10 Disturbing Backstories Behind WWE Gimmicks

3. CM Punk

CM Punk will go down as one of the most wicked heels to ever step into a wrestling ring. On FS1’s Backstage this year Punk talked about when he led The Straight Edge Society and how he was so hated, especially when wrestling in the “Bible Belt” (southern United States), that the elderly in the audience would take swings at him and try and attack him.

But you can very much argue CM Punk was misunderstood when playing a heel. He would get heat from yelling at crowds with his “I’m better than you” attitude and his Charles Manson inspired deranged outlook/look (long-haired, bearded, red-eyed), but the things he would say in his promos were be genuine. CM Punk’s told of how some in his family growing up were plagued by alcoholism, hence a central reason why he leads a straight edge lifestyle and loudly advocates for it. It’s Punk’s real-life backstory that he intertwined with his wrestling persona.

What’s disturbing about Punk’s heel character in his 2009-10 run when he was chastising alcohol and prescription drugs is he was completely telling the truth and getting booed for it, especially in his feud with Jeff Hardy over the World Heavyweight Championship. He’d tell Hardy, “Jeff, you've got two strikes. You know how many I have? Zero. Jeff, you know how many times I've been suspended? Zero! You know how many times I've been to a rehab facility? That's right: ZERO!”