When people think of CM Punk, they think of a lot of things. Mainly, it's his incredible two-and-a-half year run as one of the hottest wrestlers in WWE history that flamed out with his abrupt departure in January 2014. This is why it makes sense that his career before the Summer of Punk isn't talked about as much, but it should be. And two years before his career-altering Pipe Bomb, the Cult of Personality acted like a legitimate cult leader despite advocating an honorable cause.

CM Punk had always celebrated his straight-edge lifestyle as a good guy throughout his WWE career, but in 2009 and 2010, he took that lifestyle to a whole new level as the leader of the Straight Edge Society. On the independent circuit, Punk pulled off the arrogant "Straight Edge means I'm better than you" Heel, and after three years of waiting, he got the chance to bring it back for WWE.

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The event that sparked CM Punk's transformation into the Straight Edge Messiah was when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Jeff Hardy, only moments after capturing the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge in a ladder match. Despite being a Babyface when he cashed in, fans disapproved because Hardy was arguably WWE's most popular star at the time. Punk became a Heel for the first time in his WWE tenure when he openly judged Hardy for his past with drugs, and eventually the entire WWE Universe for cheering him for it.

Their ensuing rivalry throughout the Summer of 2009 was shockingly real considering that this was early in the PG Era. The feud culminated in the main event at SummerSlam in a TLC match, which Punk won despite Hardy's wild swanton bomb off a ladder onto the announce table. Fans who weren't following the rumors and dirt sheets in 2009 were shocked to see Jeff Hardy leave the WWE on the following Smackdown when he lost to Punk in a "Loser Leaves WWE" Steel Cage match. And with that, CM Punk was one of WWE's top Heels.

However, instead of being given a Heel run as champion, Punk dropped the belt to The Undertaker later that Fall. According to CM Punk himself in CM Punk: Best in the World, the documentary that chronicled his career, the company wanted a big man to stand beside him to provide believability when feuding with The Undertaker. Punk picked the wrestler formerly known as Festus, one of his best friends, and renamed him Luke Gallows. The character of Festus was someone who was always dumbfounded except for when the bell rang, when he wrestled like a wild animal. Punk explained in kayfabe that Festus was like that because he was on drugs, and turned him back to normal as the first disciple of his newly formed Straight Edge Society.

As the faction emerged, Punk's hair and beard grew, and his straight edge speeches turned into twisted sermons. He became a combination of Jesus and Charles Manson as a self-proclaimed savior, even giving speeches in the middle of the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber matches. New members of the group were initiated by having their heads shaved in the middle of the ring, and in January 2010, they added a third official member by staging a fan running to Punk and begging to join. That fan was an indy wrestler named Serena Deeb, who made her WWE debut portraying an addict wanting to be saved. The fourth and last member of the Straight Edge Society was Punk's longtime friend Joey Mercury. Mercury had been released in 2007 due to drugs and alcohol addiction. When his house was in foreclosure, Punk wrote a check to bail him out, and a year later, he helped Mercury get back into the WWE.

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Punk openly admitted in the documentary that he was going for a Jesus-like gimmick with the Straight-Edge Society. He renamed Mercury and Gallows with the first names of Joseph and Luke, apostles of Jesus from the Bible, and cast Serena as his version of Mary Magdalene. The group's leader was also influenced by televangelists and used that on WWE programming to become the hottest Heel in the company.

When it comes to actual feuds CM Punk had during the S.E.S. Era, there sadly isn't a lot to cover. Arguably his best moment as the Straight Edge Messiah was when he gave the creepiest rendition of the Happy Birthday song to Rey Mysterio's daughter in the buildup to their WrestleMania XXVI match. He feuded with Mysterio throughout the Spring of 2010 and had his precious hair cut off at Over the Limit. What does the leader of a movement who differentiates himself from his followers with long hair do in response? He creates his own mask to wear to hide his baldness, which paid off weeks later when Big Show ripped it off of Punk during a match.

Unfortunately, the Straight Edge Society slowly faded away from WWE, and Punk was back to being an upper mid-carder. This was a huge reason why he was ready to walk away from the company altogether in the Summer of 2011 before finally becoming a megastar with his Pipe Bomb. Had the Straight Edge Society been given a longer run of success, maybe Punk would've stayed with the company beyond 2014.

A full decade since the days of the Straight Edge Messiah, Seth Rollins has picked up where Punk left off as the Monday Night Messiah. For anyone who watched the Straight Edge Society in 2010, it's impossible not to think of them Rollins's movement of today. Both are bearded independent darlings with long hair and facial hair, delivering Heelish sermons with disciples beside them. Hopefully, Seth Rollins has more long term success as a Messiah than Punk did, and the fact he's facing Drew McIntyre at Money in the Bank for the WWE title is already a good sign. Like a lot of things involving CM Punk, the Straight Edge Messiah was ahead of his time and has been an influence on the next generation of wrestlers.

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