8. The Straight Edge Society
Before Punk had became a face of the company, he enjoyed a very different character run as a heel. Punk's gimmick in this period was grounded in some of his real life personality he doesn't drink, is notoriously grumpy, and can be quite self righteous with his opinions. Playing the role of a Straight Edge Messiah, Punk was perfectly cast as an absolutist preacher who looked down on the audience. His promos in this period were some of his best ever work, and when reflecting on this in his DVD documentary he's stated it was one of his favourite times in the WWE. A lot of the factors in Punk's enjoyment may have been down to the people he was working with. He was given his own stable, the Straight Edge Society, which consisted of Luke Gallows and Serena. The group worked brilliantly in promos and angles that interacted with the audience, getting the faction some strong heel heat. This led to some of Punk's best WWE matches with other top talent, including Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania. Punk's stock was on the rise, but just when he thought the Straight Edge Society could go even further, the WWE pulled the plug and switched direction. It was just one of the frustrations that contributed to Punk's near-quitting in 2011.