WWE: CM Punk & Daniel Bryan's Road from the Indies to WWE World Champions

Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are two of WWE's most talented in-ring performers. They have taken similar paths in order to get to where they are, and it is a path less traveled these days.

WWE likes to get talent young and then mold them into their ideal superstar. Guys like Cena, Triple H and Batista spent very little time anywhere else before being hired by WWE.

Punk and Bryan, on the other hand, went through the indy circuit for years, traveling the world and performing for whatever promotion was willing to pay them.

This kind of experience has allowed them to cultivate a style that is different from the standard WWE wrestler. In part 1, I will take a look at the path of CM Punk from indy darling to WWE champion.

Part 2 will be posted later and it will focus on Daniel Bryan, so please check back.

CM Punk's Early Years

Phil Brooks started wrestling as part of a backyard promotion he ran with his brother. Their initial shows were held out of a warehouse in Mokena, Ill. It was here where he came up with the CM Punk name.

After leaving the promotion for personal reasons, Brooks enrolled at the Steel Dominion Wrestling school and began training to become a professional wrestler.

This is also where he would meet Scott Colton, who later became Colt Cabana before a short stint in WWE as Scotty Goldman.

While touring the indy circuit, Brooks and Colton would team up with other Steel Dominion member, Adam Pearce.

IWA Mid-South

For the first couple years of Brooks' career he usually wrestled for IWA Mid-South. It was here where he would end up wrestling the likes of Eddie Guerrero and AJ Styles.

In IWA, Brooks feuded with fellow Ring of Honor alum Chris Hero. The two would engage in a feud which saw them wrestle several very long matches.

The two had a 55-minute TLC match, several hour-long time limit draws and a staggering 93-minute two out of three falls match.

It was during this time that Brooks began to get noticed by Ring of Honor, who had a relationship with Colt Cabana already.

It was Cabana who helped Punk secure a position with the company.

TNA and Ring of Honor

In 2002, Punk joined up with Ring of Honor and TNA, although his TNA stint was much shorter.

While wrestling for TNA as part of a team with Julio Dinero, Punk had a physical encounter with Teddy Hart as a result of Hart's careless style of wrestling putting others in danger.

This, along with TNA not wanting Punk to compete for ROH at the same time, led to him leaving the company.

During the same time that he was aligned with Raven in TNA he had been feuding with him in ROH in a series of matches which ended with Punk winning a steel cage match.

Punk also teamed with Colt Cabana to win the ROH Tag Team Championships on two occasions, going by the team name "The Second City Saints."

Rise to the Top of ROH

Punk's pursuit of his first singles title in Ring of Honor ended with him losing in the finals of a tournament to crown the new ROH Pure Champion to AJ Styles.

This would not keep Punk down though as he kept winning matches until he eventually secured a shot at the World Title held by Samoa Joe.

The two faced off in a series of three matches for the title. The first two were time limit draws where neither man could make the other tap or stay down for a pin within the 60-minute time limit.

Their second encounter was billed as Punk vs Joe II and it was not only Ring of Honor's most popular DVD, but it was also the first North American match to be awarded five stars by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter in seven years.

Punk ended up losing the third match to Joe after a rule was put into effect where there was no time limit.

ROH World Title and Signing with WWE

Punk signed a deal with WWE in 2005, but still continued to fulfill his obligations to ROH. He won the World title from Austin Aries on June 18, 2005.

After he won the title he turned heel and began teasing that he would bring the ROH title to WWE with him, and he even insulted the belt by signing his WWE contract right on it.

Mick Foley made appearances during this time to try and get Punk to defend the title before coming to WWE, which he did eventually do.

He lost the title to James Gibson two months after winning it. His final match with ROH came when he and his friend Colt Cabana wrestled a two-out-of-three-falls match.

Punk lost the match, putting over his friend in the process. I see this as a totally selfless move by Punk because he could have left on top if he wanted to, but being a class act he decided to make his friend look good.

Punk was seen crying as he was showered with streamers after the match.

OVW and ECW Debut

Punk spent time in WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling before being called up to the main roster.

While in OVW, he held every championship in the company and defended them against the likes of The Miz and Mr. Anderson (Kennedy).

After WWE separated from OVW, Punk was called up to the main roster and made his debut with ECW on July 4, 2006 where he cut a promo about being straight edge.

His first match was against Justin Credible on Aug. 1, 2006, at the Hammerstein Ballroom where he would go on to win his debut.

ECW Start Through New Breed

Punk's first real feud in ECW was with Mike Knox over Knox's girlfriend, Kelly Kelly. Punk would continue his undefeated streak by defeating Knox.

Punk won their second encounter as well, winning the affection of Kelly Kelly, but the storyline was dropped soon afterwards with Punk going on to engage in a feud with Hardcore Holly, who would hand Punk his first televised loss with WWE.

Over the next several months, Punk had many short-lived feuds before focusing his efforts on the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 23.

He would not win the match, but he gained tons of exposure for himself and ECW by putting on one of the best performances of the match.

Punk eventually turned heel and joined the group known as the New Breed, who were feuding with the ECW originals. This came after several weeks of both teams courting Punk for membership.

Punk soon showed his true colors by turning on the New Breed and becoming a fan favorite again. His first PPV singles match came when he defeated former New Breed leader Elijah Burke at Judgment Day.

ECW Championship and Money in the Bank

After several unsuccessful attempts to claim the ECW title, Punk would finally accomplish his goal when he defeated John Morrison in a last-chance match.

Punk defended the title against Morrison, Miz and Big Daddy V on several occasions before finally dropping the title to Chavo Guerrero following interference by Edge.

After losing the ECW title, Punk went on to win his first Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 24.

On June 23, 2008, Punk was drafted from ECW to Raw.

World Title, Tag Title and IC Title

One week after being drafted to Raw, CM Punk would cash in his first MITB case against a beaten-down Edge to gain his first World title. His first title defense came later that evening when he defeated JBL with the GTS.

Punk held the title for several months before being attacked by Randy Orton at Unforgiven 2008. Punk was punted in the head and had to forfeit the title. Chris Jericho would end up going on to win the championship scramble match later in the night to win the vacant title.

For a short time, Punk and Kofi Kingston held the tag titles after defeating Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, but would eventually lose the titles and be split up again.

Punk later entered a tournament where the winner would face IC Champion William Regal. Punk won the tournament, but failed to capture the title after Regal got himself DQ'd.

After another DQ ending, Punk was granted a third title shot against Regal in a no DQ match, which Punk won to win the title and become the 19th triple crown champion in WWE.

Second MITB and Heel Turn

At WrestleMania 25, CM Punk would go on to win his second MITB match, becoming the first person to do so twice in as many years.

He continually tried to cash in the case, but was interrupted by Umaga every time, which resulted in the two facing off in a Samoan Strap match at Extreme Rules, which Punk won.

Later that night ,Punk would cash in on newly crowned champion Jeff Hardy. This move would confuse fans, as both men were very popular at the time.

In a rematch, Punk claimed to have an eye injury which caused him to accidentally kick the ref, thereby getting himself disqualified. Hardy challenged these claims, which led to Punk turning heel and claiming himself to be the better person for his drug-free lifestyle.

Punk and Hardy would feud for several months, fighting in TLC and cage matches for the title. Hardy would end up regaining the title from Punk at Night of Champions.

Eventually the two faced off for the title in a "Loser leaves WWE" match. Punk went on to win the title, effectively removing Jeff Hardy from WWE.

After his feud with Hardy Punk would go on to face The Undertaker several times over the World title. Punk defeated Undertaker after a second Montreal Screwjob was pulled when the ref called for the bell even through Undertaker had not tapped out to the Anaconda Vise.

The Undertaker eventually beat Punk in a Hell in the Cell match to win the World title. Punk was unsuccessful in his attempts to regain the title in the following months.

Straight Edge Society and Raw Commentator

Punk soon began a quest to save people by plucking people from the audience and having them shave their head as a show of good faith that they would remain drug- and alcohol-free.

Punk brought out Luke Gallows, claiming to have cleaned up the former Festus of his addiction to drugs.

His first audience conversion was Serena, a woman who was taken from the audience during Punk's first week with this new gimmick.

Soon, Joey Mercury would join, at first as a masked henchman, then as a full-fledged member.

During this time, Punk feuded with Rey Mysterio extensively. During Rey's celebration of his daughter's ninth birthday, Punk interrupted and gave one of the creepiest renditions of "Happy Birthday" I have ever heard.

After weeks of more fighting, Punk lost a match where he had to shave his head if he lost. Instead of showing off his bald head, Punk began wearing a mask to hide his shame.

After having the mask ripped off by Big Show, Punk abandoned his team during a handicap match with Show. Gallows turned heel for a short time before being released and Mercury was injured, so the SES was officially over.

Punk was later drafted back to Raw, but soon suffered a hip injury which would keep him out of action. In order to keep Punk relevant, he began filling in as a commentator on Raw.

As a commentator, he showed favor to neither faces or heels, but instead focused on highlighting the best wrestlers.

New Nexus and Threatening to Leave

When Punk returned to action from commentary, his first order of business was to oust Wade Barrett and name himself the new leader of Nexus.

Over the next few weeks, Gabriel and Slater left the group as well, and Mason Ryan was brought in to round out the stable.

For a few months, Punk picked up where Barrett had left off by attacking John Cena and Randy Orton. He engaged in feuds with both men until his most famous angle would begin.

One night on Raw, CM Punk put John Cena through a table before going up to the stage, sitting down and proceeding to give one of the most famous promos of all time.

He openly criticized WWE's product, and while this may have been approved by McMahon beforehand, it is said Punk had control over what he said.

Contract Negotiations and WWE Championship

Punk's contract was set to expire the night of Money in the Bank 2011 and he did not look like he was going to re-sign.

He was unhappy about the direction of the company and the way he was being used. He must have struck some kind of deal with McMahon because he eventually revealed he was still with WWE.

During Money in the Bank, he won the WWE title from Cena and proceeded to leave through the audience, kissing WWE and Vince McMahon goodbye.

For the following week, CM Punk began showing up at indy shows and giving interviews. Fans were curious if the angle was real or all a work, and in the end it was about half and half.

Punk really was upset with his spot in the company, but he also never officially left. He went on to become one of WWE's most popular stars, proclaiming himself "The Best in the World."

The Future

Phil "CM Punk" Brooks went from being a kid who wrestled in back yards and warehouses to being the biggest star in WWE and the top champion in the company.

His rise to stardom is one that was filled with trials and tribulations that many of today's stars did not have to go through.

From his time in the lower indy promotions to his time in Ring of Honor to his rise to the top in WWE, CM Punk has had one of the most interesting stories in all of wrestling.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Punk. Will he be around another 20 years or will he take off in 2015? Only time will tell.

Together he and Daniel Bryan have broken the mold of what it takes to be a WWE or World champion in the largest wrestling company in the world.

You no longer have to be a bodybuilder type to be pushed in the WWE. They are beginning to focus on wrestling again.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip down memory lane and please check back for Part 2 about Daniel Bryan.