CM Punk Wins Heavyweight Title
'Mr. Money in the Bank' Captures WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Jul 2, 2008
This past week on Raw, history was made. Edge, having interrupted Jim Ross’ leaving speech, lay stricken in the ring after a beat-down by his long time adversary, Batista. With the World Heavyweight Champion in a weakened state, CM Punk saw an opportunity to realise all of his dreams as they presented themselves right in front of his eyes. CM Punk (‘Mr Money in the Bank’ by virtue of winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania 24, meaning that he could fight for any world title he wanted at any time) came down to the ring, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and subsequently defeated Edge to reign as king of the WWE for the first time in his career. Later, on the same night, CM Punk participated in his first title defence against JBL and once again he came out victorious, to retain his newly won title.
Beginnings of CM Punk
CM Punk (born Phil Brooks) has fought long and hard to reach the summit of the wrestling business, debuting in 1999 in small wrestling organisations on the independent circuit. After which, he began to rise through the ranks as he wrestled for the larger independent companies, such as, IWA: Mid-South (where he captured the IWA: Mid-South Heavyweight Championship a staggering five time) and Total Nonstop Action, as well as Ring of Honor. It is the latter of these where he began to really make a name for himself within the industry, garnering respect for his mic skills and wrestling ability from fans and performers alike.
Despite this meteoric rise some still didn’t take much notice of ‘The Straight Edge Superstar’ (A character he has played his entire career as this is a lifestyle he maintains outside of the ring, in his everyday life).
CM Punk in Ring of Honor
However, CM Punk’s reputation was enhanced on 12th June 2004 when he wrestled Samoa Joe for the Ring of Honor Title in a match that many fans still talk about to this day. Neither Punk nor Joe managed to score a pin-fall or force their opponent to submit, resulting in a draw as the sixty minutes allowed for the match expired. They would then wrestle each other two more times, the second of which ended in the same manner as the first, a draw. Nevertheless, in the third and final instalment, Samoa Joe managed to score the victory in a match that had no time limit. As a result of this trio of matches CM Punk had cemented his place as a stand out performer on the independent circuit.
Thanks to this new-found status it wasn’t long before the WWE were knocking at his door, consequently, in June 2005 he signed a contract with the major wrestling company. Regardless of this CM Punk (surprisingly) went on to win the Ring of Honor title later that month and (perhaps even more surprisingly) he didn’t relinquish the title until mid-August.
CM Punk in the WWE
Upon leaving ROH that August, he made his Ohio Valley Wrestling (a former WWE developmental territory) debut. It wasn’t long before he managed to negotiate his way to gold in this company as he the OVW Television Championship after just two months of on-screen competition, then at in April 2006 CM Punk won the OVW Heavyweight Championship as he successfully won a tournament in order to crown the vacated title. Losing the title in August of the same year, he subsequently gained his opportunity to wrestle in the WWE, as he became a member of the newly formed ECW brand.
Despite being assigned to the ECW brand, CM Punk made sporadic appearances on the WWE’s other flagship shows, Raw and Smackdown. During which time gained strong support from the fans that seemed to always get behind him. While competing in ECW he captured the ECW Championship on one solitary occasion but bigger things were yet to come for the Chicago native.
It was at Wrestlemania 24, earlier this year, when he began to climb higher and higher on the ladder (literally and metaphorically) as he won the annual Money in the Bank Ladder Match, giving him a title shot at any time in the next year. After which, he began to make more and more appearances on Smackdown and Raw, then on 23rd June 2008 he was drafted from ECW to Raw.
Having gone three months without cashing in on his opportunity, CM Punk did so on 30th June 2008, a day that he will remember for the rest of his life. It will always be the day when he joined a long list of illustrious superstars who have lifted the World Heavyweight Title, including, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker, to name just a few. It will forever be the day when Phil Brooks scaled to the top of the mountain after years of pain and sacrifice.
