CM Punk

He was titled in the WWE as "the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the modern era", having held the title for 434 days from November 20, 2011 to January 27, 2013. Punk is officially recognized as the sixth-longest reigning WWE Champion of all time. In professional wrestling, Punk is a seven-time world champion, having held the ROH World Championship and ECW Championship once each, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times, and the WWE Championship twice. He won the World Tag Team Championship (with Kofi Kingston) and the WWE Intercontinental Championship, making him the 19th WWE Triple Crown Champion and the fastest man in WWE history to achieve this feat, in 203 days.

Between WWE and Ring of Honor (where he is a two-time World Tag Team Champion), Punk has won a total of 11 championships. He won the 2008 and 2009 Money in the Bank ladder matches (the only wrestler to win the match twice), and the 2011 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award. Punk initially came to prominence through his career on the professional wrestling independent circuit, primarily as a member of the ROH roster. There, he was the first head trainer of the ROH wrestling school. Also while competing in ROH, Punk won both the company's championships. In 2005, Punk signed a contract with WWE and was sent to its developmental promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won every championship available in that promotion.

On June 24, 2006, Punk made his WWE television debut, performing in ECW, which was then a branch of WWE. Throughout his career, Punk has consistently used the gimmick of being an outspoken, sharp-tongued, and straight edge iconoclast. Punk's straight edge principles when in character are based on his actual way of life out of character.[6] Depending on Punk's alignment as a fan favorite or villain, he has emphasized different aspects of the culture to arouse the desired audience reaction. Punk did not appear on the January 27 Raw after the Rumble, nor did he appear for the SmackDown taping on Tuesday despite being advertised for the event. By Wednesday, WWE.com stopped advertising Punk for future events. The Wrestling Observer reported Punk's departure from the event after telling Vince McMahon that he was "going home" was legitimate.

On February 20, during a conference call to investors, McMahon said Punk was "taking a sabbatical". On the March 3 episode of Raw, WWE acknowledged Punk's absence on television when the show started with Punk's entrance music playing, only for former manager Paul Heyman to walk out. WWE proceeded to remove Punk from footage of their promotional videos; this lasted until the first half of July, where WWE promoted a new episode of WrestleMania Rewind for the WWE Network focused on Punk's two Money in the Bank victories.

Also in the first half of July, WWE featured Punk's image on Raw by promoting a DVD of Punk which would also be airing on the WWE Network. In an interview published in late May, Punk was asked how it feels "to be retired at 35" and replied that it "feels good". On July 15, 2014, WWE (through WWE.com) moved Punk from the active roster to the alumni page without releasing a statement. On the same day, Punk thanked his fans without mentioning WWE. In late July, Punk claimed that he was "never ever" going to return to wrestling.

Notable Matches

vs John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011

vs Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2013

vs. John Cena on Raw 25th February 2013

vs Samoa Joe on ROH Joe vs Punk II

vs The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29

vs Chris Jericho at Extreme Rules 2012

vs Jeff Hardy at Summerslam 2009

vs Daniel Bryan at Over the Limit 2012

Notable Feuds

vs Colt Cabana

vs Chris Hero

vs Raven

vs John Morrison

vs Rey Mysterio

vs Jeff Hardy

vs The Undertaker

vs Randy Orton

vs John Cena

vs Chris Jericho

Other Notable Achievements

WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kofi Kingston

ROH Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Colt Cabana

OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Skyfire

OVW Television Championship (1 time)

Second OVW Triple Crown Champion

IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

]IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

NWA Cyberspace Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Julio Dinero

IWC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Revolution Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

SDW Northern States Television Championship (2 times)

SPCW Northern States Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)