Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competes in the welterweight division, and to Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC), where he works as a commentator. He is best known for his time in WWE, where his 434-day WWE Championship reign stands as the longest of the 21st century and the sixth-longest in history.
Brooks began his professional wrestling career on the American independent circuit, primarily with Ring of Honor (ROH) until signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2005. During his 15-year career, he won the WWE Championship twice, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times, and the ECW and ROH World Championships once each. By winning WWE's World Tag Team Championship (with Kofi Kingston) and Intercontinental Championship, he became WWE's 19th Triple Crown Champion and the fastest to achieve this feat (203 days). He was voted WWE Superstar of the Year at the 2011 Slammy Awards and Wrestler of the Year in 2011 and 2012 by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Brooks has used the CM Punk moniker for his entire career, with his character consistently being portrayed as outspoken, confrontational, sharp-tongued, anti-establishment, straight edge, and iconoclastic. Most of the straight edge principles he portrayed are also his real life views. Depending on his alignment as a hero or villain, he emphasized different aspects of the straight edge culture to garner the desired audience reaction.
After becoming disillusioned with WWE, Punk retired from professional wrestling in early 2014. He pursued a career in mixed martial arts and was signed by the UFC in December 2014. His first professional fight took place in September 2016 at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall, where he was defeated via submission in the first round. He lost his second bout to Mike Jackson via unanimous decision in June 2018 at UFC 225.
In addition, Brooks has worked as an actor, appearing in the horror films Girl on the Third Floor and Rabid (both 2019), as well as lending his voice to the animated film The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! (2015). He has also appeared as himself on several television shows, and most recently made regular appearances as an analyst on the Fox Sports 1 program WWE Backstage (2019–20).
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Anaconda vise (Compression choke)
- GTS – Go to Sleep (Fireman's carry dropped into a knee lift)
- Pepsi Plunge (Double underhook facebuster from the top rope)
- Signature moves
- Arm trap elbow strikes
- Arm trap swinging neckbreaker
- Arm wrench followed by stepping a leg over the wrenched arm and performing a mule kick with the leg below the opponent's face
- Belly-to-back suplex
- Bulldog
- Crooked Moonsault (Split-legged moonsault)
- DDT
- Devil Lock DDT (Hammerlock legsweep DDT)
- Diving crossbody
- Diving elbow drop – tribute to Randy Savage
- Double underhook powerbomb
- German suplex
- Hurricanrana
- Koji clutch
- Mongolian chop
- Multiple kick variations
- Calf
- Leg lariat
- Muay Thai
- Roundhouse
- Soccerball
- Spinning back
- Step-up enzuigiri
- Pepsi Twist (Hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat)
- Rope hung arm trap can opener
- Shining wizard
- Sitout suplex slam
- Slingshot somersault senton
- Springboard clothesline
- Step-up high knee to a cornered opponent
- Suicide dive
- Super frankensteiner
- Swinging neckbreaker
- Tiger suplex
- Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker
- Ura-nage
- Welcome to Chicago, Motherfucker (Double underhook backbreaker)
- Managers
- Bobby Heenan
- Dave Prazak
- James Mitchell
- Lucy
- Milo Beasley
- Paul Heyman
- Traci Brooks
- Wrestlers managed
- The New Nexus
- The Straight Edge Society
- Nicknames
- "The Best in the World"
- "Paul Heyman Guy"
- "The Second City Saint / Savior"
- "The Straight Edge Savior / Superstar"
- "The Voice of the Voiceless"
- Entrance themes
- Independent circuit
- "South of Heaven" by Slayer
- "A Call for Blood" by Hatebreed
- "People = Shit" by Slipknot
- Ring of Honor
- "A Call for Blood" by Hatebreed
- "Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)" by AFI
- "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
- "Night Train" by The Bouncing Souls
- "¡Olé!" by The Bouncing Souls
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- "Scream" by Dale Oliver (used as a member of The Gathering)
- "Rage" by Dale Oliver (used as a member of The Gathering)
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage
- "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
- All Elite Wrestling
- "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
- "Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)" by AFI
- Independent circuit
Championships and accomplishments[]
- All Elite Wrestling
- AEW World Championship (2 times)
- Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
- IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
- IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- International Wrestling Cartel
- IWC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Mid-American Wrestling
- MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Cyberspace
- NWA Cyberspace Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Julio Dinero
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Skyfire
- OVW Television Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2012
- Feud of the Year (2011) – vs. John Cena
- Match of the Year (2011) – vs. John Cena (Money in the Bank)
- Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2011)
- Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2012)
- Wrestler of the Year (2011, 2012)
- Revolver
- Golden Gods Award for Most Metal Athlete (2012)
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Championship (1 time)
- ROH Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Colt Cabana
- ROH Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- St. Paul Championship Wrestling / Steel Domain Wrestling
- SPCW Northern States Light Heavyweight Championship / SDW Television Championship (2 times)
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Championship (2 times)
- World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- ECW Championship (1 time)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kofi Kingston
- Money in the Bank (2008, 2009)
- Nineteenth Triple Crown Champion
- Slammy Award
- "OMG" Moment of the Year (2008) – Cashing in Money in the Bank to Win the World Heavyweight Championship
- Shocker of the Year (2009) – Forcing Jeff Hardy Out of the WWE After Steel Cage Match Victory
- Despicable Me (2010) – Harassing Rey Mysterio and His Family
- Superstar of the Year (2011)
- "Pipe Bomb" of the Year (2011)
- T-shirt of the Year (2011) – "Best in the World"
- Extreme Moment of the Year (2013) – Revenge on Paul Heyman at Hell in a Cell
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Gimmick (2009, 2011)
- Best on Interviews (2011, 2012)
- Best Box Office Draw (2021)
- Feud of the Year (2009) – vs. Jeff Hardy
- Feud of the Year (2011) – vs. John Cena
- Match of the Year (2011) – vs. John Cena (Money in the Bank)
- Most Charismatic (2021)
- Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2012) – Exploiting Jerry Lawler's Legitimate Heart Attack
- Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2013) – Exploiting the Death of Paul Bearer
Mixed martial arts record[]
| Professional record breakdown | hide | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 matches | 0 wins | 2 losses |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Mickey Gall | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 203 | September 10, 2016 | 1 | 02:14 | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Loss | 0–2 | Mike Jackson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 225 | June 9, 2018 | 3 | 05:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States |