Portal:Professional wrestling/Selected article/2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phil Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its ECW brand, where he holds the Money in the Bank contract.

Punk initially came to prominence through his career on the professional wrestling independent circuit, primarily as a member of the Ring of Honor (ROH) roster where he was an ROH Tag Team Champion, ROH World Champion, and the first head trainer of the ROH wrestling school. Along with Samoa Joe and Homicide, he was considered to be one of the three icons of ROH.

Punk later accepted a contract from WWE and spent a year in their developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) during which time he won every championship in the promotion. When the ECW brand was revived in 2006 Punk was brought into the brand's roster where he had several successes including being undefeated in singles competition for the six months after his debut and ultimately winning the ECW Championship in September 2007.

Throughout his career, Punk has consistently used the gimmick of being straight edge, a lifestyle he follows in real life. Depending on alignment as a face or heel, different aspects of the culture are emphasized to encourage the desired audience reaction. (more...)