Phil Brooks began developing his gimmick in the backyard Lunatic Wrestling Federation organization, where he came up with the name "CM Punk" as an accompaniment to his Chick Magnets tag team partner, CM Venom. Meanwhile, his main "gimmick" of being a Straight Edge wrestler, was drawn from his own real-life personality, but was played upon as early as 2003 in Ring of Honor, where he likened Raven to his own alcoholic father. That said, Punk has more or less maintained the same gimmick through RoH, TNA, and Ohio Valley Wrestling, up to his debut with WWE in their version of the ECW brand. His name never changed, and his Straight Edge gimmick would come into play now and again, most prominently when he formed the Straight Edge Society and chastised Jeff Hardy and others for the non-drug-free lifestyle they chose to lead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSgiQEPYu4U So why does this one sit at the top of the list? Simply because it may very well mark one of the last instances we see of anyone in WWE with their own gimmick for a while. Between royalty disputes and Brooks walking out of the company, seemingly able to show up as "CM Punk" pretty much wherever he chooses (though he's been using his real name more, such as on "The Talking Dead"), it seems Vince and crew have gone on full-alert lockdown when it comes to new talent using names and gimmicks previously established elsewhere. The latest example of this would be KENTA, who could also technically be on this list, but only due to the compromise reached that he would change his ring name to Hideo Itami after debuting on-camera as KENTA at NXT Takeover 2. In fact, it's believed by some that while Triple H wanted KENTA to keep his name for recognition and to help appeal to a Japanese audience, Vince was still burned by the way Punk left, and this is the result. -----
Special Note:
Some people may point out the absence of Randy Savage from the list. The problem with that is as follows: Randy Savage took on the name before joining the WWF, but he didn't earn the moniker "Macho Man" until after joining, nor did he have Miss Elizabeth- who strongly informed his gimmick at the time- until signing on with Vince. Meanwhile, we've not been able to find anything conclusive with regards to whether he began wearing the loud, ever-changing clothing before or after joining the WWF. So while he did bring the Randy Savage name with him to the federation, it's difficult to say whether he brought enough "gimmick" with him to qualify for the list. ----- There you have it: Ten top talents in WWE that came in without being rebranded by the organization and allowed to thrive. Of course, there are probably others (don't say Cactus Jack, though; it was a while before Mick could use that in WWE), but who else can you think of?And heck, which do you prefer? A continued legacy of greatness, or a promising, fresh new start? Tell us in the comments! Don't be shy, we don't bite!
Former Nintendo Power writer, current Nintendo Force writer. Wrote the book on Mega Man (The Robot Master Field Guide). Was once fired by Vince McMahon. Dabbles in video games, comic books, toys, and fast food curiosities. Once had a new species of exotic bird named after him. It died.
You can find more of his writings, musings, and other such things on his websites at Nyteworks.net.
