CM Punk grew in popularity for a number of reasons, one being his dedicated commitment to his Straight Edge lifestyle and him fusing that into his pro-wrestling persona.
The AEW superstar and “Real” World Champion spoke on this topic during a recent chat with Sports Illustrated, where he looked back on his early days in the business and cutting his teeth at Mid-American Wrestling. Punk says that at that time he felt like he really didn’t fit in because he was straight edge.
When I’d just started wrestling, one of the first places I found steady work was Mid American Wrestling run by Carmine DeSpirito, and we ran a Knights of Columbus Hall in West Ellis, Wisconsin once a month. I think the appeal for the fans there was really cheap beer. I was this straight edge kid that didn’t fit in anywhere, except for with the freaks and geeks in a pro wrestling locker room.
Fortunately for Punk, his girlfriend at the time suggested that he lean into his straight edge lifestyle and being to portray that inside the wrestling ring, a decision that changed his career forever.
I had not done this straight edge gimmick yet. I was racking my brain to come up with a great idea, and I remember my girlfriend at the time, Natalie Slater, who is still to this day a great friend of mine, pointed out the pot of gold was right under my nose. She was like, ‘Why don’t you just be you? Why don’t you just be straight edge?’ All credit to her. That’s where it was born.
Staying on subject, Punk explains that the X, which he has painted onto his world title, represents all of the things that he is and why he has decided to lean back into that in AEW.
That’s why I tape my wrists, that’s why I X-up my hands, and that’s where ‘Straight edge means I’m better than you’ comes from. Looking back on it now, there’s a lot of people I currently work with who are not only wrestlers because of me–their words–they’re straight edge because of me. It’s time to go back to that. Look how powerful it is. That’s a nice itch I get to scratch now.
You can check out the full interview here.