CM Punk

Phillip Jack Brooks was born on October 26, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois. Adopting a strict straight edge lifestyle (abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs), Punk began wrestling on the independent circuit in the late 1990s, becoming the heart of Ring of Honor (ROH) and producing legendary five-star matches against Samoa Joe. In 2005, he signed with WWE and debuted on ECW.

Punk won three World Heavyweight Championships and two Money in the Bank ladder matches before delivering a cultural earthquake on June 27, 2011. During an episode of WWE Raw, Punk broke the fourth wall in his iconic 'Pipebomb' promo, venting raw, unscripted truths about corporate management, nepotism, and creative stagnation. Weeks later at Money in the Bank 2011 in his hometown of Chicago, Punk defeated John Cena in a five-star classic to win the WWE Championship as his contract expired. He subsequently held the WWE Championship for 434 consecutive days between 2011 and 2013—the longest reign of the modern era in 25 years. Following a dramatic seven-year hiatus from wrestling, Punk made a triumphant return to AEW in 2021 and a historic return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023 in Chicago.