Now...you have to understand that before authentic Punk personas like CM Punk came along in the early 2000's, WWE/Vince McMahon's idea of “punk” was a gimmick like The Nasty Boys...
Sidenote – I mean no disrespect towards The Nasty Boys. They're a legendary tag team and some of the nicest guys I've ever met...
But they're more of a street punk persona than like punk punk persona like all the characters we've seen so far tonight. And that's what CM Punk was/is. Both him and his wrestling persona/character are truly punk. Hence the name. Stone Cold Steve Austin once said in order for a wrestling character/gimmick to work you have to be yourself just turned all the way up and I think CM Punk took that quote to heart.
He Incorporated the idea of being straight-edge in to his character so much that it became a popular symbol/t-shirt.
And I know merchandise is all about capitalism and making money (which is kind of the opposite of punk), but at least the message behind being straight-edge/drug-free is a positive message. I mean let's be real here, kids & impressionable young people are the ones buying most of the wrestling merch so you gotta give Punk some credit for bringing a Punk-based drug-free ideology in to the mainstream...
His Pepsi tattoo is rumored to be a reference/nod to Minor Threat member Brian Baker. When asked about his coca cola tattoo Brian said “I just like coke.” When Punk was asked about his Pepsi tattoo he simply said; “I just like Pepsi.”
His Pepsi tattoo is rumored to be a reference/nod to Minor Threat member Brian Baker. When asked about his coca cola tattoo Brian said “I just like coke.” When Punk was asked about his Pepsi tattoo he simply said; “I just like Pepsi.”
But these are just light examples of CM Punk bringing his punk ideology in to wrestling. It's time to go a little deeper...
Whats one of the most defining things about punk & punk music?
Going against authority. Fighting the system.
CM Punk did that on the highest level. It should come as no surprise at this point that he is someone who doesn't do well with authority. Instead of making enemies with other wrestlers backstage, CM Punk made enemies with his bosses. The people who wrote his checks. There are countless examples of CM Punk clashing with "the suits" in the WWE office but I'm going to get in to my two personal favorite examples...
CM Punk was a fan of wrestling long before he became a wrestler himself. Here he is as a teenager at an autograph signing with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
CM Punk was a fan of wrestling long before he became a wrestler himself. Here he is as a teenager at an autograph signing with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
From day one, CM Punk never had the traditional body of a popular pro-wrestler. He's an average sized guy when compared to the average big man wrestler. This is why that video clip at the start was so important because he called out all the famous traditional big men of wrestling like John Cena, Hulk Hogan & The Rock. A big part of CM Punk's persona (both in real life and in the wrestling ring) is that he had a chip on his shoulder from always being told he couldn't make it as a wrestler because of he was too small.
CM Punk recognized this and he always made a point to pay respect to the smaller-framed wrestlers who came before him. It just so happens that CM Punk's in-ring homages to certain wrestlers also doubled as a giant dirty punk-stench middle finger to the authority figures in the WWE.
For example – The Macho Man Randy Savage (who died before making peace with Vince MacMahon) was known for his famous elbow off the top rope. So, as a way to stick it to Vince, CM Punk would sometimes imitate the Macho Man's famous move in matches...
Similarly – CM Punk would sometimes wear pink & black ring attire to shoutout Bret Hart's famous ring attire. Again – there was a lot of personal animosity between Bret Hart & Vince McMahon. CM Punk's pink trunks were his way of trying to piss off "the suits" who had personal beef with Bret Hart (It's like CM Punk wasn't going to let the WWE forget the legacy of these legendary wrestlers no matter how hard they tried)
Now...for those of you who don't know, CM Punk no longer wrestles. His punk attitude became too much and he left the company on pretty bad terms and has yet to return. Instead, he did another punk move and, at the age of 37, stepped in to the world of mixed martial arts. And just like his early pro-wrestling career, he had a lot of naysayers, skeptics & cynics about his future as an MMA fighter. But in true punk fashion, CM Punk fought back at every opportunity. True he lost his one & only MMA fight to date, but I doubt most people would step in to the world of mixed martial arts in the their late 30's with a body that's been battered from pro-wrestling for the last 20 years.
I'm going to leave you with this video clip where, in true punk fashion, CM Punk calmly fights back in an interview where he was being made fun of because the interviewer thought that a professional wrestler could never make it as a mixed martial artist. This is a great example of Phil Brooks' punk attitude.
