed like his rival, to better taunt the crowds in attendance.
CM Punk Forms the Straight Edge Society - November 27, 2009
After a feud with the Undertaker that ended far too soon (rumors say it is on account of real life heat between the two), CM Punk’s heel character took an absolutely brilliant turn. On November 27, 2009 the Punker introduced the world to Luke Gallows, formerly known as the drooling, mentally disabled hillbilly wrestler Festus. Turns out Festus just had a bad drug problem, and Punk was all too happy to save him from his nightmare of substance abuse. The following weeks saw the straight edge savior take on a decidedly twisted messianic role, growing his hair and beard long as he shaved the heads of those willing to join his new Straight Edge Society. The stable, which was one of the most entertaining in recent memory, grew to include the “anti-diva” Serena as well as Joey Mercury before they were unfortunately and rather unceremoniously disbanded.
CM Punk Feuds with Rey Mysterio - May 23, 2010
Rey Mysterio is still one of our favorite wrestlers, and when he’s paired up with CM Punk, the two put on absolutely dynamite matches. Punk and Mysterio’s long-running first feud had its share of verbal highlights, as when the Punker performed the creepiest rendition of “Happy Birthday” pretty much ever for Rey-Rey’s young daughter Aalyah. The two’s rivalry culminated in a match at Over the Limit on May 23, 2010 when Mysterio beat Punk and earned the right to shave his nemesis' head. Less talented wrestlers would have suffered from such a crushing defeat, but Punk simply threw on a Straight Edge Society mask and became a presence that was creepy and disturbing in an entirely new way.
CM Punk Busts out an All-Time Great Promo - June 27, 2011
For the last year, CM Punk was criminally underused on WWE television, becoming involved in emotionless feuds and taking part in useless, go-nowhere storylines like that of the New Nexus. All of that boiled to a head, however, on June 27, 2011. As of this moment, it’s unclear how much of the Punker’s soon-to-be-legendary “shoot” promo was actually a shoot; if Vince McMahon and company were really so upset about it, they could have taken advantage of Raw’s time-delay and cut it off earlier than they did, but they didn’t. There’s no doubt that Punk made use of some of his very real frustrations during this performance. In what might be the most self-aware wrestling promo in recent memory, Punk acknowledged: a rival wrestling promotion (Ring of Honor), said “Hello!” to his independent wrestler friend Colt Cabana, mentioned the upcoming end of his contract, complained about his lack of a push, pointed out WWE’s steady move away from actual wrestling, broke the fourth wall, acknowledged breaking the fourth wall and even specifically called out Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and WWE Talent Relations executive John Laurinaitis. CM Punk’s “shoot” promo garnered an absolutely explosive reaction across the internet, rivaled the response generated by The Rock’s return earlier this year and proved that Punk has what it takes to become a massive crossover star for WWE. Unfortunately, as of now, word is still that Punk will leave the company following the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, though we’ve got our fingers crossed that he’ll hang around.
source : ugo.com
