Happy birthday CM Punk: A tribute to the 'Best in the World'
Growing up in New Delhi, professional wrestling and WWE would be one of the most discussed topics on pen fight tables.
Monday would be characterised by the detailed discussion of the WWE pay-per-views, which were aired on Sundays and the drama which ensued afterwards in the classroom, had kids willing to go to war with each other in order to show their loyalty to their favourite wrestler.
I used to find myself clueless during these discussions as I was never a fan of WWE, but all of that changed when one of my friends sent me a link to a wrestling video. I have no idea what happened in the rest of the video as I was too starstruck after watching CM Punk's entry.
With the song ‘Cult of Personality’ playing in the background, CM Punk emerged oozing of self-confidence with both arms stretched out and a cold expression on his face. Long story short, CM Punk provided me with a reason to watch the WWE.
My obsession with him borders on insanity!
Everything about the man seems to be so appealing, be it the awesome storylines, the ‘BEST IN THE WORLD’ gimmick, the funky tattoos (especially the Pepsi logo) and above all, the amazing wrestling skills that Phillip Jack Brooks a.k.a CM Punk possesses.
Although it's extremely difficult to sum up the vast and illustrious career of CM Punk in just one article, what we can do is highlight the most important moments.
CM Punk first started wrestling in the mid-late 1990's with a stint in backyard wrestling called the Lunatic Wrestling Federation along with his brother Mike Brooks. Punk left the same after he found out that his brother had embezzled thousands of dollars from the profits of their small company. The brothers are estranged now.
Unlike his friends, Punk always wanted to become a professional wrestler and soon got enrolled in the Steel Dominion Wrestling School in Chicago where he was trained by Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and Kevin Quinn.
The following years were marked by Punk's rapid rise in the ranks of professional wrestling while wrestling first in IWA Mid-South and then Pro Wrestling Zero-One. His appearances were marked by high profile feuds and storylines.
Later on Punk also wrestled in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and Ring of Honour before being assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a WWE Development territory.
CM Punk's time in WWE has undoubtedly been the highlight of his career where his most notable storylines have featured him as the leader of the Straight Edge society and the New Nexus, but according to me he was at his best when he took the form of a villainous character and embraced the heel role he plays so well.
Although he was equally spectacular when he played the persona of a fan-favourite. At Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated John Cena to become the WWE champion on his final night under the contract. See for yourself Punk leaving the premises like a Boss, he is undoubtedly the epitome of swagger!
And behold! CM Punk version 2.0 returns to WWE, moments after John Cena became the new WWE champion. The new entry song he adopted was the amazing - 'Cult Of Personality' by Living Colour.
Gimmicks
Throughout his wrestling career Punk has used a variety of gimmicks to enhance his persona and wrestling character while in the ring. And he makes sure that the gimmicks match with the kind of character he is at the time, whether he is a good guy, a so-called fan-favourite or if he's a villainous character.
He has adopted his real-life straight-edge persona to his wide variety of gimmicks. Interestingly the straight edge lifestyle choice that Punk has made has a more personal reason.
Punk has revealed that his father was an alcoholic and his violent nature prompted Punk to stay away from alcohol and drugs. A significant part of his wrestling gimmicks are the numerous tattoos that adorn Punk's body and every tattoo has some meaning attached to it.
- Punk has a Pepsi globe tattoo on his left shoulder. When asked about the tattoo, Punk simply replies, 'I like Pepsi'.
- The words 'straight edge' are spelt out on Punk's stomach and over a period of time have become part of his identity.
- A tattoo on his left arm that reads ' luck is for losers' along with a number of good luck symbols like a 'rabbit's foot', 'four leaf clover', and a 'horseshoe'. He also has a tattoo of four ace playing cards which functions as a tribute to his trainer Ace steel.
- A tattoo on the back of his left hand which says 'No Gimmicks needed', a tribute to late wrestler Chris Candido
- ‘Drug-free' etched on his knuckles
- While trying to bond with his family away from home, Punk got a tattoo made of his little sister's jersey number - 31 behind his left ear surrounded by stars each of which represents his siblings.
- A tattoo of the Cobra command logo, G.I. JOE'S enemy. Punk is an avid reader of comic books and collects them in his spare time.