Top 5 face/heel turns (Part 2) - CM Punk

CM Punk joined the WWE through the now defunct ECW brand, and made his debut in the middle of 2006. He cut a no-drink, no-drug straight-edge gimmick, and feuded with Stevie Richards and Mike Knox during his initial days in the company. However, he soon found himself to be a big fish in a small pound, and rose to prominence during Survivor Series as being part of a team feuding with D-X and the Hardy Boyz. He also competed for the ECW Championship and the Money In the Bank (Wrestlemania 23), failing both times to accomplish what he set out to do.

After a brief fling with a group known as The New Breed, led by Elijah Burke, he soon competed again for the ECW Championship with John Morrison, as Bobby Lashley was stripped of the title. He continued to feud with Morrison, and finally won his first Championship in the WWE in September 2007.

Having lost the Championship soon after, the spotlight first shone on him at Wrestlemania 24, when he won the Money In the Bank Ladder match. Soon after, he cashed in the contract and became the World Heavyweight Champion, and held the title for almost half a year before losing it by not competing, having been taken out by Legacy in the backstage area.

WWE creative writers then relegated Punk to the Tag Team division, and he promptly won the title with Kofi Kingston. That title reign came and went quickly, as he won a tournament to compete (and win in his third attempt) for the Intercontinental Championship with William Regal.

He was once again in the limelight after winning the Money In the Bank match for the second consecutive time, and cashed it in on Jeff Hardy at Summerslam to become the World Heavyweight Champion again. Feuding with Jeff Hardy, he turned heel in order to retain the title through disqualification and taunting Hardy on his drug abuse history. Jeff’s contract ran out, leading to a final steel cage ‘Loser leaves WWE’ match which Punk won. He then battled with the Undertaker in a see-saw rivalry, that eventually saw Punk lose the title.

Punk then shifted focus to building a straight-edge society and converted Luke Gallows and a member from the audience – Serena. With sermons at every show, Punk’s arguably ‘most boring’ avatar in the WWE took shape. A long rivalry with Rey Mysterio ensued, with things getting personal and matches with stipulations taking place. After getting his head shaved bald, a feud with the Big Show ended the Straight Edge Society, in late 2010.

A reported hip injury led him to take to commentary, and brought a refreshing voice to the monotony of regular announcers Cole and Lawler. However, on recovery, he attacked with the face of the company, John Cena, and assumed control of the group called The Nexus. He then fought with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 27, and lost.

But here is where the CM Punk story took a new turn. In the middle of the year, after winning a No.1 contender’s match on RAW, Punk cut one epic promo. He criticized the running of the company by Vince McMahon, had some choice words for HHH and announced that he would leave the company when his contract expired with the WWE Championship at the Money In the Bank PPV, before his microphone was abruptly cut off. The storyline cut him off from WWE Live events and any association with The Nexus, and within the space of a month, he became face again. He mocked Vince McMahon on RAW as he offered Punk a new contract, and beat Cena, leaving the arena with the WWE Championship.

A WWE Championship tournament was held, won by Mysterio, who then lost to Cena and was interrupted by Punk, all on the same night, as HHH laid both Cena and Punk as claimants to the title. This was settled at Summerslam, as Punk won against Cena, but lost the title as Alberto Del Rio cashed in his briefcase, with a little help from Kevin Nash.

CM Punk then cut promos and bashed Nash and HHH on RAW and SmackDown, and after Punk showered abuses on Stephanie McMahon, HHH booked himself a match against Punk. After briefly feuding with The Miz and R-Truth, Punk turned his attention to John Lauranitis, and verbally crucified the ‘yes man’ on several episodes on RAW. At Survivor Series, Punk won back his WWE Title and defended his title against Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Chris Jericho multiple times over the next 7 months.

Being face, all this while, something had to give, and the seeds were sown on episode 999 by the Big Show, who said that the fans would turn in two weeks. At RAW 1000, Punk turned heel again, when he failed to get involved as Big Show pounded Cena, but attacked The Rock, who came to the latter’s aid.

Punk then asked the audience for ‘respect’ and claimed that the spotlight should be on the WWE Champion. He called himself a ‘Paul Heyman’ guy, as he teamed up with the most successful manager in the company’s history. Cena, Show and Ryback all fell by the wayside, as the WWE had to keep Punk the champion to face the returning Rock at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in Jan 2013. Punk would finally lose the title in controversial circumstances after a record 434 days.

Having started looking like a rock star, non-muscular, tattooed, the mid-carder Punk made his way to the top through his exceptional mic skills and his effortless ability to switch between heel and face.

Find Part 1 here.