What is CM Punk's Net Worth?
CM Punk is a professional wrestler and mixed martial arts commentator signed to All Elite Wrestling. CM Punk has a net worth of $12 million. He is best known for his tenure in the WWE, where he won multiple championships and held one of the longest WWE Champion reigns, at 434 days. Following his retirement from the WWE in 2014, he spent four years fighting with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, before returning to wrestling in the All Elite Wrestling promotion.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
CM Punk, whose real name is Phillip Jack Brooks, was born on October 26, 1978 in Chicago, Illinois to an engineer father and a homemaker mother. He was raised in Lockport, where he went to Lockport Township High School. Brooks has five siblings. Due to his father's alcoholism, he adopted a straight edge lifestyle at an early age, something he would go on to maintain throughout his adult life.
In the mid-to-late 90s, along with his friends and his brother Mike, Brooks had his first taste of wrestling in the backyard wrestling federation Lunatic Wrestling Federation. He began using the ring name CM Punk when he was put into the Chick Magnets tag team alongside CM Venom. After leaving the federation, Brooks enrolled at Chicago's Steel Dominion wrestling school. He soon found success on the independent circuit, and became the International Wrestling Cartel Heavyweight Champion in 2002.
Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
In 2002, Punk was hired by the Ring of Honor promotion, and made his in ring debut at ROH All Star Extravaganza. As he rose the ranks of the promotion, Punk twice won the ROH Tag Team Championship alongside Colt Cabana. In June of 2005, Punk became the ROH World Champion when he defeated Austin Aries at Death Before Dishonor III.
While still wrestling in Ring of Honor, Punk joined the promotion NWA: Total Nonstop Action, in which he was paired with Julio Dinero. However, officials did not feel like the two were living up to their roles as villains in the storyline they were assigned. Punk subsequently quit TNA in March of 2004 following a dispute with officials over his ability to continue competing in ROH while also in TNA.
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WWE
In 2005, Punk was assigned to the WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling. Shortly after, he became the OVW Television Champion by defeating Ken Doane. The next year, Punk defeated Brent Albright to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship; he went on to retain the title in matches against Johnny Jeter and Ken Kennedy, among other opponents. Later, he racked up another victory when he won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with Seth Skyfire.
Throughout his first run in the WWE, which lasted from 2005 to 2014, Punk twice won the WWE Championship and thrice won the World Heavyweight Championship. He also won the Intercontinental Championship and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Additionally, he won the World Tag Team Championship, making him WWE's 19th Triple Crown Champion and the fastest wrestler to achieve that feat.
Among his other distinctions, Punk is the only back-to-back winner of Money in the Bank. His industry honors include the 2011 Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year.
After becoming disillusioned with the WWE, Brooks retired from professional wrestling in 2014. He returned in August of 2021 to fight for All Elite Wrestling, making his debut at the First Dance event on "Rampage." Subsequently, he challenged and defeated Darby Allin at All Out.
Ultimate Fighting Championship and Commentating
Following his retirement from professional wrestling, Punk signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to pursue his career in mixed martial arts. Fighting as a welterweight, he made his professional debut at UFC 203 in 2016, losing by submission to Mickey Gall. He then lost his second fight at UFC 225 in 2018 to Mike Jackson via unanimous decision, which was overturned to a no contest three years later when Jackson tested positive for marijuana. Punk was released from the UFC shortly after this bout in 2018.
In November of 2018, Punk became a commentator for the Cage Fury Fighting Championships promotion. He also started serving as an analyst on the Fox Sports 1 program "WWE Backstage."
(Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Queensbury Pictures / Dark Sky Films)
Wrestling Persona
Brooks' wrestling persona of CM Punk, which he has used throughout his entire professional career, has been consistently portrayed as confrontational, outspoken, and rebellious yet abstemious, traits that are all inspired by Brooks' real-life personality. He was also known to incorporate flagrantly anti-establishment attitudes into his appearances. Additionally, Punk donned a myriad of tattoos across his body, many of which became symbols and mantras associated with his professional identity. Some of his tattoos include a Pepsi Globe, the words "Straight Edge" and "Drug Free," and the Cobra Command logo.
Personal Life and Film Career
In 2014, Brooks wed fellow wrestler April Mendez, best known by her ring name AJ Lee.
Toward the end of the 2010s, Brooks began a career acting in films. In 2019, he starred in the horror film "Girl on the Third Floor" as a former criminal who buys a strange old house in the Chicago suburbs. The same year, Brooks had a supporting role in another horror film, "Rabid," a remake of the eponymous David Cronenberg film. He was later in the 2021 horror thriller "Jakob's Wife," which had its world premiere at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
Real Estate
In 2010 CM Punk paid $2.125 million for a home in suburban Chicago.
In December 2021 CM Punk paid $4 million for a home in Los Angeles' Los Feliz neighborhood. At the time of purchase, CM actually paid $700,000 OVER the asking price to secure the home.
