{{Infobox professional wrestler |name = Mark Henry |image = Mark-Henry-Fayetteville-armory.jpg |caption = Mark Henry in December 2011 |names = Mark Henry |height = |weight = |birth_date = June 12, 1971 |birth_place = Silsbee, Texas |death date = February 03, 2012 |death place = Silsbee, Texas

Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and is perhaps best known as a professional wrestler who is signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic. Since joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in 1996, he has become a one-time WWF European Champion and a two-time world champion, having held the ECW Championship in 2008, and the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011.

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Henry was a weightlifter, and competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he placed tenth in the super heavyweight division. Three years later, at the 1995 Pan American Games, Henry won a silver medal in the super heavyweight division. The following year, he became a North America, Central America, Caribbean Islands (NACACI) champion. Also in 1996, Henry signed a ten-year contract with the WWF.

Henry was trained by former Canadian professional wrestlers Stu and Bret Hart and Leo Burke. He made his television wrestling debut in September 1996. In January 1998, Henry joined the stable Nation of Domination. After the disbanding of the group, he acquired the moniker "Sexual Chocolate", which led him to participate in controversial angles.

In 2000, Henry was sent to the company's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky to improve his wrestling skills. That same year, he left wrestling and began focusing on weightlifting. Henry competed in and won the inaugural Arnold Strongman Classic in 2002, competing against some of the greatest srength athletes from all over the world.

In 2003, Henry returned to WWE, where he took part of the group "Thuggin' And Buggin' Enterprises", a group compiled of African Americans who worked a race angle in which they felt they were victims of racism and were being held down by the "white man". The following year, Henry tore his quadriceps muscle, and was unable to compete for over a year. Upon his return, he was briefly involved in feuds with Kurt Angle and The Undertaker, before suffering a knee injury. After it healed, he continued to feud with The Undertaker, before being moved to the ECW brand in June 2008, where he gained Tony Atlas as a manager. In June 2008, he won the ECW Championship and he held it for three months. In 2011, Henry had a resurgence on SmackDown, which led to him winning his first World Heavyweight Championship in September 2011 when he defeated Randy Orton.

Weightlifting career

During his time in high school, Henry was a three-time state champion with state records in the squat at , bench press at and deadlift at . At the Texas high school powerlifting championships in April 1990, Terry Todd, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Texas at Austin and former weightlifter, spotted Henry and persuaded him to go to Austin after he graduated to train in the Olympic style of weightlifting. Henry broke four national junior records in weightlifting after eight months of training in Olympic style weightlifting. In April 1991, he placed fourth at the United States Nationals, and finished sixth at the World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Germany two months later. In Henry's first year of competing, he broke the three junior (20 and under) American records 12 times, and became the United States' top superheavyweight, surpassing Mario Martinez. Henry nicknames himself the World's Strongest Man after he qualified for the weightlifting competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where he finished tenth in the super heavyweight class. On the November 4 episode of ''Raw'', Henry served as a cornerman for Barry Windham in a match against Goldust. He was set to team with Windham, Marc Mero and Rocky Maivia to take on the team of Lawler, Goldust, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Crush at Survivor Series, but was replaced by Jake Roberts when he was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury. On the November 17 episode of ''Superstars'', Henry defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Crush and Goldust in a tug of war contest. Henry's career was then stalled as, over the next year, he took time off to heal injuries and engage in further training. In November 1997, he returned to the ring, making his televised return the following month. By the end of the year, he was a regular fixture on WWF programming, defeating Steve Lombardi on the December 15 episode of ''Raw'', and beating The Sultan on the December 27 episode of ''Shotgun''.

Nation of Domination and Sexual Chocolate (1998–2000)

Henry joined the faction with Farooq, The Rock, Kama Mustafa and D'Lo Brown on January 12, 1998. After the Nation disbanded, he engaged in a short feud with The Rock, defeating him at Judgment Day: In Your House with help from Brown, and then forming a permanent team with Brown, gaining Ivory as a manager. During the next year, Henry gave himself the nickname "Sexual Chocolate", and was involved in controversial angles with Chyna and a transvestite. The next night, Henry was awarded the European title by Jarrett in return for his help. Henry dropped the title one month later to Brown at the Unforgiven pay-per-view.

After this, Henry turned into a fan favorite, and was seen on television romancing WWF women from Chyna to Mae Young as part of the "Sexual Chocolate" character. Young would go on to give birth to a hand. Along with this, Henry was made part of various other embarrassing and infamous storylines, including the admission that he was a sex addict.

Brand switches (2002–2004)

Henry returned to the WWF the next month and was sent to the SmackDown! brand, where he developed an in-ring persona of performing "tests of strength" while other wrestlers took bets on the tests, but the gimmick met with little success. During this time he competed against such superstars as Chris Jericho and Christian. After defeating Booker T twice, once in a street fight and once in a six-man tag team match, he lost to Booker T at the Armageddon pay-per-view in December 2003. At a practice session in OVW in February 2004, Henry tore his quadriceps muscle, and was out for over a year after undergoing surgery. A week later on ''SmackDown!'', Henry got in a confrontation with the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista, and went on to interfere in a steel cage match between MNM and the team of Mysterio and Batista, helping MNM to retain their titles. Henry then had another match with Batista at a live event where Batista received a severely torn triceps that required surgery, forcing him to vacate his title. On the January 10, 2006 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Henry was involved in a battle royal for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. He was finally tossed out by Kurt Angle, who won the title.

A week later, Henry received assistance from Daivari, who turned on Angle and announced that he was the manager of Henry. With Daivari at his side, Henry would face Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight title at the 2006 Royal Rumble in January, which he lost when Angle hit him with a chair (without the referee seeing) and pinned Henry with a roll-up.

On the March 10 episode of ''SmackDown!'', after putting Kurt Angle through a table with a diving splash, Henry was then challenged to a casket match by The Undertaker at WrestleMania 22. Henry vowed to defeat The Undertaker and end his streak at WrestleMania, but was unsuccessful in this quest as The Undertaker would defeat Henry at the event. Henry would get a rematch against the Undertaker on the April 7 episode of ''SmackDown!'', however it ended in a no contest when Daivari announced his new client, The Great Khali, who was also making his debut. Khali then went to the ring and started to attack the Undertaker, thus ending the feud between them.

During the rest of April and May, Henry gained a pinfall victory over the World Heavyweight Champion, Rey Mysterio in a non-title match. Henry would also enter the King of the Ring tournament, in which he was defeated by Bobby Lashley in the first round. He later cost Kurt Angle his World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Mysterio, when he jumped off the top rope and crushed Angle through a table. Henry was then challenged by Angle to face off at Judgment Day, Henry then sent a "message" to Angle by defeating Paul Burchill. At Judgment Day, Henry defeated Angle by countout. Although winning, Angle got his revenge after the match by hitting Henry with a chair and putting him through a table.

Henry later went on what was referred to as a "path of destruction", causing injuries to numerous superstars. Henry "took out" Chris Benoit and Paul Burchill on this path of destruction, and attacked Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero. These events led up to a feud with the returning Batista, whom Henry had put out of action with a legitimate injury several months beforehand. When Batista returned he and Henry were scheduled to face one another at The Great American Bash in July. Weeks before that event, however, on the July 15, 2006 episode of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', Henry was involved in a six-man tag team match with King Booker and Finlay against Batista, Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley. During the match, Henry was injured, canceling the scheduled match at The Great American Bash, as Henry needed surgery. Doctors later found that Henry completely tore his patella tendon off the bone and split his patella completely in two.

Return from injury and various feuds (2007–2008)

Henry returned on the May 11, 2007 episode of ''SmackDown!'', after weeks of vignettes hyping his return. He attacked The Undertaker after a World Heavyweight Championship steel cage match with Batista, allowing Edge to take advantage of the situation and use his Money in the Bank contract. Henry then began a short feud with Kane, defeating him in a Lumberjack Match at One Night Stand. Shortly after, Henry made an open challenge to the ''SmackDown!'' locker room, which nobody ever accepted. In the coming weeks he faced various jobbers—wrestlers who consistently lose to make their opponents look stronger—and quickly defeated them all. On August 3, he claimed that nobody accepted the open challenge to step into the ring with him because of what he had done to The Undertaker, presenting footage of his assault on the Undertaker. The Undertaker responded over the following weeks, playing various mind games with Henry. Henry finally faced The Undertaker again at Unforgiven in September, losing to him after being given a Last Ride. Two weeks later, Henry lost a rematch to The Undertaker after The Undertaker performed a chokeslam on Henry.

After a short hiatus, Henry returned to WWE programming on the October 23 episode of ''ECW'', attacking Kane, along with The Great Khali and Big Daddy V. Henry then began teaming with Big Daddy V against Kane and CM Punk, and was briefly managed by Big Daddy V's manager, Matt Striker. At Armageddon, Henry and Big Daddy V defeated Kane and Punk. Before WrestleMania XXIV aired, Henry participated in a 24-man battle royal to determine the number one contender for the ECW Championship, but failed to win.

ECW Champion (2008–2009)

As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Henry was drafted to the ECW brand. At Night of Champions, Henry defeated Kane and Big Show in a Triple Threat match to capture the ECW Championship in his debut match as an ECW superstar. Upon winning the title, it was made exclusive to the ECW brand once again. Henry's title win came nearly a full decade after he was awarded the European Championship, which was back in 1999 and the only title he held in WWE. A few weeks later, Hall of Famer Tony Atlas returned to WWE to act as Henry's manager. A month after Henry's title win, ECW General Manager, Theodore Long, unveiled a new, entirely platinum ECW Championship belt design. Henry would lose the title at Unforgiven in the Championship Scramble match to Matt Hardy.

Henry attempted to regain the championship throughout the end of 2008, including a match against Hardy at No Mercy, but was unsuccessful. Henry and Atlas then engaged in a scripted rivalry against Finlay and Hornswoggle, which included Henry losing a Belfast Brawl at Armageddon. At the start of 2009, Henry qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV, and was involved in a series of matches with the other competitors on ''Raw'', ''SmackDown'', and ''ECW''. He was unsuccessful at WrestleMania, however, as CM Punk won the match. In May, Henry began a rivalry with Evan Bourne, which began after Bourne defeated Henry by countout on the May 26 episode of ''ECW''.

Raw and various tag teams (2009–2011)

On June 29, Henry was traded to the Raw brand and redebuted for the brand that night as the third opponent in a three-on-one gauntlet match against Randy Orton, which he won, turning Henry into a fan favorite in the process. In August 2009, Henry formed a tag team with Montel Vontavious Porter,the two formed a tag team called The World's Strongest Tag Team and the two challenged the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and The Big Show) for the title at Breaking Point, but were unsuccessful. They stopped teaming afterwards, becoming involved in separate storylines, until the February 15, 2010 episode of ''Raw'' in which they defeated the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions The Big Show and The Miz in a non-title match. The next week they challenged The Big Show and The Miz in a title match but were unsuccessful. At Extreme Rules, Henry and MVP fought for a chance to become number one contenders to the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships, but were the second team eliminated in a gauntlet match by The Big Show and The Miz. The match would be won by The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith).

It was later announced that Henry would mentor Lucky Cannon in the second season of ''WWE NXT''. Cannon was eliminated on the August 10 episode of ''NXT''. In September, Henry began teaming with Evan Bourne, starting at the Night of Champions pay-per-view, where they entered a Tag Team Turmoil for the WWE Tag Team Championship. They made it to the final two before being defeated by Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. The team came to an end in October when Bourne suffered an injury and was taken out of action. Henry then formed a team with Yoshi Tatsu on the November 29 episode of ''Raw'', defeating WWE Tag Team Champions Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, after a distraction by John Cena. They received a shot at the championship the next week, in a fatal four-way elimination tag team match, which also included The Usos and Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov. Henry and Tatsu were the first team eliminated in the match.

World Heavyweight Champion and Hall of Pain (2011–present)

On the April 25, 2011, episode of ''Raw'', Henry was drafted back to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2011 WWE Draft. In the main event of the night, Henry attacked his teammates, John Cena and Christian, turning heel as a result. On the May 27 episode of ''SmackDown'', Henry participated in a Triple Threat match against Sheamus and Christian to decide the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Sheamus. Henry then began a feud with Big Show, attacking him during matches and backstage. On the July 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', Show would cost Henry a match against Randy Orton, by playing his titantron during the match, resulting in Henry getting counted out. If Henry would have won, he would become the new number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. Afterward, Henry would destroy the production set. At Money in the Bank, Henry would defeat Big Show in a singles match. After the match, Henry would crush Show's foot with a chair, (kayfabe) injuring him. On the following ''SmackDown'', Henry would do the same to Kane.

Henry defeated a local wrestler on the July 29 episode of ''SmackDown'', where, after the match, Theodore Long informed Henry that he could no longer compete as no one wants to fight him. Sheamus interrupted, saying he isn't afraid of Henry before slapping him. On the August 5 episode of ''SmackDown'', Henry defeated Vladimir Kozlov and after the match would crush his leg. At SummerSlam, Henry defeated Sheamus by count-out. On the August 19 episode of ''SmackDown'', Henry won a 20-man Battle Royal to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship to face Orton at Night of Champions and throughout weeks on ''SmackDown'' and on the September 11 episode of ''Raw'', Henry would attack Orton getting the advantage over him. At Night of Champions, Henry defeated Randy Orton to become World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. On the September 26 episode of ''Raw'', Henry was set to face The Great Khali, but before the match, Henry would use the World Heavyweight title to attack Khali, before hitting him with the ''World's Strongest Slam''. Henry and Khali would fight again on that week's episode of ''SmackDown'', where Henry was successful. After the match, Henry crushed Khali's foot with a chair, (kayfabe) injuring him. Henry successfully defended the title against Orton at Hell in a Cell in a Hell in a Cell match.

On the October 7 episode of ''Smackdown'', Big Show returned and chokeslammed Henry through a table, thus earning a title shot against Mark Henry at Vengeance. In this heated match, Henry would go on to superplex the Big Show from the top rope and the ring collapsed under their combined weight, similar to when Brock Lesnar superplexed Big Show off the top rope, and the match resulted in a No Contest. Then he began a feud with Daniel Bryan after seeing him look at him the wrong way while being interviewed. Mark Henry would defeat Bryan by diqualification that night after being attacked by Big Show. Teddy Long would then announce that Henry would face The Big Show at Survivor Series for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 18 episode of ''SmackDown'', Henry viciously assaulted Bryan and promised that Big Show will be carried out of Survivor Series by paramedics and he would leave still the World Heavyweight Champion. At Survivor Series Henry retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show after a low blow that disqualified Henry. Angered by Henry's cowardice Big Show smashed Henry's ankle with a steel chair. The following ''SmackDown'', Henry was attacked by The Big Show with a W.M.D after Henry insulted Big Show. Daniel Bryan would immediately race out to cash in his Money in The Bank briefcase on an uncounscious Henry, where he pinned him but Theodore Long rushed out to the ring to tell Bryan the match was not legal due to the fact that Henry was not medically cleared to compete. Later that night, Bryan won a Fatal-Four Way match to face Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage. On the November 29 live holiday episode of ''SmackDown'', Henry would defeat Bryan after hitting him with a "World's Strongest Slam" from the top rope and retained the World Heavyweight Championship.

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Henry lost the World Heavyweight Championship to the Big Show in a chairs match. After the match, he knocked the Big Show out then Daniel Bryan cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase winning his first ever World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 6, 2012, edition of ''SmackDown'', Henry would cost Big Show a championship match after he pushed Bryan, making him win by disqualification. On the January 20 edition of ''SmackDown'', Bryan retained the championship against Henry in a Lumberjack match after the lumberjacks came in and attacked them. At the 2012 Royal Rumble event, Henry faced Bryan and Show in a triple threat steel cage match for the world title, but Bryan escaped the steel cage to retain his title.

On the February 3 edition of ''SmackDown'', Henry was suspended indefinitely (in storyline) by ''SmackDown'' General Manager Theodore Long after Henry physically acosted Long as he demanded a one-on-one rematch that night with Bryan. In reality, Henry suffered a hyper-extended knee the previous week. He would then appear in backstage segments on the February 17 edition of ''SmackDown'' and at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Henry returned to in-ring action on the February 20 edition of ''Raw Supershow'', in a losing effort against Sheamus. Following this loss, Henry went on a three match losing streak against the likes of Sheamus and Big Show. He finally ended his losing streak by defeating Ezekiel Jackson on the March 9 edition of ''SmackDown''. On the April 2 and 9 editions of ''Raw SuperShow'', Henry faced CM Punk for the WWE Championship which he won by count-out and disqualification; as a result Punk retained his title. On the April 16 edition of ''Raw SuperShow'', Punk defeated Henry in a no disqualification, no countout match to retain the WWE Championship.

Personal life

He is the cousin of former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Kevin Henry. Henry's father, Ernest, died of complications from diabetes when Henry was twelve. He has an older brother, Pat. When Henry was fourteen, he was diagnosed with dyslexia.

Henry played American football in high school, until his senior year, when he strained ligaments in his wrist.

Henry lives in New York with his wife Jana and his son Jacob. As of 2002, he has driven a Hummer that he won in the Arnold Strongman Classic that same year.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''World's Strongest Slam'' (High-angle falling powerslam)

Signature moves

Bearhug

*Backbreaker drop

Body avalanche

*Body block

Corner slingshot splash (Sometimes used on the opponent's steel chair bound leg, causing storyline injury)

*Elbow drop

*Fallaway slam

Gorilla press drop or slam

Headbutt

Leapfrog body guillotine

Scoop powerslam

' Running splash

Managers

Mae Young

Nicknames

"The World's Strongest Man"

*"The Hall of Pain Inductor"

"Sexual Chocolate"

"The King of the Jungle"

"The Silverback"

Entrance themes

"Power" by Jim Johnston (1998)

"Sexual Chocolate" performed by Stevan Swann and composed by Jim Johnston (1998–2000; November 15, 2010)

*"MacMillitant" by Miestro (2003–2004; Used while a part of Thuggin' and Buggin' Enterprises)

*"The Wall" by Heat Mobb (WWE)

*"I'm Comin'" by Silkk the Shocker (2009–2010; Used while Teaming with MVP)

"Some Bodies Gonna Get It" by Three 6 Mafia (May 21, 2006–present)

Championships and accomplishments

Powerlifting

All-time world former raw (unequipped) squat world record holder (430 Kilograms)

Professional wrestling

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2011)

PWI ranked him #41 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

ECW Championship (1 time)

World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WWF European Championship (1 time)

*Slammy Award for “Holy $#!+ Move of the Year” (2011) – with Big Show

Strongman athletics

Arnold Classic

Arnold Classic Strongest Man (2002)

Weightlifting

Olympic Games

*Olympic Games team member (1992, 1996)

Pan American Games

*Pan American Games Silver Medalist (1995)

Senior American record holder in Snatch, Clean and jerk, and Total (1993–1997)

Senior National Championship (1993, 1994, 1996)

See also

List of strongmen

References

External links

WWE profile

Official website

Category:1971 births Category:African American professional wrestlers Category:American strength athletes Category:American weightlifters Category:Living people Category:Nation of Domination members Category:Olympic athletes who wrestled professionally Category:Olympic weightlifters of the United States Category:People from Silsbee, Texas Category:Powerlifters Category:Weightlifters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Weightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Weightlifters at the 1995 Pan American Games

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Birthname	Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger
Order	38th
Office	Governor of California
Lieutenant	Cruz BustamanteMona Pasquil (acting) John GaramendiAbel Maldonado
Term start	November 17, 2003
Term end	January 3, 2011
Predecessor	Gray Davis
Successor	Jerry Brown
Birth date	July 30, 1947
Birth place	Thal, Austria
Citizenship	Austria United States
Party	Republican Party
Spouse	Maria Shriver (1986–2011)
Children	Katherine (b. 1989)Christina (b. 1991)Patrick (b. 1993)Christopher (b. 1997)Joseph Baena (b. 1997)
Relations	Gustav Schwarzenegger(father, deceased)Aurelia Jadrny(mother, deceased)
Alma mater	Santa Monica CollegeUniversity of Wisconsin–Superior
Profession	Bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, politician
Signature	Arnold Schwarzenegger Signature.svg
Website	Personal website
Branch	Austrian Armed Forces
Serviceyears	1965 }}

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (; ; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011.

Schwarzenegger began to weight train at the age of 15 years old. He was awarded the title of Mr. Universe at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent presence in the sport of bodybuilding and he has written several books and numerous articles on the sport. Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. He was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" and the "Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" during his acting career and more recently the "Governator" (from "Governor" and "Terminator").

As a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis's term. Schwarzenegger was then re-elected on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for his second term on January 5, 2007.

Schwarzenegger was married to Maria Shriver. The couple separated in 2011 after 25 years of marriage.

Early life

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, a small village bordering the Styrian capital Graz, and was christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger. His parents were the local police chief, Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907–72), and Aurelia (née Jadrny; 1922–1998). His father served in World War II, after he voluntarily applied to join the Nazi Party in 1938. He served with the German Army as a ''Hauptfeldwebel'' of the ''Feldgendarmerie'' and was discharged in 1943 after contracting malaria. They were married on October 20, 1945 – Gustav was 38, and Aurelia was a 23-year-old widow with a son, Meinhard. According to Schwarzenegger, both of his parents were very strict: "Back then in Austria it was a very different world, if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared." He grew up in a Roman Catholic family who attended Mass every Sunday.

Gustav had a preference for his stepson Meinhard, over his son, Arnold. His favoritism was "strong and blatant," which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his child. Schwarzenegger has said his father had "no patience for listening or understanding your problems." Schwarzenegger had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death. In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Center to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of atrocities despite Gustav's membership in the Nazi Party and SA. Schwarzenegger's father's background received wide press attention during the 2003 California recall campaign. At school, Schwarzenegger was apparently in the middle but stood out for his "cheerful, good-humored and exuberant" character. Money was a problem in their household; Schwarzenegger recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.

As a boy, Schwarzenegger played several sports, heavily influenced by his father. He picked up his first barbell in 1960, when his football (soccer) coach took his team to a local gym. At the age of 14, he chose bodybuilding over football as a career. Schwarzenegger has responded to a question asking if he was 13 when he started weightlifting: "I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting." However, his official website biography claims: "At 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career." During a speech in 2001, he said, ''"My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school."'' Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. "I was inspired by individuals like Reg Park and Steve Reeves." When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible, when others around me didn't always understand my dreams ... Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve." In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz. He was so dedicated as a youngster that he broke into the local gym on weekends, when it was usually closed, so that he could train. "It would make me sick to miss a workout ... I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it." When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first movie experience as a boy, he replied, "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels. The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a John Wayne movie."

In 1971, his brother Meinhard died in a car accident. Meinhard had been drinking and was killed instantly. Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral. Meinhard was due to marry Erika Knapp, and the couple had a three-year-old son, Patrick. Schwarzenegger would pay for Patrick's education and help him to immigrate to the United States. Gustav died the following year from a stroke. In ''Pumping Iron'', Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest. Later, he and the film's producer said this story was taken from another bodybuilder for the purpose of showing the extremes that some would go to for their sport and to make Schwarzenegger's image more cold and machine-like in order to fan controversy for the film. Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, has said he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother. Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he was absent from his father's funeral.

In an interview with ''Fortune'' in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what "would now be called child abuse" at the hands of his father:

Early adulthood

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males. During his army service, he won the Junior Mr. Europe contest. He went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and spent a week in military prison: "Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences." He won another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirer Hof Hotel (where he had placed second). He was voted best built man of Europe, which made him famous.

"The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America – the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich." Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London. He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner Chester Yorton.

Charles "Wag" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and he offered to coach him. As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London, England. Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs. Staying in the East End of London helped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language. Also in 1966, Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to meet childhood idol Reg Park, who became his friend and mentor. The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20. He would go on to win the title a further three times. Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, training for four to six hours daily, attending business school and working in a health club (Rolf Putzinger's gym where he worked and trained from 1966–1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title. He frequently told Roger C. Field, a friend in Munich at that time, "I'm going to become the greatest actor!"

Move to the U.S.

Schwarzenegger, who dreamed of moving to the U.S. since the age of 10, and saw bodybuilding as the avenue through which to do so, realized his dream by moving to the United States in September 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English. "Naturally, when I came to this country, my accent was very bad, and my accent was also very strong, which was an obstacle as I began to pursue acting." There he trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, under Joe Weider. From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973. Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler "Superstar" Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times.

Immigration law firm Siskind & Susser have stated that Schwarzenegger may have been an illegal immigrant at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa. ''LA Weekly'' would later say in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in America, who "overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s".

In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide ''Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder'' was published and became a huge success. After taking English classes at Santa Monica College in California, he earned a BA by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, where he graduated with a degree in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979.

Bodybuilding career

Name	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Nickname	The Austrian Oak
Birth date	July 30, 1947
Birth place	Thal, Styria, Austria
Height
Weight	250 pounds (113 kg)
Firstproshow	NABBA Mr. Universe
Firstproshowyear	1968
Bestwin	IFBB Mr. Olympia
Bestwinyear	1970–1975, 1980, Seven Times
Predecessor	Sergio Oliva ('69), Frank Zane ('79)
Successor	Franco Columbu ('76, '81)
Yesorretiredyear	Retired 1980 }}

}} }} }}

Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows.

For many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines ''Muscle & Fitness'' and ''Flex''. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. The magazine ''MuscleMag International'' has a monthly two-page article on him, and refers to him as "The King".

One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965. He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19. He would go on to compete in, and win, many bodybuilding contests. His bodybulding victories included five Mr. Universe (4 – NABBA [England], 1 – IFBB [USA]) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991.

Schwarzenegger continues to work out even today. When asked about his personal training during the 2011 Arnold Classic he said that he was still working out a half an hour with weights every day.

Competition Weight: (top 250 lb (113 kg))

Off Season Weight: (top 260 lb (118 kg))

Powerlifting/Weightlifting

During Arnold's early years in bodybuilding, he also competed in several Olympic weightlifting & Powerlifting contests. Arnold won 2 weightlifting contests in 1964 & 1965, as well as 2 powerlifting contests in 1966 & 1968.

In 1967, Schwarzenegger competed in and won the Munich stone-lifting contest, in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254 kg/560 lbs.) is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests.

Personal records

Clean & press – Snatch – Clean & jerk – Squat – Bench press – Deadlift –

Mr. Olympia

Schwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia. His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he still holds to this day.

He continued his winning streak in the 1971–74 competitions. In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time, beating Franco Columbu. After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.

Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete, in order to film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called ''Pumping Iron.'' Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film ''Stay Hungry'' with Jeff Bridges. Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia.

Schwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia. Schwarzenegger was training for his role in ''Conan'', and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time. He kept this plan a secret, in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face. Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television, when he announced at the eleventh hour that while he was there: "Why not compete?" Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger then officially retired from competition.

Steroid use

Schwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1977 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." He has called the drugs "tissue building."

In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted his early death on the basis of a link between his steroid use and his later heart problems. As the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a US$10,000 libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with ''The Globe'', a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health.

Height

His official height of 6'2" (1.88 m) has been brought into question by several articles. In his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, he was measured to be 6'1.5" (1.87 m), a height confirmed by his fellow bodybuilders. However, in 1988 both the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Time Out'' magazine mentioned that Schwarzenegger appeared noticeably shorter. More recently, before running for Governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the ''Chicago Reader''. As Governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights. At one point Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, ''"[s]ettle this once and for all and find out how tall he is"'' by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor. Schwarzenegger retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words "Need a lift?" on the five-foot-five inch (165 cm) Wesson's chair before a negotiating session in his office. Bob Mulholland also claimed Arnold was 5'10" (1.78 m) and that he wore risers in his boots. The debate on Schwarzenegger's height has spawned a website solely dedicated to the issue, and his page remains one of the most active on CelebHeights.com, a website which discusses the heights of celebrities.

Acting career

Other names	Arnold StrongArnie
Years active	1969–2004, 2012–present (acting)
Occupation	Actor, director, producer }}

Schwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970's ''Hercules in New York''. Credited under the name "Arnold Strong," his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a deaf mute hit-man for the mob in director Robert Altman's ''The Long Goodbye'' (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film ''Stay Hungry'' (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year. Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career. "It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance."

Schwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film ''Pumping Iron'' (1977), elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography. Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role of ''The Incredible Hulk'', but did not win the role because of his height. Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part of Dr. David Banner's alter ego. Schwarzenegger appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy ''The Villain''. In 1980 he starred in a biographical film of the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.

Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic ''Conan the Barbarian'' in 1982, which was a box-office hit. This was followed by a sequel, ''Conan the Destroyer'' in 1984, although it was not as successful as its predecessor. In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video "Carnival in Rio".

In 1984, he made the first of three appearances as the eponymous character and what some would say was the signature role in his acting career in director James Cameron's science fiction thriller film ''The Terminator''. Following ''The Terminator'', Schwarzenegger made ''Red Sonja'' in 1985.

During the 1980s, audiences had an appetite for action films, with both Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone becoming international stars. Schwarzenegger's roles reflected his sense of humor, separating his roles from more serious action hero fare. His alternative-universe comedy/thriller ''Last Action Hero'' featured a poster of the movie ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' which, in the fictional alternate universe, had Sylvester Stallone as its star.

He made a number of successful films: ''Commando'' (1985), ''Raw Deal'' (1986), ''The Running Man'' (1987), and ''Red Heat'' (1988). In ''Predator'' (1987), another successful film, Schwarzenegger led a cast which included future Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Ventura also appeared in ''The Running Man'' and ''Batman & Robin'' with Schwarzenegger) and future candidate for governor of Kentucky Sonny Landham.

''Twins'' (1988), a comedy with Danny DeVito also proved successful. ''Total Recall'' (1990) netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the gross, and was a science fiction script directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990) reunited him with director Ivan Reitman, who directed him in ''Twins''.

Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series ''Tales from the Crypt'', entitled "The Switch", and then with the 1992 telemovie ''Christmas in Connecticut''. He has not directed since.

Schwarzenegger's commercial peak was his return as the title character in 1991's ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', which was the highest-grossing film of 1991. In 1993, the National Association of Theatre Owners named him the "International Star of the Decade." His next film project, the 1993 self-aware action comedy spoof ''Last Action Hero'' was released opposite ''Jurassic Park'', and did not do well at the box office. His next film, the comedy drama ''True Lies'' (1994) was a popular spy film, and saw Schwarzenegger, reunited with James Cameron, appearing opposite Jamie Lee Curtis.

That same year the comedy ''Junior'' (1994) was released, the last of his three collaborations with Ivan Reitman and again co-starring Danny DeVito and also for the second time featuring Pamela Reed. This film brought Schwarzenegger his second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy. It was followed by the action thriller ''Eraser'' (1996), the Christmas comedy ''Jingle All The Way'' (1996) with Arnold playing the main character, Howard Langston, and the comic book-based ''Batman & Robin'' (1997), where he played the villain Mr. Freeze. This was his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Following the critical failure of ''Batman & Robin'', Schwarzenegger's film career and box office prominence went into decline.

He returned with the supernatural thriller ''End of Days'' (1999), later followed by the action films ''The 6th Day'' (2000) and ''Collateral Damage'' (2002) all of which failed to do well at the box office. In 2003, he made his third appearance as the title character in ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', which went on to earn over $150 million domestically.

In tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a 25-meter (82 ft) tall ''Terminator'' statue in a park in central Graz. Schwarzenegger reportedly said he was flattered, but thought the money would be better spent on social projects and the Special Olympics.

His film appearances after becoming Governor of California include a 3-second cameo appearance in ''The Rundown'' (a.k.a., ''Welcome to the Jungle'') with The Rock, and the 2004 remake of ''Around the World in 80 Days'', where he appeared onscreen with action star Jackie Chan for the first time. In 2005 he appeared as himself in the film ''The Kid & I''. Schwarzenegger voiced Baron von Steuben in Episode 24 ("Valley Forge") of ''Liberty's Kids''.

Schwarzenegger had been rumored to be appearing in ''Terminator Salvation'' as the original T-800 model, alongside Roland Kickinger. Schwarzenegger denied his involvement, but it was later revealed that although he would appear briefly he would not be shooting new footage, and his image would be inserted into the movie from stock footage of the first Terminator movie. Schwarzenegger's most recent appearance was in Sylvester Stallone's ''The Expendables'', where he made a cameo appearance alongside Stallone and Bruce Willis.

Return to acting

In January 2011, just weeks after leaving office in California, Schwarzenegger announced that he was reading several new scripts for future films, one of them being the World War II action drama ''With Wings as Eagles'', written by Randall Wallace, based on a true story.

On March 6, 2011, at the Arnold Seminar of the Arnold Classic, Schwarzenegger revealed that he was being courted for several films, including sequels to ''The Terminator'' and remakes of ''Predator'' and ''The Running Man'', and that he was "packaging" a comic book character. The character was later revealed to be the Governator, star of the comic book and animated series of the same name. Schwarzenegger inspired the character and co-developed it with Stan Lee, who would have produced the series. Schwarzenegger would have voiced the Governator.

On May 20, 2011, Schwarzenegger's entertainment counsel announced that all movie projects currently in development were being halted. "Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines." However, the ''Daily Star'' reported on May 29 that Schwarzenegger had been offered $40 million to star in two ''Terminator'' films.

On July 11, 2011, it was announced that Schwarzenegger is considering a comeback film despite his legal problems. He has reportedly signed to star in ''Last Stand'' as a dishonored Los Angeles cop. On September 6, 2011, it was announced that Schwarzenegger had signed on to ''The Expendables 2'', in which he will play a larger cameo. He will later star in ''Unknown Soldier'' and '' The Tomb'', thought to be released in 2013.

Political career

Early politics

Schwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years. As an actor, his political views were always well known as they contrasted with those of many other prominent Hollywood stars, who are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained why he was a Republican:

In 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in ''Stop the Madness'', an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He first came to wide public notice as a Republican during the 1988 Presidential election, accompanying then-Vice President George H.W. Bush at a campaign rally.

Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993. He was nominated by George H. W. Bush, who dubbed him "Conan the Republican". He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson. Yet, political analysts have identified Schwarzenegger as a liberal, as he has become more left-leaning since his election.

Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television/radio public service announcements to donate blood.

In an interview with ''Talk'' magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought of running for office. He replied, "I think about it many times. The possibility is there, because I feel it inside." ''The Hollywood Reporter'' claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for governor of California. Following his initial comments, Schwarzenegger said, "I'm in show business – I am in the middle of my career. Why would I go away from that and jump into something else?"

Governor of California

Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the 2003 California recall election for Governor of California on the August 6, 2003 episode of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. According to Schwarzenegger, he did not decide to run until the day of the announcement:

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Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians. His candidacy immediately became national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" (referring to ''The Terminator'' movies, see above) and "The Running Man" (the name of another one of his films), and calling the recall election "Total Recall" (yet another Schwarzenegger starrer). Schwarzenegger declined to participate in several debates with other recall replacement candidates, and appeared in only one debate on September 24, 2003.

On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the ''Yes'' vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others. His nearest rival, Bustamante, received 31% of the vote. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required. Schwarzenegger was the first foreign-born governor of California since Irish-born Governor John G. Downey in 1862.

As soon as Schwarzenegger was elected governor, Willie Brown said he would start a drive to recall the governor. Schwarzenegger was equally entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up gridlock. Building on a catchphrase from the sketch "Hans and Franz" from ''Saturday Night Live'' (which partly parodied his bodybuilding career), Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "girlie men".

Schwarzenegger's early victories included repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee as well as preventing driver's licenses being given out to illegal immigrants, but later he began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various initiatives. Key among his reckoning with political realities was a special election he called in November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated. Schwarzenegger accepted personal responsibility for the defeats and vowed to continue to seek consensus for the people of California. He would later comment that "no one could win if the opposition raised 160 million dollars to defeat you".

Schwarzenegger then went against the advice of fellow Republican strategists and appointed a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff. Schwarzenegger gradually moved towards a more politically moderate position, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election.

Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the 2006 elections, held on November 7, 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes. In recent years, many commentators have seen Schwarzenegger as moving away from the right and towards the center of the political spectrum. After hearing a speech by Schwarzenegger at the 2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said that, "[H]e's becoming a Democrat [... H]e's running back, not even to the center. I would say center-left".

It was rumored that Schwarzenegger might run for the United States Senate in 2010, as his governorship would be term-limited by that time. This turned out to be false. Wendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as building blocks to escape a depressing home. Leigh portrays Schwarzenegger as obsessed with power and quotes him as saying, "I wanted to be part of the small percentage of people who were leaders, not the large mass of followers. I think it is because I saw leaders use 100% of their potential –I was always fascinated by people in control of other people." Schwarzenegger has said that it was never his intention to enter politics, but he says, "I married into a political family. You get together with them and you hear about policy, about reaching out to help people. I was exposed to the idea of being a public servant and Eunice and Sargent Shriver became my heroes." Eunice Kennedy Shriver was sister of John F. Kennedy, and mother-in-law to Schwarzenegger; Sargent Shriver is husband to Eunice and father-in-law to Schwarzenegger. He cannot run for president as he is not a natural born citizen of the United States. In ''The Simpsons Movie'' (2007), he is portrayed as the President, and in the Sylvester Stallone movie, ''Demolition Man'' (1993, ten years before his first run for political office), it is revealed that a constitutional amendment passed which allowed Schwarzenegger to run for President.

Schwarzenegger is a dual Austria/United States citizen. He holds Austrian citizenship by birth and has held U.S. citizenship since becoming naturalized in 1983. Being Austrian and thus European, he was able to win the 2007 European Voice campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU. Because of his personal wealth from his acting career, Schwarzenegger did not accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year.

Schwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008. Giuliani dropped out of the Presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain. Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, "It's Rudy's fault!" (in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he could not make up his mind). Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their concerns for the environment and economy.

In its April 2010 report, Progressive ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Schwarzenegger one of 11 "worst governors" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Schwarzenegger's term as governor.

Governor Schwarzenegger played a significant role in opposing Proposition 66, a proposed amendment of the Californian Three Strikes Law, in November 2004. This amendment would have required the third felony to be either violent or serious to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence. In the last week before the ballot, Schwarzenegger launched an intensive campaign against Proposition 66. He stated that "it would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists".

Schwarzenegger did not run for re-election in 2010.

Allegations of sexual misconduct

During his initial campaign for governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger, dubbed "Gropegate". Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the ''Los Angeles Times'' recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.

Three of the women claimed he had grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock. A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last said he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a sex act.

Schwarzenegger admitted that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of [what] you see in the stories is not true". This came after an interview in adult magazine ''Oui'' from 1977 surfaced, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and using substances such as marijuana. Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film ''Pumping Iron.'' In an interview with ''GQ'' magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, "[Marijuana] is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me." His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.

British television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger, his top aide, Sean Walsh, and his publicist, Sheryl Main. A joint statement read: "The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled." Richardson claimed they tried to tarnish her reputation by dismissing her allegations that Schwarzenegger touched her breast during a press event for ''The 6th Day'' in London. She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a ''Los Angeles Times'' article when they contended she encouraged his behavior.

Citizenship

In 2005, Peter Pilz, from the Austrian Green Party, demanded that parliament revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship. This demand was based on Article 33 of the Austrian Citizenship Act that states: ''A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship, if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic''. Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had indeed done damage to Austria's reputation. Schwarzenegger explained his actions by referring to the fact that his only duty as Governor of California was to prevent an error in the judicial system.

Environmental record

On September 27, 2006 Schwarzenegger signed a bill creating the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards. The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California's emissions by 25 percent to 1990s levels by 2020. In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Schwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006 allowing California to work with the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states. Any power plants that exceed emissions for the amount of carbon credits will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference. The plan is set to be in effect in 2009. In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels. He has also installed solar panels to heat his home.

In respect of his contribution to the direction of the US motor industry, Schwarzenegger was invited to open the 2009 SAE World Congress in Detroit, on April 20, 2009.

Electoral history

Business career

Schwarzenegger has also had a highly successful business career. Following his move to the United States, Schwarzenegger became a "prolific goal setter" and would write his objectives at the start of the year on index cards, like starting a mail order business or buying a new car – and succeed in doing so. By the age of 30, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood. His financial independence came from his success as a budding entrepreneur with a series of successful business ventures and investments.

Bricklaying business

In 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business. The business flourished thanks to the pair's marketing savvy and an increased demand following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.

Real estate investing

Schwarzenegger rolled profits from the mail order business and his bodybuilding competition winnings into his first real estate investment venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000. He would later go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies.

Restaurant

In 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monica called ''Schatzi On Main''. ''Schatzi'' literally means "little treasure," colloquial for "honey" or "darling" in German. In 1998, he sold his restaurant.

Planet Hollywood investment

Schwarzenegger was a founding celebrity investor in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe) along with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore. Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in early 2000. Schwarzenegger said the company had not had the success he had hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on "new US global business ventures" and his movie career.

Other ventures and investments

He also invested in a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: "I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexner and Warren Buffett. I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out! And I did!" He has significant ownership in Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm.

Personal life

Early love life

In 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland (later Barbara Outland Baker), an English teacher he lived with until 1974. Schwarzenegger talked about Barbara in his memoir in 1977: "Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life." Baker has described Schwarzenegger as "[a] joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic" but claims towards the end of the relationship he became "insufferable – classically conceited – the world revolved around him". Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled ''Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak''. Although Baker, at times, painted an unflattering portrait of her former lover, Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the tell-all book with a foreword, and also met with Baker for three hours. Baker claims, for example, that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life. Schwarzenegger has made it clear that their respective recollection of events can differ. The couple first met six to eight months after his arrival in the U.S—their first date was watching the first Apollo Moon landing on television. They shared an apartment in Santa Monica for three and a half years, and having little money, would visit the beach all day, or have barbecues in the back yard. Although Baker claims that when she first met him, he had "little understanding of polite society" and she found him a turn-off, she says, "He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be—he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother. He just had this huge determination to prove himself, and that was very attractive ... I'll go to my grave knowing Arnold loved me."

Schwarzenegger met his next paramour, Sue Moray, a Beverly Hills hairdresser's assistant, on Venice Beach in July 1977. According to Moray, the couple led an open relationship: "We were faithful when we were both in LA ... but when he was out of town, we were free to do whatever we wanted." Schwarzenegger met Maria Shriver at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, and went on to have a relationship with both women until August 1978, when Moray (who knew of his relationship with Shriver) issued an ultimatum.

Marriage and family

On April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of President John F. Kennedy, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The Rev. John Baptist Riordan performed the ceremony at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. They have four children: Katherine Eunice Shriver Schwarzenegger (born December 13, 1989 in Los Angeles); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23, 1991 in Los Angeles); Patrick Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993 in Los Angeles); and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27, 1997 in Los Angeles). Schwarzenegger lives in a home in Brentwood. The divorcing couple currently own vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. They attended St. Monica's Catholic Church.

Son in serious accident

Schwarzenegger's 13-year-old son Christopher Schwarzenegger was seriously injured in a boogie-boarding accident in Malibu, on July 17, 2011. In a joint statement, Schwarzenegger and estranged wife Shriver described it as "scary," and that "he is expected to make a full recovery." Christopher had been in intensive care after suffering a collapsed lung and broken bones in the accident.

Marital separation

On May 9, 2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger separated after 25 years of marriage, with Shriver moving out of the couple's Brentwood mansion. On May 16, 2011, the ''Los Angeles Times'' revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son more than fourteen years earlier with an employee in their household, Mildred Patricia 'Patty' Baena. "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued to ''The Times''. In the statement, Schwarzenegger did not mention that he had confessed to his wife only after Shriver had confronted him with the information, which she had done after confirming with the housekeeper what she had suspected about the child.

Fifty-year-old Baena, of Guatemalan origin, was employed by the family for 20 years and retired in January. The pregnant Baena was working in the home while Shriver was pregnant with the youngest of the couple’s four children. Baena's son with Schwarzenegger, Joseph, was born on October 2, 1997; Shriver gave birth to Christopher on September 27, 1997. Schwarzenegger found ways to spend time with this child: in one instance, in 1998, Shriver and Schwarzenegger's children unexpectedly accompanied Schwarzenegger to the lovechild's baptism; and he was photographed teaching the boy how to play golf and swinging him playfully above his head. Despite Schwarzenegger's interactions with the child, the boy was never told that Schwarzenegger was his father, and he was unaware of the fact until it was revealed by the press. Schwarzenegger has taken financial responsibility for the child "from the start and continued to provide support." KNX 1070 radio reported that he bought a new, four-bedroom house, with a pool, in Bakersfield, about north of Los Angeles, in 2010 for Baena and their son. Baena separated from her husband, Rogelio, in 1997, a few months after Joseph's birth, and divorced him in 2008. Baena's ex-husband says that the child's birth certificate was falsified and that he plans to sue Schwarzenegger and his ex-wife for engaging in conspiracy to falsify a public document, a serious crime in California.

Schwarzenegger has consulted an attorney, Bob Kaufman. Kaufman has earlier handled divorce cases for celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Schwarzenegger will keep the Brentwood home as part of their divorce settlement and Shriver has purchased a new home nearby so that the children may travel easily between their parents' homes. They will share custody of the two minor children. Schwarzenegger came under fire after the initial petition did not include spousal support and a reimbursement of attorney's fees. However, he claims this was not intentional and that he signed the initial documents without having properly read them. Schwarzenegger has filed amended divorce papers remedying this.

In the aftermath of Schwarzenegger's infidelity scandal, actress Brigitte Nielsen came forward and stated that she too had an affair with Schwarzenegger while he was in a relationship with Shriver, saying, "Maybe I wouldn't have got into it if he said 'I'm going to marry Maria' and this is dead serious, but he didn't, and our affair carried on."

Accidents and injuries

Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets). Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue; medical experts predicted he would require heart valve replacement surgery in the following two to eight years as his valve would progressively degrade. Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.

On December 9, 2001, he broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.

Schwarzenegger saved a drowning man's life in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore.

On January 8, 2006, while Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles, with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, the governor sustained a minor injury to his lip, requiring 15 stitches. "No citations were issued", said Officer Jason Lee, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. Schwarzenegger did not obtain his motorcycle license until July 3, 2006.

Schwarzenegger tripped over his ski pole and broke his right femur while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, with his family on December 23, 2006. On December 26, 2006, he underwent a 90-minute operation in which cables and screws were used to wire the broken bone back together. He was released from the St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006.

Schwarzenegger's private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009, after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by the governor's press secretary. No one was harmed in the incident.

Net worth

Schwarzenegger's net worth has been conservatively estimated at $100–$200 million. But with his recent split from his wife, Maria Shriver in 2011, it has been estimated that his net worth has been hovering around the $400 million mark and even as high as $800 million, based on tax returns he filed in 2006. Over the years as an investor, he invested his bodybuilding and movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings worldwide, so a more accurate estimation of his net worth is difficult to calculate, particularly in light of declining real estate values owing to economic recessions in the United States and Europe. In June 1997, Schwarzenegger spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream Jet. Schwarzenegger once said of his fortune, "Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million." He has also stated, "I've made many millions as a businessman many times over."

Activism

He bought the first Hummer manufactured for civilian use in 1992, a model so large, and wide, that it is classified as a large truck and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to it. During the Gubernatorial Recall campaign he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about US$21,000. After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the California Hydrogen Highway Network, and gained a U.S. Department of Energy grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost. California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been involved with the Special Olympics for many years after they founded by his ex-mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. In 2007, Schwarzenegger was the official spokesperson for the Special Olympics which were held in Shanghai, China. Schwarzenegger believes that quality school opportunities should be made available to children who might not normally be able to access them. In 1995, he founded the Inner City Games Foundation (ICG) which provides cultural, educational and community enrichment programming to youth. ICG is active in 15 cities around the country and serves over 250,000 children in over 400 schools countrywide. He has also been involved with After-School All-Stars, and founded the Los Angeles branch in 2002. ASAS is an after school program provider, educating youth about health, fitness and nutrition.

On February 12, 2010, Schwarzenegger took part in the Vancouver Olympic Torch relay. He handed off the flame to the next runner, Sebastian Coe.

Honors

Schwarzenegger's home town of Graz had its soccer stadium named ''The Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium'' in his honor. It is the home of both Grazer AK and Sturm Graz. After the Stanley Williams execution and street protests in Schwarzenegger's hometown, several local politicians began a campaign to remove his name from the stadium. In response, Schwarzenegger said "to spare the responsible politicians of the city of Graz further concern, I withdraw from them as of this day the right to use my name in association with the Liebenau Stadium", and set a deadline of two days to remove his name. Graz officials removed Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium in December 2005. It is now officially titled UPC-Arena.

The Sun Valley Resort has a short ski trail called ''Arnold's Run'', named after Schwarzenegger in 2001. The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain.

People in Thal, Austria, celebrated Schwarzenegger's 60th birthday by throwing a party. Officials proclaimed "A Day for Arnold" on July 30, 2007. The mayor sent Schwarzenegger the enameled sign, Thal 145, the number of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, declaring "This belongs to him. No one here will ever be assigned that number again".

Bibliography

 –  –  –  –

Interviews

Interview in ''Oui'' magazine, August 1977 at thesmokinggun.com

Excerpts from ''Time Out'' (London) interview, 1977 at time.com

Schwarzenegger Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Film

Footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger winning Mr Universe, 1969

"Arnold Schwarzenegger – Hollywood Hero" DVD ~ Todd Baker

"Pumping Iron" (25th Anniversary Special Edition) DVD ~ George Butler

References

should not be used in main article space, as it renders any content obscured within the template unprintable, according to a June 2007 discussion. -->

External links

Arnold Schwarzenegger ''official website''

Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ''official California government site''

Arnold Schwarzenegger ''official constituency site''

Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum ''official museum site''

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Wild Years – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Complete text, audio, video of Governor Schwarzenegger's 2004 Republican National Convention Address AmericanRhetoric.com

Complete text and audio of Governor Schwarzenegger's Speech to the United Nations on Global Climate Change AmericanRhetoric.com, September 24, 2007

Archive of Correspondence pertaining to Governor Schwarzenegger and same-sex marriage AB 43 Project

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Name	Jerry Lawler
Names	Jerry LawlerJerry "The King" Lawler
Height
Weight
Birth name	Jerry O'Neil Lawler
Birth date	November 29, 1949
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee
Resides	Memphis, Tennessee
Billed	Memphis, Tennessee
Trainer	Jackie Fargo
Debut	1970 }}

Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional wrestler. He also wrestles and occasionally commentates for the Memphis Wrestling promotion.

Lawler has held 168 championships throughout his career. Overall, Lawler has held more championships than any other current WWE performer, though he has never won any WWE championships since joining the company.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1970-1992)

While working in Memphis, Tennessee as a disc jockey, Lawler's artistic ability attracted the attention of local wrestling promoter Aubrey Griffith. The two made an agreement in which Lawler would give Griffith free publicity in exchange for free wrestling training. Lawler debuted as a wrestler in 1970 and won his first championship in September 1971 by winning a battle royal. He soon won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship under the managerial service of Sam Bass with partner Jim White. In 1974, Lawler began feuding with Jackie Fargo, who had been his trainer and mentor. This led to a match for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. On July 24, 1974, Lawler was booked to win the belt and the title of "King of Wrestling." While Lawler began his career as a heel, he became a face after splitting from Bass at the end of 1974. On November 12, 1979, while working in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Lawler defeated Billy Graham to become the CWA World Champion. In 1980, his career was put on hold due to a broken leg, but he returned to the ring after several months.

In 1982, Lawler began a notorious feud with comedian Andy Kaufman. At the time, Kaufman wrestled women as part of his skits and had declared himself the Intergender Heavyweight Champion. On April 5, Lawler, who had taken exception to the skits, wrestled Kaufman in Memphis. During the course of the match, Lawler delivered two piledrivers to his opponent, sending him to the hospital. On July 29, Lawler slapped Kaufman in the face on an episode of ''Late Night with David Letterman''. Kaufman responded by throwing his coffee on Lawler.

Years later, Lawler appeared as himself in the Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon''; the movie revealed that Lawler's feud with Kaufman had been kayfabe (staged). Lawler later claimed that not only was his entire feud with Kaufman staged, but the two were actually very good friends.

On March 7, 1983, Lawler won the AWA International Championship by defeating Austin Idol. He defeated Ken Patera on July 25 to begin his second reign as the International Champion. Lawler became the NWA Mid America Champion on April 12, 1984 when he was booked to defeat Randy Savage for the title. In 1985, Lawler traveled to Japan, where he won the Polynesian Pacific title on January 25, 1986. He later returned to the United States, where he defeated Bill Dundee on July 29, 1986 to begin a new reign as the AWA International Champion. Lawler feuded with Tommy Rich, Austin Idol, and Paul E. Dangerously throughout early 1987. The animosity began after controversy over an AWA World Championship title shot involving Nick Bockwinkel. During the feud, the trio defeated Lawler in a steel cage match and cut his hair, which caused a riot in the Mid-South Coliseum.

Lawler won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig. During his reign, Lawler feuded with World Class Championship Wrestling's Champion Kerry Von Erich. He defeated Von Erich on December 15, 1988 at Superclash III to unify the two titles. Soon after, Lawler's issues with Verne Gagne led to his departure from the AWA. In 1991 and 1992, while working in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), Lawler teamed with Jeff Jarrett in a match against The Moondogs over the USWA World Tag Team Championship.

World Wrestling Federation (1992–2001)

Lawler began his WWF career in December 1992 as an announcer on ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling''. From 1993 to 1995, he feuded with Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart family. The feud began at King of the Ring when Lawler interrupted Hart's victory ceremony and attacked Bret. Lawler claimed that he was the only true king in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the two were scheduled to wrestle at SummerSlam to settle the dispute. At the event, however, Lawler came to the ring on crutches and claimed that he could not wrestle because of injuries suffered in a car accident. Hart faced Lawler's "court jester", Doink the Clown instead, and beat him by submission. Lawler then attacked Hart, revealing that he was not injured. Hart defeated Lawler by submission but refused to release the Sharpshooter. As a result, the referee reversed the decision and awarded the title of "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation" to Lawler.

Simultaneously, in a form of cross-promotion, Lawler engaged in a bitter feud with Vince McMahon (who at the time was never acknowledged as the actual owner of the World Wrestling Federation) back in the USWA. There Lawler played the babyface to his hometown Memphis audience, whereas McMahon (who had always played face in the WWF) was being portrayed as a smug heel intent on dethroning Lawler as the king of professional wrestling. As part of the cross-promotion, McMahon, Bret and Owen Hart, Giant González, Tatanka, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage would begin appearing on USWA television to further the feud. While the program continued in the USWA, the feud between Lawler and McMahon would not be acknowledged on WWF television.

The Hart Family (Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith) were scheduled to face a team captained by Lawler in an elimination match at Survivor Series. However, Shawn Michaels had to take Lawler's place because Lawler was facing legal troubles. As a result, the feud between Lawler and Vince McMahon back in the USWA was also abruptly discontinued. Lawler did not face Bret Hart at another pay-per-view until the first In Your House, when he beat Hart after Hakushi and his manager Shinja interfered. This set up a "Kiss My Foot" match at King of the Ring 1995, which Bret won. As a result, Lawler was forced to kiss Bret's feet. The feud took one final turn when Lawler introduced his "dentist" Isaac Yankem, D.D.S.. After Hart defeated Yankem by disqualification, however, the feud quickly disappeared.

Following the end of his legal troubles which kept him out of Survivor Series 1993, Lawler eventually returned to the WWF at WrestleMania X, which was also the first WWF pay-per-view he ever commentated at. During the main event of the night, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper served as special guest referee for the second WWF championship match. During this Lawler began making disparaging remarks about him. Lawler would continue to berate Piper on later episodes of ''Monday Night Raw'', including bringing a skinny kid into the ring dressed as Piper and forcing him to kiss his feet. This ultimately led to a match between the two at King of the Ring 1994 which Lawler lost.

In the fall of 1994, Lawler initiated a feud with Doink the Clown. Lawler popped the balloons carried by Doink's midget sidekick, Dink. After Doink and Dink retaliated, Lawler introduced a midget sidekick of his own, who he named Queasy. In the following weeks, Doink added two more sidekicks, Wink and Pink, while Lawler introduced Sleazy and Cheesy. This led to an elimination match at Survivor Series 1994, which Lawler's team won. After the match, however, Lawler's team turned on him, joining with Doink's team to attack Lawler.

In late 1994 and early 1995, Lawler wrestled briefly in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) while still continuing to commentate sporadically for the WWF. During his absences, Shawn Michaels filled in for him as color commentator on ''Monday Night Raw''. He defeated Tony Anthony for the promotion's top title in January 1995. By 1996, Lawler wrestled occasionally on ''WWF Superstars'' where he would take on jobbers while holding a microphone in the ring to, essentially, "do the commentary on (his) very own matches" while occasionally serving as the official cornerman for Isaac Yankem D.D.S. After a brief feud with the Ultimate Warrior, Lawler began feuding with Jake Roberts after making fun of Roberts' drug and alcohol problems. The two met in a match at SummerSlam 1996, which Lawler won. After the match, Lawler poured Jim Beam whiskey down Roberts' throat.

In 1997, Lawler became heavily involved in the working relationship between the WWF and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). In interviews and commentary, he referred to the promotion as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling". His frequent insults toward ECW eventually led to the promotion "invading" ''Monday Night Raw'' in February 1997 and ultimately to a match with ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer at ECW's Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view in August, which Dreamer won.

In mid-1997, Lawler entered the King of the Ring tournament for the first time and advanced to the semi-final round where he was defeated by Mankind. By the fall, the WWF introduced a new "light-heavyweight division" to compete with World Championship Wrestling's cruiserweight division. Lawler's son, Brian Christopher, was one of the major superstars in the division, although the WWF played up an angle where both Lawler and Christopher would deny their family relationship, even though the two would aide each other in matches and so on.

By 1998, Lawler rarely wrestled in the WWF and focused on commentary. Despite their feud in the USWA in 1993, by 1998, Vince McMahon had turned heel in the WWF for the first time and left the announce position, to which Lawler began praising McMahon's name on commentary as part of his own heel persona, much to the chagrin of Jim Ross. It was McMahon's departure from the commentary team which led to the strong on-screen chemistry between Lawler and Ross in subsequent years. This played a key role in a change of Lawler's character; although he still supported the heels, he showed a sense of right and wrong, and would condemn actions of heels when they went too far. This began when Lawler surprisingly attacked Tazz when he started bullying Ross. At SummerSlam, The King wrestled Tazz in defense of Ross. With the creation of the XFL in 2001, Lawler was given the job as an announcer for the new football league. Lawler claims that he never wanted to announce for the XFL, but that he agreed to it after McMahon and Kevin Dunn asked him.

In February 2001, Lawler's then-wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter was released by the WWF, and Lawler quit the company in protest. In his account, there was no clear notice as to why she was fired; when Jim Ross broke the news to him, he stated that the Creative Team simply said that Stacy had "an attitude problem."

Independent circuit (2001)

During his absence from the WWF, Lawler made appearances on the independent circuit in both Australia and North America, as well as joining the fledgling Xcitement Wrestling Federation promotion alongside WCW veteran Tony Schiavone as a color commentator.

Memphis Wrestling (2007)

In 2007 it was announced that Lawler would be participating in a 'dream match' with Hulk Hogan which had been set to take place in the Memphis Wrestling promotion on April 27. The match had been heavily-hyped by promoter Corey Maclin as Hogan had competed in the Memphis territory early in his career. On April 12, however, Lawler pulled out of the event citing his contractual obligations to WWE rendering him unable to appear on a show that was due to be filmed by VH1 for the television show Hogan Knows Best. On January 11, 2008, Maclin revealed that he filed a lawsuit against WWE, claiming that pressure on Lawler (and others) to withdraw from the event violated section two of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling (2010)

In May 2010, Jerry announced a new TV wrestling show called, "Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling." The show is set to debut on Ion Network Channel 50 in Memphis on June 5 at the classic 11AM timespot. 3 episodes were taped May 20, 2010 at the Vine in Memphis. On September 11, 2010, Jerry announced that there would no longer be any new shows, but that the talent was still available for fundraisers.

Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001-present)

Commentator and part-time wrestler (2001–2010)

On November 19, 2001, Lawler returned to the WWF. He was reintroduced by Vince McMahon on ''Raw'' as the replacement for color commentator (and Alliance member) Paul Heyman, who had been (kayfabe) fired in the aftermath of the Alliance's loss at the previous night's ''Survivor Series''. As he had been before his departure, Lawler once again became color commentator on ''Raw'' and pay-per-view events alongside Jim Ross and ''SmackDown!'' with Michael Cole, until the brands were separated and Lawler became exclusive to ''Raw''. Lawler stated that his well-worked chemistry with Jim Ross has been a result of their different styles; according to Lawler, Jim Ross is a fine storyteller and keeps fans well-versed with current storylines, whereas he provides reaction and emotion to liven the commentary.

In 2003, ''Raw's'' announce team of Lawler and Jim Ross feuded with ''Sunday Night Heat'''s team of Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow. At Unforgiven, Lawler and Ross lost a match against Coachman and Snow, thus losing their right to do commentary on ''Raw''. In a rematch, however, Ross defeated Coachman, winning Lawler and Ross their position back.

In June 2006, Extreme Championship Wrestling was re-launched and began a small invasion within WWE again. ECW and WWE went head to head for several weeks on ''Raw'', which spanned to include the ''SmackDown!'' superstars. This created tension between the Raw and SmackDown! announce teams, as Tazz, an ECW alumnus, insulted and criticized Jim Ross until Lawler came to Ross' defense, reigniting their feud from 2000. The feud concluded when Tazz and Lawler faced each other in a match at One Night Stand, which Tazz won in only 30 seconds by making Lawler pass out to the Tazzmission after a distraction from Joey Styles, who Lawler had slapped just prior to the match.

In July 2006, Randy Orton began a feud with Hulk Hogan. Lawler attacked Orton in defense of Hogan, which set up a match between them on ''Raw''. Orton defeated Lawler after a low blow and an RKO.

On March 31, 2007, Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by William Shatner, whom Lawler had a memorable altercation with on a January 1995 episode of ''Raw''. In August, King Booker claimed to be the only one entitled to be known as "King". After being beaten by Booker in the ring, Lawler was supposed to be forced to crown his opponent at an August 13 show in Madison Square Garden. During the ceremony, however, Lawler announced another king as a new opponent for Booker, "The King of Kings" Triple H. This led to a worked brawl between Lawler and Booker.

On the July 7, 2008 edition of ''Raw'', Lawler was attacked by Kane after saving Michael Cole from a similar attack, in which Kane repeatedly asked "Is he alive or is he dead?" Later that summer, he teamed with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan to face Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes for the World Tag Team Championship but lost.

On the March 23, 2009 edition of ''Raw'', Lawler challenged Chris Jericho to a match because of his disrespect and erratic behavior to WWE Hall of Famers, which Jericho accepted. The following week, Lawler lost to Jericho after submitting to the Walls of Jericho. After the match, Jericho outlined how he would remain supreme against WWE Hall of Famers at WrestleMania XXV.

On the July 20 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler announced himself as the opponent against The Brian Kendrick. He went on to defeat Kendrick. On the November 16 edition of ''Raw'', after recent acquisition Sheamus attacked the timekeeper in frustration for not receiving an opponent, Lawler left the announce table to confront Sheamus and check on the victim, only to receive a kick to the head for his troubles. On June 7, 2010, during a Viewer's Choice edition of Raw, Lawler lost his crown to the IRS because he had apparently not paid his taxes, but it was regained by Quinton Jackson later on. At the end of the night, Lawler was one of the many employees at ringside that were brutally attacked by the season 1 NXT rookies. Lawler however, was the only person at ringside that fought back, as he used punches and chops to attack the NXT rookies assaulting him until it was a 3-on-1 assault. The following week on Raw, Lawler and the Raw roster fought off the now-called "The Nexus" when they attempted to ambush John Cena a second time. On June 28, Lawler, Ricky Steamboat, Michael Hayes, Arn Anderson, Mike Rotunda, and Dean Malenko were severely attacked by the Nexus, just as they were celebrating Steamboat's career. Josh Mathews replaced Lawler on color commentator for the remainder of the show.

On the July 26, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler teamed with Mark Henry, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Evan Bourne and The Hart Dynasty in a tag team elimination match versus the Nexus. Lawler was eliminated by Heath Slater.

Feuds with The Miz and Michael Cole (2010–2011)

On the November 29 episode of the King of the Ring special of ''Raw'', Lawler, who was celebrating his 61st birthday, would challenge The Miz for his WWE Championship, to which Miz would decline. Miz's decision would be reversed by the anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager, who made the match the main event of the night, making it Lawler's first shot at the title, with the match type being a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Miz would retain his title from Lawler after interference by Alex Riley and Michael Cole.

Cole's interference would cause tension between the two. On the December 6 episode of ''Raw'', Cole would first apologize to Lawler, only for him to take it back and demand an apology from Lawler to himself. After Lawler threatened to attack Cole, the anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager would then issue a "cease and desist" order, which barred any physicality between them and that if either of them violated the order, that individual would have their contract terminated immediately.

Lawler would then continue his feud with The Miz, where on the December 20 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler would team with Randy Orton and John Morrison to take on Miz, Riley and Sheamus in a 6-man Tag match with Lawler picking up the win by pinning Miz. This would lead to a rematch between Miz and Lawler the following week, with Lawler once again getting the victory, this time by count-out after Morrison got involved. Later on that night, Miz would attack Lawler from behind as Lawler was sitting at the announce table. Lawler would once again team with Orton on the January 10, 2011 episode of ''Raw'' to take on Miz and Riley. Lawler was once again successful in getting the victory, this time pinning Riley. On the January 31 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler was placed in a 7-man Raw Rumble match, where the winner would receive a WWE Championship match against The Miz at WWE Elimination Chamber. Lawler would win the match by last eliminating Sheamus. At the pay-per-view, Lawler was unsuccessful in winning the title, ending the feud.

The following night on ''Raw'', Lawler, after having enough of Cole's attitude, which included the mocking of Lawler's mother's recent death, would challenge him to a match at WrestleMania XXVII. Cole would respond by throwing water into Lawler's face, with Lawler chasing Cole off to the backstage area. On the February 28 episode of ''Raw'', Cole would accept Lawler's challenge to a match at WrestleMania and announce that he would be trained in the coming weeks by Jack Swagger for the upcoming match. The following week, Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the guest referee for the match. On the March 14 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler was confronted by his son Brian Lawler, who was invited to Raw by Michael Cole, to "expose" his father's character. Brian, in storyline, claimed his dad was never there for him, mentioned that Lawler never mentioned that Brian was his son on commentary, boasted that he competed at WrestleMania before his father, and stated that he was ashamed of him. Brian then slapped Lawler and left. Michael Cole continued to harass Lawler, who still couldn't physically harm him, but was interrupted by a returning Jim Ross. Before JR could attack Cole, Swagger attacked Lawler from behind, and then preceeded to attack and lock in the ankle lock on JR, while Cole harassed him. Lawler tried to stop the attack, but fell victim to the ankle lock as well.

At WrestleMania, Lawler originally won the match by submission, but while he was celebrating his win with Stone Cold, the anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager would reverse the decision, due to Stone Cold physically getting involved in the match by pushing Cole, thus, making Cole the winner by disqualification. Lawler would announce on the April 11 episode of ''Raw'' that he and Jim Ross will go against Cole and Swagger at Extreme Rules in a Country Whipping match, which they were unsuccessful. Lawler challenged Cole to one last match at Over the Limit, putting his Hall of Fame ring on the line and would personally induct Cole into the Hall of Fame itself if Cole would win. Cole would decline the challenge at first, but Swagger would accept for him later on when Lawler would attack Cole and he saved him. During their contract signing, Cole announced the match would be a "Kiss My Foot" match. At the pay-per-view, Lawler would defeat Cole. After the match, Jim Ross, Eve Torres and even Bret Hart helped ensure that Cole lived up to the match's stipulations and kissed Lawler's foot (Hart, himself, had previously forced Lawler to kiss his own foot after losing a similar match sixteen years earlier at the 1995 King of the Ring). After Over the Limit, Michael Cole apologized to Lawler, but, continued his antagonistic attitude much to the chagrin of the King.

Raw commentating and occasional wrestler (2011-present)

Lawler competed in the Royal Rumble (2012) main event he entered at No. 12 he eliminated Michael Cole and was eliminated by Cody Rhodes after 43 seconds. On April 30 edition of "Raw" Lawler competed in a Beat the Clock challenge to determine the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship match at Over the Limit (2012) he lost to Daniel Bryan who earned the spot.

Other endeavors

Lawler has created some musical recordings. Among these are two late-70s singles: "Cadillac Man/Memphis", and "Bad News". During his feud with manager Jimmy Hart (Lawler is a factor for "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart entering professional wrestling; Lawler wanted to record a wrestling album with him singing and, since they had gone to school together, he called Hart and asked him to be a part of it) in the mid-80s, Hart became known as "The Wimp", a nickname given to him by Lawler and chanted by fans. Hart was the subject of the song "Wimpbusters", which was sung by Lawler to the tune of the popular hit ''Ghostbusters'' by Ray Parker, Jr.. A music video was also made, featuring Lawler, legendary announcer Lance Russell, and wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Jimmy Valiant, Dutch Mantel, Tommy Rich, and Rufus R. Jones, along with footage of "The King" beating Hart and his "First Family." A very young Brian Christopher also made an appearance as a young child being bullied, and another child is seen wearing a replica of Tully Blanchard's West Texas State jersey. He also recorded a CD titled "Memphis' Other King".

In 1998, Lawler appeared in the movie ''Man on the Moon'', starring Jim Carrey. According to Lawler's autobiography, ''It's Good To Be The King... Sometimes'', an incident involving Jim Carrey forgetting a line led to animosity between the two actors during filming. Between scenes Jim Carrey often remained in character as Andy Kaufman and at one point spit on Jerry, just as Kaufman had done in 1982. A 'stunned' Lawler reacted by grabbing Carrey by the hair and locked him in a sleeper hold and jerking his neck—supposedly sending Carrey to the hospital.

In 1999, Lawler ran for mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. His platform focused on making the streets safer for residents, beautifying the city, and improving the quality of education. In addition, he vowed to attract businesses to Memphis, improve the flow of traffic, create more parks, and decrease property taxes. Lawler ended up with 11.7% of ballots, beating twelve of the fifteen candidates. Ultimately, however, Mayor Willie Herenton was easily reelected.

In 2000, Lawler made a very brief cameo appearance in the music video of ''I Can't Lie To Me'' By Clay Davidson. In 2002, he released an autobiography titled ''It's Good To Be The King... Sometimes''. On July 8, 2009, Lawler again ran for the position of Mayor of Memphis in a special mayoral election on October 15, 2009. He was in 5th with 4% of the vote.

Lawler is also an accomplished commercial artist, designing a lot of graphics for various companies, including WWE. In 2007, he painted the cover of the wrestling comic book, ''Headlocked''.

Personal life

Lawler has been married three times. He has three children, Brian, Kevin, and his daughter Kendall Lawler from his marriage to his first wife, Kay. His son Brian, who has previously wrestled in WWE as "Brian Christopher" and "Grandmaster Sexay," is now wrestling in independent promotions. His other son, Kevin, has dabbled in professional wrestling as both a referee and wrestler under the names "Kevin Christian" and "Freddie Gilbert," the latter of which was used during a stint as the "brother" of Eddie Gilbert. In his book ''It's Good To Be The King ... Sometimes,'' Lawler says he believes Kevin's short physical stature has prevented him from reaching success similar to Brian. In August 2008, Kevin was arrested on charges of trespassing and aggravated burglary. After divorcing Kay, Lawler was later married to Paula from February 14, 1982 to October 2, 1991.

He met his third wife, Stacy "The Kat" Carter, at a charity softball game in Memphis, Tennessee on July 23, 1989. They married in September 2000. In mid-February 2001, Carter (who was a valet and has also made in-ring appearances) was released by the World Wrestling Federation. Lawler then left the company in protest. Carter decided to leave Lawler in July, 2001 and they separated shortly before Lawler rejoined the WWF in November, 2001. Their divorce was finalized on October 15, 2003.

Lawler is the cousin of professional wrestler The Honky Tonk Man.

In 1993, Lawler was indicted for raping and sodomizing a 15-year old girl, which caused him to miss Survivor Series 1993. The charges were later dropped, after the girl admitted she fabricated some of the story. Lawler was arrested on March 16, 1999 after throwing a ticket at a police officer and running over the officer's foot.

Though he has spent most of his life in Memphis, Lawler did spend a part of his childhood in Ohio after his father was transferred to a job in the state. Though this stay was brief, it would have an influence on Lawler throughout his life thereafter. He often cites Cleveland as his second-favorite city behind only Memphis and is a die-hard fan of both the Cleveland Indians and the Cleveland Browns. When WWE comes to Cleveland, Lawler will usually wear a Browns jersey or an Indians jersey, and during baseball season, he will throw out the first pitch at an Indians game.

Lawler is a collector of Coca-Cola merchandise On February 12, 2011, Lawler's mother died following a long battle with cancer.

Lawler has provided his voice for numerous WWE Video Games in which he has appeared as a commentator. He is also a playable character in a number of WWE Games, most recently WWE All Stars and WWE 12.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*''Crown Drop'' (Diving fist drop from the second rope, with theatrics)

Fireball

Piledriver

Signature moves

Belly-to-back suplex

*Brainbuster

*Dropkick

Elbow drop

*Knee drop

Multiple punches

Various weapon shots

Managers

Sam Bass

Scott Bowden

Ronnie P. Gossett

Gary Hart

Jimmy Hart

Jimmy Kent

*Mickey Pool

Entrance Theme Music

*The Great Gates of Kiev by Modest Mussorgsky (WWE, 1993-2011; 2012-Present)

*Kingdom Come by Jim Johnston (WWE, 2011)

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)¹

NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (52 times)

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Jimmy Valiant (1), Bill Dundee (3), Mongolian Stomper (1), Jos LeDuc (1), Austin Idol (1), Plowboy Frazier (1), and Big Bubba (1)

AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹

AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bill Dundee

CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CWA International Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

CWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Austin Idol (1) and Tommy Rich (1)

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Memphis version)'' (7 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (10 times)

NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (9 times) – with Jim White (7), Plowboy Frazier (1), and Bill Dundee (1)

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship ''(Alabama version)'' (1 time)

NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship ''(Alabama version)'' (2 times) - with Steve Lawler

NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (1 time) - with Jackie Fargo

*CWA Lord of the Ring (1988)

Georgia Championship Wrestling

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mr. Wrestling II (1) and Don Greene (1)

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling

NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jim White

International Wrestling Association

IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Jersey All Pro Wrestling

JAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Maryland Championship Wrestling

MCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Bruiser

Memphis Championship Wrestling

MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Memphis Wrestling

*Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

*Memphis Wrestling Television Championship (1 time)

NWA Polynesian Wrestling

NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Virginia

NWA All-Star Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Power Pro Wrestling

PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bill Dundee

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (1992) with Jeff Jarrett vs. The Moondogs

PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Bret Hart

PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1993, 1995)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1988)

PWI ranked him #56 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Bill Dundee in 2003

PWI ranked him #12 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #23 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2003

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

(Class of 2011)

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

SMW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Traditional Championship Wrestling

TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Riviera

United States Wrestling Association

USWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (28 times)

USWA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Jeff Jarrett (4) and Bill Dundee (2)

World Class Wrestling Association

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

*Slammy Award for I'm Talking and I Can't Shut Up (1996)

*Slammy Award for Most Embarrassing Moment (1996) Kissing his own foot

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Feud of the Year (1987) vs. Austin Idol and Tommy Rich

*Feud of the Year (1992) with Jeff Jarrett vs. The Moondogs

*Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Bret Hart

*Worst Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Doink the Clown

*Worst Worked Match of the Year (1994) with Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy vs. Clowns R' Us at Survivor Series

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

¹These title changes took place during an AWA hosted card as part of an interpromotional relationship between the American Wrestling Association, World Class Wrestling Association, and Continental Wrestling Association. Lawler also won the championship during a CWA hosted card. ²Lawler won the championship while wrestling on a CWA card in Memphis, Tennessee during the time when the AWA and CWA had a working partnership. It was the same situation during both of Lawler and Dundee's AWA World Tag Team Championship reigns.

References

Further reading

External links

KingJerryLawler.com (Official Website)

WWE Profile

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

Memphis Wrestling History

Match History at Indy Wrestling News

Category:1949 births Category:American color commentators Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Collectors Category:Fictional kings Category:Living people Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:WWE Hall of Fame

ar:جيري لولر ca:Jerry Lawler da:Jerry Lawler de:Jerry Lawler es:Jerry Lawler fr:Jerry Lawler it:Jerry Lawler nl:Jerry Lawler ja:ジェリー・ローラー no:Jerry Lawler pt:Jerry Lawler ru:Лоулер, Джерри simple:Jerry Lawler fi:Jerry Lawler th:เจอร์รี ลอว์เลอร์ vi:Jerry Lawler

Name	Theodore Long
Names	Teddy LongTheodore Long Theodore R. Long T-Lo
Height
Weight
Birth date	September 15, 1947
Birth place	Birmingham, Alabama
Resides	Miami, Florida
Billed	Atlanta, Georgia
Debut	1985 }}

Theodore Rufus "Teddy" Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who is currently signed to WWE, performing as a servant for John Laurinaitis. He is best known for being a two-time general manager of WWE Smackdown.

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling

Long started out as an errand boy for wrestlers Tommy Rich and Abdullah the Butcher. He eventually became a member of the ringcrew and was promoted to referee in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 as Teddy Long. In 1989, at the Chi-Town Rumble event, Long ran in and counted three, making Ricky Steamboat the NWA World Champion. Shortly thereafter, Long began to turn into a villainous character when he started to bend the rules for the villains. On April 2, 1989 at the ''Clash of Champions'' in New Orleans, Long blatantly made a fast count allowing Mike Rotunda and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to defeat the Road Warriors for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. After this match, the National Wrestling Alliance relieved Long of his refereeing duties. This was actually a story lifted from Championship Wrestling from Florida, where Long had been a referee and did several heel-decisions in the ring, including one for Ron Simmons over Skip Young. While riding with Kevin Sullivan and Eddie Gilbert, Long would DJ for them. After hearing Long talk, the two convinced Jim Ross to give Long a managerial role, managing "Norman The Lunatic". Long became the manager of Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) and led them to the World Tag Team Titles. He also managed Johnny B. Badd, One Man Gang, Norman the Lunatic, The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious, Dan Spivey and Mark Calaway), Marcus Bagwell, 2 Cold Scorpio, Joey Maggs, Craig Pittman, Jim Powers, Bobby Walker, Ice Train and Bobby Eaton while in Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1999–present)

Long debuted in the WWF as a referee in 1999 at the Royal Rumble and stayed with that role until September 2002, when he was taken off the road. Like his previous referee stints, Long went by the shortened Teddy Long name during this period. He was a referee at the Over The Edge 1999 PPV, during the match after Owen Hart's tragic death: a mixed tag match between Jeff Jarrett/Debra and Val Venis/Nicole Bass. Long was the referee when Darren Drozdov ended up paralyzed and can be seen in WWE's Don't Try This At Home warning looking at the paramedics lift Droz up on a stretcher.

He was re-packaged as a villainous manager once again under his full name, and perhaps his most notable managing stint in this period came when managing D'Lo Brown, Rodney Mack, Christopher Nowinski, Rosey, Mark Henry and Jazz at different times, telling fans to "get Down wit' da Brown" and to "Back da Mack." When he was drafted to ''SmackDown!'', he managed Mark Jindrak.

SmackDown! (2004–2008)

After Kurt Angle was fired from the General Manager position in July 2004, Long became the new and first African-American General Manager of ''SmackDown!''. Long immediately turned face on his first night as GM when he fined Angle $5,000 for not having his wrestling gear with him. Because of his face turn, his new position saw him giving the fans what they wanted and making matches that put villains at disadvantages, notably JBL, a stark contrast to other WWE managers, such as Eric Bischoff and Mr. McMahon, who would blatantly favor heels. At first, he continued use of his "Hate-orade" talk, but less aggressively, and with humor. One example was when he stripped Booker T of the US Championship for "drinkin' Hate-orade." Long would also introduce the ''New Talent Initiative'' during this time, which saw the likes of Bobby Lashley and Mr. Kennedy debut in 2005 and MVP in 2006, among others. The ''New Talent Initiative'' would continue when Long moved to ECW in 2008 and would see the debuts of Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Braden Walker, Ricky Ortiz, Gavin Spears, and Jack Swagger.

As part of the ''Raw'' vs. ''SmackDown!'' feud, Long defeated then ''Raw'' GM Eric Bischoff at Survivor Series 2005 with the help of The Boogeyman.

Theodore Long still had problems with Booker T and his defense of the United States title, however, as Booker T attempted to get out of title defenses on a number of occasions by pretending to be injured, and having other wrestlers fight on his behalf. Eventually, Long got tired of these shenanigans, and at No Way Out 2006, Booker was told to face Chris Benoit or be stripped of the US title. Benoit won the match and was congratulated by Theodore Long.

After Randy Orton had cheated to obtain Rey Mysterio's title shot at WrestleMania 22, Long placed Mysterio back in the match and made it a Triple Threat match, at the same time warning Orton that he could still remove Orton from the match if he disobeyed Long.

At Judgment Day 2006 Long fired Melina and Johnny Nitro from ''SmackDown!.'' On the following ''SmackDown!'', JBL suffered the same fate after losing the United States Championship to Bobby Lashley, and then losing a World Heavyweight Championship match to Rey Mysterio in his ''Judgment Day'' rematch.

On the September 4, 2006 episode of ''Raw'', Long appeared to a tremendous ovation in his hometown. During a six-person, intergender tag match between Randy Orton, Edge, and Lita against Trish Stratus, Carlito, and John Cena, some fans chanted Theodore's name.

In April 2007, Long became the on-screen boyfriend of Kristal Marshall, after weeks flirting with each other backstage. Long then began to look for an assistant so he could spend more time with Kristal, eventually revealing Vickie Guerrero as his new assistant on May 25, 2007, an appointment made partly at Kristal's request. On the June 22, 2007 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Long asked Kristal to marry him. Kristal ran out of the ring, crying, but later agreed to marry him. On the July 27, 2007 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Ron Simmons was named the best man for "Theodore Rufus Long" and Kristal's wedding on the September 21, 2007 episode of ''SmackDown!'' emanating from Long's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. The wedding was not completed, however, due to constant disruptions and Long having a heart attack just as he started to say "I do". He then fell in to a coma. The storyline never finished out as planned as Marshall left the WWE shortly afterwards due to creative differences. Long returned on the November 30, 2007 episode of ''SmackDown!'' as the Assistant General Manager and made a match at Armageddon for the World Heavyweight Championship. He started to feud with Guerrero over her position as the General manager as she continued to favour Edge. On May 16, 2008, Long quit his role of Assistant General Manager.

GM of ECW and Smackdown! (2008-2012)

On the June 3, 2008 episode of ''ECW'', it was announced that Long had become the new General Manager of the ECW brand by order of the WWE Board of Directors.

On the April 7, 2009 episode of ''ECW'', Long announced he was returning to ''SmackDown!'' as General Manager, with Tiffany replacing him on ''ECW''. By doing this, he became the first person in the history of the company to have a second term as General Manager. He made his official TV return to ''SmackDown!'' on April 10, when he announced that the Hardys Matt and Jeff would face each other in the first ever stretcher match in ''SmackDown'' history.

At the Breaking Point PPV, Long restarted the World Heavyweight Championship match between CM Punk and the Undertaker after Undertaker made Punk submit using his ''Hell's Gate'' submission finisher, stating that the ban on the maneuver was still in effect. On the September 18, 2009 episode of ''Friday Night Smackdown'', WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon instructed Long to go down to the ring and explain his actions regarding the conclusion of the World Heavyweight Championship Submission match between champion CM Punk and The Undertaker in which he (Long), as well as referee Scott Armstrong and CM Punk played key roles in recreating the infamous Montreal Screwjob at the WWE Breaking Point Pay-per-view event (held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada), site of the 1997 fiasco. This time, with The Undertaker being the target of a planned conspiracy. As he returned from the ring to the back stage area, he entered his waiting limousine only to be kidnapped by The Undertaker, who was in the driver's seat. The following week on ''SmackDown'' Long was brought into the arena inside a coffin by Undertaker's druids where he again legalized Undertaker's Hell's Gate submission hold. Teddy Long made a guest appearance on RAW and later Shawn Michaels performed his finishing maneuver [Sweet Chin Music] on Teddy Long after Long refused to draft him to SmackDown. He then began a feud with Drew McIntyre, the first part of which revolved around McIntyre qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, which was instead won by Jack Swagger. On the 7th May episode of Smackdown, after McIntyre brutally assaulted Matt Hardy, Long stripped McIntyre of his Intercontinental Championship and fired him. As a result, the Intercontinental Championship was vacant. Thus, Long issued the Intercontinental Championship tournament involving Christian, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler. However, after Kingston emerged victorious against Christian, Long was issued a letter from Vince McMahon reinstating McIntyre and forcing Kingston to give his title back to McIntyre. He then made a match for McIntyre's Intercontinental Championship at Over the Limit against Kofi Kingston.

On the May 28 episode of SmackDown, Long read a letter from Mr. McMahon's office given to him by Drew McIntyre which stated that Matt Hardy was suspended until further notice after Matt attacked McIntyre at the Over the Limit PPV event and told Matt not to go near McIntyre and if he did so, Long would be fired as the General Manager of SmackDown.

On the June 11 episode of SmackDown!, a frustrated Drew McIntyre announced a match between Long and McIntyre would take place the following week on Smackdown per orders of Mr. McMahon. Drew said if Long didn't compete, he would be fired. McIntyre then went on to win the match the following week, after it was ordered that Long had get down on his knees, proclaim Drew as "The Chosen One" and then lay on his back and let McIntyre pin him without a fight. The next episode of SmackDown!, Long reinstated Matt Hardy into the SmackDown! brand and made Drew McIntyre compete against the returning Matt Hardy. Hardy would win the match, but after the match, Long came out and told McIntyre that his work visa had expired, and made security carry him out of the arena. On the July 9 edition of SmackDown, McIntyre was reinstated and pleaded forgiveness from Long, even going so far as to nominate Long as a member of the WWE Hall of Fame as well as get on his knees and proclaim Long "the best boss he ever had." Long, however, did not believe him and announced a Money in the Bank qualifying match (for the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view) against Kofi Kingston.

On January 21 episode of Smackdown, Long was found (kayfabe) unconscious in his office, suffering a head injury. He returned on the February 18 episode of Smackdown, where he revealed Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler to have attacked him. He then scheduled a match between the new World Heavyweight Champion Ziggler and Edge. Edge would win the match, becoming a eleven-time world champion. After the match, Long would then fire Ziggler. The following week, he fired Vickie Guerrero after she lost a mixed tag team match.

On the May 6 episode, Long scheduled a World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and Christian who had just won it for the first time five nights previous at Extreme Rules. On the June 3 episode, Christian was chosen by Long as the special guest referee for a World Heavyweight Championship match between Orton and Sheamus who beat Christian and Mark Henry in a triple threat number one contender's match for the title the week before. Christian would turn heel by hitting Orton with the title he had retained and lost to Orton again at Capitol Punishment despite his foot being under the bottom rope. Christian blamed Long and as a result Long scheduled Orton to defend his title against Christian at Money in the Bank. Christian would manage to find a way to include a clause that if Orton were to get disqualified, the title would switch hands.

On July 25 episode of SmackDown. The new COO Triple H made Zack Ryder Theodore Long's new Assistant.

On the November 25, 2011 episode of SmackDown!, after Daniel Bryan seemingly successfully cashed in the Money In The Bank briefcase on Mark Henry to win his first World Heavyweight Championship, Long rushed down to the ring and declared the title change void, as Mark Henry had not yet been medically cleared to compete in an official match. He would schedule Bryan in a fatal four-way match against Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett to determine the number one contender for Henry's world title which would be defended on the November 29 episode inside a steel cage.

After TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, Santino Marrella replaced Zack Ryder(who had just won his first United States Championship)for Smackdown Assistant General Manager.

Feud with John Laurinaitis (2012)

On February 21, 2012, Long was criticized by Interim ''Raw'' General Manager John Laurinaitis, which resulted the WWE Board of Directors to switch the general managers of their respective shows for one week. Long took charge of the March 5 episode of ''Raw'', with Laurinaitis taking charge of the March 9 edition of ''SmackDown''. During Laurinaitis' time in charge of ''SmackDown'', he set up a match between himself and Long, where, if Long won, Aksana, Long's girlfriend, would be placed in a match with Kane. Long won the match when Randy Orton attacked Kane at ringside, which distracted Laurinaitis.

A 12-man Tag match was then set up at WrestleMania XXVIII, where six superstars would represent both general managers. Long chose Santino Marella as his team captain, along with Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali and Booker T over the following weeks. A stipulation was added that the winning team at WrestleMania would determine who would become the general manager of both shows. At WrestleMania, Team Teddy lost to Team Johnny, ending Long's run as ''SmackDown'' General Manager.

On the April 6 edition of ''SmackDown'', Long prepared to give his farewell speech, but Laurinaitis threatened to discontinue a trust fund Long had set up for his grandchildren's college education unless he took a job as his new assistant, to which Long reluctantly accepted.

In wrestling

Wrestlers managed

:*Johnny B. Badd :*Rodney Mack :*Mean Mark :*One Man Gang :*Mark Henry :*Jazz :*Eddie Guerrero :*Joey Maggs :*Craig Pittman :*Chris Jericho :*Jim Powers :*Bobby Walker :*Ice Train :*John Wrestle King :*Rosey :*Mark Jindrak :*Ezekiel Jackson :*Santino Marella

Teams and stables managed

:*Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) :*The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious, Dan Spivey and "Mean" Mark Callous) :*Marcus Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio :*Thuggin' and Buggin' Enterprises (D'Lo Brown, Rodney Mack, Jazz, Christopher Nowinski, and Mark Henry)

Entrance themes

:*"MacMillitant" by Miestro (WWE; 2002–2012)

Matches

When Long became SmackDown General Manager, he revived old and made new match types:

At No Mercy 2004, he put JBL and The Undertaker in a Last Ride Match. The rules are similar to a Casket Match and an Ambulance Match where one opponent must put the other into the back of the hearse and drive out the arena. JBL won the first Last Ride Match due to interference by Heidenreich. At Armageddon 2006, The Undertaker defeated Mr. Kennedy in the second Last Ride Match.

At No Way Out 2005, JBL had to defend his title against The Big Show in the first ever Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match. The rules were the same as a normal steel cage match, but the top of the cage had barbed wire around it so nobody could escape (despite the fact that a victory could still be declared if a competitor managed to escape). This was done by Long to make sure there was no interference from any superstars, primarily JBL's stable, The Cabinet. JBL won the match when Big Show chokeslammed him through the ring, allowing him to escape underneath.

Long also brought back the King of the Ring tournament in 2006, although it was a ''SmackDown!''-exclusive event.

At Armageddon 2006, Long brought back the Inferno match, where Kane defeated MVP.

On April 10, 2009 episode of ''SmackDown'' he announced that Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy would face each other in the first stretcher match in ''SmackDown'' history.

Long, throughout his career, also brought more popularity to the classic tag team match by featuring it in many ''SmackDown'' main events.

Awards and accomplishments

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

*Manager of the Year (1990)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Worst Worked Match of the Year (2005) vs. Eric Bischoff at Survivor Series

WWE

*SmackDown General Manager (July 29, 2004–September 21, 2007; April 10, 2009–April 1, 2012) (2 times)

**SmackDown Assistant General Manager (November 30, 2007–May 16, 2008) (1 time)

*ECW General Manager (June 3, 2008–April 7, 2009) (1 time)

References

External links

WWE profile

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Birmingham, Alabama Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Professional wrestling referees

ca:Theodore Long da:Theodore Long es:Theodore Long fr:Theodore Long it:Theodore Long nl:Theodore Long ja:セオドア・ロング pt:Theodore Long ru:Лонг, Теодор simple:Theodore Long sk:Theodore Long fi:Theodore Long th:ทีโอดอร์ ลอง

Name	CM Punk
Names	CM Punk
Height
Weight
Birth date	October 26, 1978
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois
Resides	Lockport, Illinois
Billed	Chicago, Illinois
Trainer	Ace SteelDanny DominionKevin QuinnDave TaylorFit FinlayWilliam RegalSteel Dominion Wrestling School
Debut	1999
Website	CMPunk.com

Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE and appearing on its Raw brand as the reigning WWE Champion.

In professional wrestling, Brooks is a seven time World Champion, having held the ROH World Championship and ECW Championship once, the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Championship twice.

In addition to these championships Punk has also won the World Tag Team Championship (with Kofi Kingston), and the WWE Intercontinental Championship making him the nineteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion and the man to achieve this honor fastest at 203 days. Between WWE and Ring of Honor (where he is also a two-time World Tag Team Champion), Punk has won a total of eleven championships. He was also the winner of the 2008 and 2009 Money in the Bank ladder matches (the only wrestler to win the match twice in a row), and was the 2011 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner.

Punk initially came to prominence through his career on the professional wrestling independent circuit, primarily as a member of the ROH roster, where he was the first head trainer of the ROH wrestling school as well as winning both of their championships. In 2005, Punk signed a contract with WWE and was sent to its developmental promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won every championship available in the promotion. Throughout his career, Punk has consistently used the gimmick of being straight edge, a lifestyle he follows in his actual day-to-day life. Depending on Punk's alignment as a crowd favorite or villain, he emphasizes different aspects of the culture to encourage the desired audience reaction.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Punk's first venture into wrestling was a stint in a backyard wrestling federation called the Lunatic Wrestling Federation with his friends and brother Mike Brooks in the mid-late 1990s. He first started using the ring name CM Punk when he was put into a tag team named the Chick Magnets with CM Venom after another performer skipped out on the card. Unlike his friends, Punk genuinely wanted to be a wrestler and saw it as more than simple fun. When the promotion started taking off, doing spot shows out of a warehouse in Mokena, Illinois, Punk found out that his brother Mike had embezzled thousands of dollars from the small company, causing them to become estranged. They have not spoken since.

He soon left the federation and enrolled as a student at the "Steel Dominion" wrestling school in Chicago, where he was trained by Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and Kevin Quinn to become a professional wrestler. As part of the training, he wrestled at Steel Domain Wrestling in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was in the Steel Domain that he met Scott Colton, who soon adopted the stage name Colt Cabana. Punk and Cabana became best friends and spent most of their early career together working in the same independent circuit promotions, as opponents or allies. In the independents, Punk, along with fellow Steel Domain graduates Colt Cabana, Chuckee Smooth, Adam Pearce and manager Dave Prazak, formed an alliance named the Gold Bond Mafia.

Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South (2000–2005)

Punk's home promotion for his early career is usually considered to be Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA:Mid-South). During Punk's time in IWA:Mid-South, he had high profile feuds with Colt Cabana and Chris Hero while also rising to the top of the roster winning the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship twice and the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship on five separate occasions, beating stars like A.J. Styles, Cabana and even Eddie Guerrero for that Championship. Punk's feud with Hero included a 55-minute TLC match, a 93-minute two out of three falls match, and several 60-minute time limit draws.

Punk's matches with Cabana led him to being hired by the Ring of Honor promotion. From February 2003 until May 2004, Punk refused to wrestle for IWA:Mid-South, because he claims that this was in protest to Ian Rotten's mistreatment of Chris Hero in the company. Hero, however, has stated he believes there were other reasons, and Rotten's treatment of him was just an excuse by Punk to stop working for the company. Eventually Punk returned to IWA:Mid-South and continued to perform as a wrestler and commentator for them until 2005 when he was signed to World Wrestling Entertainment. His last appearance in IWA:Mid-South was on July 2, 2005 in which he competed in a 60-minute time limit draw against Delirious.

Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Storylines with Raven (2002–2004)

Initially, Punk joined Ring of Honor (ROH) as a crowd favorite, but quickly became a villain in a feud with Raven that featured numerous variants of no disqualification matches. Their rivalry lasted most of 2003 and was considered one of ROH's top feuds of the year, and was based around Punk's straight-edge lifestyle, with him likening Raven to his alcoholic father. Their rivalry was settled at ''The Conclusion'' in November 2003, where Punk defeated Raven in a Steel Cage match. At the same time, Punk joined the wrestling promotion NWA Total Nonstop Action (TNA), in which he was paired with Julio Dinero as members of Raven's TNA alliance The Gathering. Punk started climbing the ranks of ROH, including coming in second at the ''Second Anniversary Show'' during the tournament to crown the first ROH Pure Champion, losing to A.J. Styles in the finals and winning the ROH Tag Team Championship twice with Colt Cabana as the Second City Saints. Both times Punk and Cabana defeated the Briscoe Brothers to win the championship. Circa October 2003, Punk was hired as the first head trainer of the Ring of Honor wrestling school, having previously been a trainer for the Steel Domain and Primetime Wrestling.

Shortly before a TNA show on February 25, 2004, Punk had a physical scuffle with Teddy Hart outside of a restaurant that was broken up by Sabu. The scuffle reportedly stemmed from an ROH show in which Hart performed three unplanned spots putting several other wrestlers in danger of injury. Around the time of the scuffle, Punk and Dinero stopped appearing on TNA shows, leading to speculation he was fired for the incident. Punk, however, has stated that the scuffle had no bearing on his TNA career. He said the reason he and Dinero stopped appearing on TNA pay-per-views was that TNA officials believed that he and Dinero had not connected with the fans as villains, having turned against the popular Raven and instead formed a villainous tag team managed by James Mitchell. The officials decided that as the teams as villains was not working decided to put the storyline on hold indefinitely, and thus had no work for Punk or Dinero. Punk officially quit TNA in March 2004 during the Rob Feinstein controversy, after having a dispute with the TNA offices over his ability to compete in ROH following a TNA order that their contracted wrestlers were to no longer wrestle in ROH.

Pursuit of the World Championship (2004–2005)

In ROH, Punk faced off against ROH World Champion Samoa Joe for the championship in a three match series. The first match, on June 12, 2004 at ''World Title Classic'' in Dayton, Ohio, resulted in a 60-minute time limit draw when neither Punk nor Joe could pin or cause the other to submit in the 60 minutes. The second match between Punk and Joe was planned for December 4, 2004; however, due to Steve Corino being pulled from a match with Joe by Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, the second match was hastily rescheduled on October 11, 2004 for October 16 in Punk's hometown of Chicago. At ''Joe vs. Punk II'' on October 16, they wrestled to a second 60-minute draw. In addition to ''Joe vs. Punk II'' becoming Ring of Honor's best-selling DVD at the time, the match received a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer's ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''. It was the first match in North America to receive a five-star rating in seven years—the last one being the Hell in a Cell match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House in 1997. Joe ended the series by defeating Punk in the third and final match on December 4, 2004 at ''All-Star Extravaganza 2'' in which there was a no time limit stipulation. In June 2005, Punk accepted a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, after a try-out match against Val Venis on its ''Sunday Night Heat'' show. Even though he had accepted the deal, Punk went on to defeat Austin Aries with his Pepsi Plunge move, winning the ROH World Championship on June 18, 2005 at ''Death Before Dishonor III''. Immediately after the match, Punk proceeded to become a villain and started a storyline where he threatened to bring the ROH World Championship to WWE with him. For weeks, Punk teased the ROH locker room and the ROH fans as well as mocking the championship he possessed, going so far as to sign his WWE contract on it. During the storyline, Mick Foley made several ROH appearances, attempting to convince Punk to do the right thing and defend the title on his way out. On August 12, 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, Punk lost the ROH World Championship to James Gibson in a four corner elimination match consisting of himself, Gibson, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels, who re-debuted after a year-and-half absence. Punk's final scheduled match in Ring of Honor took place at ''Punk: The Final Chapter'' on August 13, 2005 against long-time friend Colt Cabana in a two out of three falls match, which he lost. In his last match, Punk was visibly crying and was showered with streamers when he posed in the middle of the ring.

Punk made a special appearance at the ROH show ''Unscripted II'' on February 11, 2006, when the original card had to be scrapped due to Low Ki leaving ROH the week prior. In addition, most of the ROH roster contracted to TNA were pulled from the show because of a snowstorm that TNA officials thought might prevent performers from reaching a pay-per-view scheduled the next day. In the main event, Punk teamed with Bryan Danielson to wrestle and ultimately defeat Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce in a tag team match.

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2005–2006)

In September 2005, Punk was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a WWE developmental territory. He made his debut on September 8, 2005, in a dark match, where he, Nigel McGuinness and Paul Burchill were defeated by Deuce Shade, Elijah Burke and Seth Skyfire. On September 26, 2005 in his OVW television debut, Punk suffered a ruptured eardrum and broken nose after Danny Inferno hit him with an overly stiff right hand. Despite the injury, Punk finished the match and quickly recovered.

On November 9, 2005, Punk became the OVW Television Champion after defeating Ken Doane, which immediately led to a feud between Punk and Brent Albright, who had previously been feuding with Doane for the Television Championship and had lost his chance to wrestle Doane after Punk hit him with a chair so he himself could wrestle Doane. They wrestled in series of matches, including one that ended in overtime with Albright having Punk submit to Albright's finisher, the Crowbar, but Punk was able to keep the championship, as he had not agreed to the extra time. On January 4, 2006, Punk lost the OVW Television Championship during a three way dance among himself, Albright and Doane. Doane was injured halfway through the match and was replaced by Aaron "The Idol" Stevens. Punk submitted to Albright's Crowbar and was eliminated, but he returned later in the match to distract Albright allowing Stevens to pin Albright and become the new OVW Television Champion. The feud continued after a short period in which Albright and Punk were a tag team, but they became opponents again after Albright wanted the respect of Punk, who would never give it to him, and instead proceeded to "punk out" (get the better of) Albright repeatedly. This feud continued for weeks with Punk always getting the better of Albright until a double turn occurred on February 1, 2006 when Albright became a villain during a tag match, allowing the Spirit Squad to beat Punk and, in doing so, making Punk a crowd favorite. During this time, Punk had a minor appearance at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, 2006 as one of the gangsters who rode a 1930s era car to the ring before John Cena's entrance.

After Matt Cappotelli vacated the OVW Heavyweight Championship because of a brain tumor in February 2006, a tournament was held to crown a new champion. The finals were Brent Albright vs. CM Punk with Albright defeating Punk to become the new champion. Punk and Albright continued their feud, with Albright becoming more unstable and paranoid about maintaining his championship after several close call matches against Punk, resulting in acts such as threatening Maria. On May 3, 2006, Punk finally defeated Albright in a strap match to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As champion, Punk retained the title in matches against opponents such as Shad Gaspard, Ken Kennedy, Johnny Jeter and Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.

On July 28, 2006, Punk and Seth Skyfire defeated Shad Gaspard and the Neighborhoodie to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship at a house show. They lost the Tag Team Championship on August 2, 2006 to Deuce Shade and "Domino" Cliff Compton after an injured Skyfire tagged in an already injured Punk. This altercation led to a feud between Punk and Skyfire after a rematch for the Tag Team Championship on August 7, 2006 in which a healthy Punk purposefully tagged in an injured Skyfire to be beaten by Shade and Compton. On August 30, 2006, a match was scheduled to take place between Punk and Skyfire for the OVW Heavyweight Championship. Prior to the match, however, Skyfire was attacked by Charles "The Hammer" Evans, with whom Skyfire had also been feuding, and was replaced in the match by Chet Jablonski (Chet the Jet) who pinned Punk to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As Punk no longer possessed the championship, OVW no longer required him. He was removed from the roster and brought up to the WWE roster full-time. He continued to make sporadic appearances for the company, such as at the 400th episode of OVW on television, up until WWE announced it was ending its developmental territory agreement with OVW on February 7, 2008.

ECW (2006–2008)

On June 24, 2006, Punk made his ECW debut during a house show at the former ECW Arena, defeating Stevie Richards. He made his TV debut on the July 4 episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi'', cutting a brief pre-taped promo about his straight edge lifestyle emphasizing the disciplinary aspects of being drug and alcohol free. Although he had retained the straight edge gimmick, he now had a Muay Thai training background. Punk made his TV wrestling debut on August 1, 2006 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, defeating Justin Credible. CM Punk established himself in ECW by going undefeated, defeating opponents such as Christopher W. Anderson, Stevie Richards and Shannon Moore.

Soon after, Punk began feuding with Mike Knox after Knox's girlfriend, Kelly Kelly, was seen to have feelings for Punk. Punk defeated Knox in their first singles match (qualifying for the Extreme Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember in the process) as well as the rematch, after which Kelly Kelly celebrated CM Punk's victory over her boyfriend. Punk then teamed with D-Generation X and the Hardy Boyz in their Survivor Series match against Rated-RKO, Knox, Johnny Nitro and Gregory Helms, a match in which all the participants on DX's side survived elimination. At December to Dismember, Punk participated in the Elimination Chamber for the ECW World Championship; however, he was the first person eliminated by Rob Van Dam. Following the pay-per-view, Punk entered into a feud with Hardcore Holly, who ended Punk's six-month unbeaten streak in singles competition on January 9, 2007. Punk went on to feud with Matt Striker, who gave him his second singles loss since being in ECW on January 30. Punk then qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 by defeating Johnny Nitro. In the final week leading up to WrestleMania 23, Punk made appearances on both ''Raw'' and ''Friday Night SmackDown!'', defeating Kenny Dykstra and former World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, respectively. At WrestleMania 23, Punk competed in, but did not win, the Money in the Bank ladder match, being knocked off the ladder just seconds before the winner, Mr. Kennedy, claimed the briefcase.

On the April 10, 2007 episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi'', Punk briefly became a villain by officially joining the New Breed alliance, after several weeks in which both the New Breed and the ECW Originals had attempted to recruit him. Two weeks later, however, Punk betrayed the New Breed during a four on four elimination match between the New Breed and ECW Originals by kicking New Breed leader Elijah Burke in the back of the head and costing them the match. After the match, Punk proceeded to deliver his finisher, the Go To Sleep, on Burke and sarcastically apologized before leaving the ring alone, becoming a fan favorite again. WWE.com later confirmed that Punk was no longer a member of the New Breed. At Judgment Day, Punk wrestled and defeated Burke in his first singles match on a pay-per-view. Punk then went on to One Night Stand and teamed up with Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in a tables match to defeat the New Breed.

When ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley was drafted to Raw and stripped of the ECW World Championship, a mini-tournament was announced to declare a new champion among Punk, Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von and Chris Benoit. Punk defeated Marcus Cor Von on the June 19, 2007 episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi''. By doing so, CM Punk was meant to face Chris Benoit at Vengeance: Night of Champions for the vacant ECW World Championship. Benoit, however, was hastily replaced by Johnny Nitro when Benoit no-showed the event due to what was described on-air as "personal reasons". Nitro subsequently defeated Punk at Vengeance for the vacant championship. Punk won another shot at the title at The Great American Bash against Nitro, who had changed his moniker to John Morrison by this point; however, Punk was defeated again by Morrison. The next week, Punk challenged Elijah Burke and Tommy Dreamer in a triple threat match to determine the next competitor in Morrison's 15 Minutes of Fame Challenge, in which Punk came out victorious. A week later, Punk defeated Morrison with the Go To Sleep to earn an ECW Championship title match at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, however, Punk lost the match when Morrison used the ropes for leverage.

At the September 1, 2007 (aired September 4) ''ECW'' taping, in a "last chance" title match, Punk defeated Morrison for the ECW Championship. Punk then went on to have successful title defenses against the likes of Elijah Burke (at Unforgiven), Big Daddy V via disqualification (at No Mercy) and The Miz (at Cyber Sunday). On the November 6, 2007 episode of ''ECW'', Punk retained the ECW Championship in a match against Morrison following The Miz's interference. At Survivor Series, Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match, beating The Miz and John Morrison. On the January 22, 2008 episode of ''ECW'', Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk in a No Disqualification match to win the ECW Championship after Edge, (acting as a guest commentator at ringside) ran in and speared Punk.

Money in the Bank And World Heavyweight Champion (2008–2009)

At WrestleMania XXIV, Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match, after defeating Chris Jericho, Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy and Carlito.

On the June 23, 2008 episode of ''Raw'', CM Punk was drafted to the Raw brand during the 2008 WWE Draft. His first night on ''Raw'' came the following week, and he made an immediate impact. After Batista beat down World Heavyweight Champion Edge and left him lying in the ring, Punk and referee Mike Chioda ran to the ring with Punk carrying his Money in the Bank contract. Moments later, as Edge was struggling to get up, Punk hit him with the Go to Sleep and pinned him to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, Punk won his first defense of the title against JBL, who challenged him shortly after his win. His win over Edge would eventually also earn Punk the Slammy Award for the "Oh my God" Moment of the Year. Punk continued to hold and defend the title until Unforgiven on September 7, 2008. Before the Championship Scramble match, Punk was attacked by an early version of The Legacy (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase with Manu). Orton finished the assault by punting Punk in the head. It was announced that Punk could not participate in the match due to the attack and, as a result, he involuntarily forfeited the title. However, Punk was replaced by Chris Jericho, who went on to win the match and the title. He received a rematch eight days later on the September 15 episode of ''Raw'', where he failed to regain the title in a steel cage match against Jericho.

On the October 27, 2008 episode of ''Raw'', Punk and Kofi Kingston defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to win the World Tag Team Championship. The duo were members of Team Batista at Survivor Series, where their team lost to Team Orton. Punk was then entered in an Intercontinental Championship Tournament, in which the winner would get to challenge for the championship in the future. He would defeat Snitsky and John Morrison in the first two rounds. Punk and Kingston lost the World Tag Team Championship to John Morrison and The Miz at a live event on December 13, 2008. The next day Punk defeated Rey Mysterio at Armageddon to win the tournament. On the January 5 episode of ''Raw'', Punk received his title match against William Regal, which ended in a disqualification, when Regal grabbed the referee's jersey. Due to this, Stephanie McMahon awarded Punk a rematch the following week, but this time it was himself that was disqualified. McMahon awarded him another rematch, this time a No Disqualification match on January 19 episode of ''Raw'', Punk won the match and the title. With this win, he became the nineteenth Triple Crown Champion. Also, the victory made him the man to accomplish the Triple Crown in the fastest amount of time, shattering Kevin Nash's old record. Punk lost the title on the March 9 episode of Raw to John "Bradshaw" Layfield. At WrestleMania XXV, Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match and became the first person to win the match twice.

On April 13, 2009 during the 2009 WWE Draft, Punk was drafted from Raw to SmackDown. In the period after the draft, Punk feuded with Umaga over Umaga's repeated surprise attacks while Punk was attempting to cash in his Money in the Bank Contract. This ultimately resulted in a Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules, which was won by Punk.

At the end of the pay-per-view, Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match against both Edge and Hardy eight days later on the June 15 episode of ''Raw''. At The Bash in Sacramento, California, Punk lost to Hardy by disqualification after kicking the referee after being afflicted with a storyline eye injury, claiming he could not see the referee, but because titles do not change hands on a disqualification, Punk retained the championship. Hardy called Punk into question about his eye injury, believing he had been feigning it, leading Punk to turn heel, claiming to be the moral superior of those who support Hardy due to his drug-free lifestyle. At Night of Champions, Punk lost the championship to Hardy. Their feud continued through SummerSlam, where Punk regained the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match; afterward, Punk was attacked by The Undertaker. On the August 28 episode of ''Friday Night SmackDown'', Punk concluded his program with Hardy and achieved his booked goal of excising him from the WWE, defeating Hardy in a steel cage match wherein the loser agreed to leave the company. This act would earn Punk a second Slammy that December as he was named winner for 2009's "Shocker of the Year".

At Breaking Point Punk defeated The Undertaker in a submission match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long re-started the match after stating that the ban that former General Manager Vickie Guerrero had placed on the move was still in effect. Punk would win the match with his Anaconda Vise when referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell despite Undertaker never submitting (reminiscent to the Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in 1997). The feud between the two continued and at the Hell in a Cell PPV, Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. He lost two subsequent rematches against The Undertaker on Smackdown and in a Fatal Four Way match at Bragging Rights also involving Batista and Rey Mysterio.

Straight Edge Society and New Nexus (2009–2011)

His character took on a more sinister demeanor on the November 27 episode of ''SmackDown'' when he revealed that he had converted Luke Gallows, who had previously been portrayed as the mentally incompetent wrestler Festus, to the straight-edge lifestyle which had rid him of his mental troubles. Continuing to espouse his straight-edge philosophy, Punk began to present himself as a cult-like savior to the crowd, growing the hair on his head, face and chest in an allusion to Jesus. Through January 2010, Punk began to convert planted members of the audience to a straight-edge lifestyle, making them take a pledge of allegiance to him and shaving their head as a sign of renewal and devotion. After converting many people who were not seen again, convert Serena began accompanying Punk and Gallows to form the Straight Edge Society. As well as leading this alliance, Punk was also the mentor of ''WWE NXT'' rookie Darren Young who flirted with the idea of becoming straight-edge before refusing just before his head was to be shaved. Punk continued to show messianic traits, frequently giving sermons including during the annual Royal Rumble match as well as during an Elimination Chamber match at both of the eponymous pay-per-views. In the Chamber match, he was eliminated by Rey Mysterio, whom he had feuding with leading into the PPV. Tensions escalated as Mysterio prevented him from winning a Money in the Bank qualifying match, causing Punk to interrupt Mysterio's celebration of his daughter's ninth birthday. Mysterio challenged Punk to a Street Fight at WrestleMania XXVI but lost to Gallows, meaning Punk picked the stipulation that if Rey lost he would have to join the Society. At WrestleMania, Punk lost to Mysterio sparking a rematch at Extreme Rules where Punk would have to shave his head, like his disciples, if he lost. Punk won this match after interference from a fourth member of the Society who kept his face covered. At Over The Limit, a third and final match was booked with both stipulations reactivated. In the match Punk lost and was subsequently shaved bald.

Embarrassed by being shaved bald as he considered himself always pure unlike his followers, Punk appeared on the following episode of ''SmackDown'', May 29, wearing a mask to hide his baldness. At Fatal 4 Way, Punk challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship against Mysterio, The Big Show and the champion Jack Swagger, but was unsuccessful when he was attacked by Kane, who was accusing various people of attacking The Undertaker. On July 16's ''SmackDown'', Punk was finally unmasked by Big Show while healing from an arm injury. The following week Show also unmasked the anonymous member of the Straight Edge Society who was revealed to be Joey Mercury. This led to a handicap match at SummerSlam where Show defeated the entire Society after Punk abandoned his teammates. Show also beat Punk in a singles match at Night of Champions. Following this Serena was released from WWE while Mercury became injured, severely thinning the Society. Gallows began showing signs of dissension too, and Punk defeated him on ''SmackDown'', airing September 24, ending the group.

Punk was traded back to the Raw brand on October 11 after being swapped with Edge. He took part in the interbrand tag team match at Bragging Rights after injuring Evan Bourne to win a place, but the team lost. It was reported later that he was suffering with a hip injury that would stop him from competing. To keep a presence on television, he began commentating on ''Raw'' from November 22, having already commentated one episode of ''NXT''. During his commentary, he criticized John Cena for his actions against The Nexus. Sometimes he favored heel wrestlers over face wrestlers. At the end of December, Punk left the commentary team after assaulting John Cena on ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' with a chair. Punk later revealed that his motives for the attacks were that he had joined and assumed control of The Nexus. He would then use the group to attack Randy Orton, blaming him for prematurely ending Punk's first World Heavyweight Championship reign in 2008; this led to a WrestleMania XXVII match and a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules both of which Punk lost.

WWE Champion (2011–present)

In June, after pinning WWE Champion John Cena on ''Raw'', Rey Mysterio at Capitol Punishment and finally Alberto Del Rio again in a contendership match (which included Mysterio) all within one week, Punk revealed his contract would expire at Money in the Bank and vowed to leave the company with the WWE Championship; some of his speeches and mannerisms echoed his final months with Ring of Honor. After making a scathing on-air speech concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner Vince McMahon, he was given a storyline suspension from televised WWE events but was reinstated the following week on Cena's insistence. Upon his return Punk ceased to appear with the remaining members of Nexus and the group would quietly dissolve the same month. This helped transition him from a villainous character back to being a fan-favorite. Two weeks later, at Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated John Cena to become the WWE Champion on his final night under contract with WWE.

On July 21, CM Punk made an unannounced appearance at a joint WWE and Mattel panel at the San Diego Comic Con to mock new Chief operating officer Triple H and offer WWE Championship tournament finalist Rey Mysterio a match for Punk's own WWE Championship, as long as it was in Punk's hometown, Chicago. Punk appeared at July 23's All American Wrestling show, showing respect to Gregory Iron, a wrestler with cerebral palsy. Mysterio won the WWE Championship tournament on the July 25 episode of ''Raw'', only to lose it to Cena later that night. After Cena's victory, Punk returned to ''Raw'' and upstaged the new WWE Champion's victory celebration while also entering into a title dispute. Triple H would later uphold both Punk and Cena's claims to the WWE Championship as legitimate and schedule the two to a match at SummerSlam to decide the undisputed WWE Champion. Punk prevailed but immediately lost the title to Alberto Del Rio, who had cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, after being attacked by Kevin Nash.

The night after SummerSlam Punk accused Nash of conspiring with Triple H to keep Punk away from the WWE Championship. After repeated confrontations Nash and Punk demanded to face each other at Night of Champions, to which Triple H acquiesced. However, after CM Punk's repeated verbal attacks towards him and his wife Stephanie McMahon, Triple H booked himself to replace Nash. At Night of Champions Punk lost a No Disqualification match after Nash, The Miz, and R-Truth attacked both men. Miz and Truth also attacked Punk at Hell in a Cell after he lost a WWE Championship Triple Threat match. He attempted to avenge this by teaming with Triple H against Miz and Truth at Vengeance, but lost again due to Nash attacking Triple H. This helped transition Punk's anti-establishment voice from Triple H to John Laurinaitis who became the interim Raw General Manager. CM Punk balked at Laurinaitis' promotion and verbally attacked him as a dull yes man.

On October 31, CM Punk strong-armed his way into a match with Del Rio at Survivor Series, where he regained the WWE Championship by way of submission with the Anaconda Vise. He went on to defend the title through the end of the year, retaining in a rematch with Del Rio on the November 28 episode of ''Raw'' and against both Del Rio and The Miz in a Triple Threat TLC match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. On the December 26 episode of ''Raw'', CM Punk was defeated by Dolph Ziggler in a gauntlet match; as a result Ziggler became #1 contender to the WWE championship. Had he been successful Punk would have earned the right to face Laurinaitis in a match. The following ''Raw'', Punk was defeated by Ziggler via countout following interference from Laurinaitis; retaining the championship as a result. Intermeddling from Laurinaitis caused Punk to lose to Ziggler throughout January which ultimately led to Punk attacking Laurinaitis in retaliation. At the Royal Rumble event, CM Punk successfully defended his title against Ziggler, despite Laurinaitis acting as the outside enforcer.

On the January 30 edition of ''Raw SuperShow'', Chris Jericho attacked Punk and Daniel Bryan during their Champion vs. Champion match, giving Bryan the win. The following week, Jericho explained his actions by dismissing the WWE roster as imitations of himself and singling out Punk for claiming he was the best in the world, a moniker Jericho used the last time he was in WWE. Their rivalry continued through Elimination Chamber where Punk retained the WWE Championship in the namesake structure; while four competitors were eliminated, Jericho was unable to continue the match after being kicked out of the chamber by Punk, causing temporary injury. The following night, Jericho earned a match against Punk at WrestleMania XXVIII, and in a bid to psychologically unsettle him, he revealed Punk's father was an alcoholic and alleged that his sister was a drug addict, asserting that Punk's straight edge philosophy was paranoia to avoid the same vices and vowing to make Punk turn to alcohol by winning the title from him. John Laurinaitis added the stipulation that the WWE Championship could change hands via disqualification, which led to Jericho inciting Punk into using a weapon, but Punk resisted and retained the title. On the April 2 and 9, Punk retained the WWE Championship against Mark Henry after losing to him via count-out and disqualification. Following both matches, Jericho attacked Punk and doused him with alcohol. On the April 16 episode of ''Raw'', Punk pinned Henry in a no disqualification, no countout match to retain his title. At Extreme Rules, Punk defeated Jericho in a Chicago Street Fight to retain the WWE Championship.

Gimmick

Punk has adopted his real-life following of the straight edge movement as his professional wrestling gimmick, but the gimmick uses different elements of Punk's personality and the beliefs of the straight edge movement depending on his alignment. While portraying a crowd favorite, the gimmick tends to be that of Punk's normal personality, largely indifferent to others who drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, partake in recreational drug use or have promiscuous sexual behavior, but emphasizing the social discipline involved with abstinence. Conversely, his villainous personality tends to be that of one who is hardline or militant straight edge, exemplifying the elitist attitudes and superiority complexes—defined by Punk's common mantra during villainous-themed promos that, because he is straight edge, he is "better than you". Punk performs the straight edge symbol of crossing his arms in an X formation while having the letter X written on the back of his hands, usually drawn on his wrist tape.

Originally, the initials CM in his ring name represented the phrase "Chick Magnet", the name of the tag team he was in as a backyard wrestler. Punk, however, later changed CM into an orphan initialism, declaring that it has no meaning, though when asked since he has taken to making up meanings that fit the initials, going so far as to make up long stories to explain the origins that do not match the actual origin story at all. Since beginning this practice, Punk has stated CM stands for "Cookie Monster", "Cookie Master", "Crooked Moonsault", "Chuck Mosley", "Charles Montgomery", "Charles Manson", "Crazy Mariachi", "Chicago Made", among others.

An integral part of Punk's gimmick are the numerous tattoos that adorn his body, some of which have come to become symbols associated with Punk, as well as mantras and declarations that have been integrated into his gimmick. The tattoos as a whole, due to their large quantity and variety, have also become an attribute identifiable to Punk. The most important of the individual tattoos in Punk's character, whether through association, symbol, or mantra, are: A Pepsi Globe logo on his left shoulder that inspired the names of two of his signature moves. It also became a symbol of Punk himself, who wore the logo on his ring gear in the independent circuit, as well as a slightly modified Pepsi logo being used as part of his TitanTron entrance video. Punk, a keen Pepsi drinker, chose to receive a Pepsi tattoo to emphasize his straight edge beliefs. The tattoo is also a reference to former Minor Threat guitarist Brian Baker, who had a Coca-Cola tattoo and explained this by saying "I like Coca-Cola". When people inquire about Punk's Pepsi tattoo, he often replies "I like Pepsi" in a similar fashion. The words "Straight Edge" are spelled out on Punk's stomach. This is one of his oldest tattoos; he has referred to it as his identity. A sleeve tattoo on his left arm that reads "luck is for losers" and features numerous good luck symbols, including a rabbit's foot, four-leaf clover and a horseshoe. The tattoo also features four ace playing cards as a tribute to trainer Ace Steel. A tattoo on the back of his left hand reading "No gimmicks needed", a tribute to deceased wrestler Chris Candido. A tattoo across his knuckles with the words "DRUG FREE" ("DRUG" on his right knuckles and "FREE" on his left). A tattoo of his little sister's jersey number (31) behind his left ear surrounded by stars, each of which also representing his siblings as a way to bond away from home. A tattoo on his right shoulder of the Cobra Command logo, G.I. Joe's enemy. Punk is well-known for his love of comic books, considering them along with jazz and professional wrestling as three of the original arts that America has given to the world. A tattoo of a rose on his left wrist.

Punk's character and gimmick have been parodied by the wrestling federation Chikara who used a mascot character CP Munk, the straight edge chipmunk. The character includes references to Punk, such as X-marked wrist tape, a Pepsi logo on the costume's left shoulder, and a high-pitch version of Punk's best-known independent circuit theme song "Miseria Cantare – The Beginning", by the band AFI. On his website, Punk has said about the character CP Munk, and the people behind it: }}

Punk's entrance was emulated by British darts player Paul Nicholson during the 2011 World Matchplay and the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship.

Other media

Punk made an appearance on the February 16, 2004 episode of ''Monster Garage'', "Box Truck Wrestling Car", performing a short match with Samoa Joe. On October 31, 2006, Punk joined The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) to shoot the Sci Fi Channel special ''Ghost Hunters Live'', which was a six-hour show broadcast live Halloween night from the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Initially skeptical about what he might find, Punk claimed to have heard children giggling and footsteps when there were not any children booked into the hotel.

In 2008, Punk appeared as the Sports Grand Marshal of the nationally-televised McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Chicago.

Personal life

While working for Ring of Honor, Punk was romantically linked to professional wrestlers Shannon Spruill and Tracy Brookshaw. After joining Ohio Valley Wrestling Punk began dating Maria Kanellis, who was working there as an interviewer, however they broke up sometime after Punk was moved to World Wrestling Entertainment and started working on the ECW brand. Punk was dating Amy Dumas, however Matt Hardy confirmed in March 2010 that Punk and Dumas were no longer dating. Punk confirmed in an November 2011 ''Maxim Magazine'' interview that he was in a relationship with WWE wrestler Beth Phoenix but revealed in December that he was single again.

In wrestling

WWE

*Finishing moves

*Anaconda vise – 2006–present

*''GTS – Go to Sleep'' (Fireman's carry dropped into a knee lift) – 2007–present

*Signature moves

*Arm trap swinging neckbreaker

*Arm wrench followed by stepping a leg over the wrenched arm and performing a mule kick with the leg below the opponent's face

*Bulldog

*Diving crossbody

*Diving elbow drop – adopted from and used in tribute to Randy Savage

*Double underhook backbreaker

*Hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat

*Koji clutch

*Leg lariat

*Mongolian chop

*Repeated elbow strikes to an opponent's chest

*Rope hung arm trap can opener

*Roundhouse kick

*Sitout suplex slam

*Slingshot somersault senton

*Snap scoop powerslam

*Springboard clothesline

*Step-up enzuigiri

*Step-up high knee to a cornered opponent followed by a bulldog

*Suicide dive

*Super frankensteiner

*Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker

*Nicknames

*"Mr. Money in the Bank"

*"The Second City Saint / Savior"

*"The Straight-Edge Savior / Superstar"

*"The Voice of The Voiceless"

*"The Best in the World"

*Entrance themes

*"This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (August 1, 2006–July 17, 2011)

*"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour (July 25, 2011–present)

Independent circuit

*Finishing moves

*Anaconda vise or an arm triangle choke

*''Pepsi Plunge'' (Diving double underhook facebuster)

*Shining wizard

*Signature moves

*Arm wrench followed by stepping a leg over the wrenched arm and performing a mule kick with the leg below the opponent's face

*Corkscrew dive transitioned into a diving neckbreaker

*''Crooked Moonsault'' (Split-legged moonsault)

*Delayed vertical suplex

*''Devil Lock DDT'' (Hammerlock legsweep DDT)

*Facewash

*Inverted facelock backbreaker

*Inverted frankensteiner

*''Jackie Chan'' (While sitting in a corner, grasps the top rope with one hand on each side of the turnbuckle and when the opponent attempts to pull him off the ropes by his legs, he performs a back tuck, landing on his feet)

*''Pepsi Twist'' (Jumping hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat)

*''Punk-Handle Piledriver'' (Pumphandle reverse piledriver)

*Rolling fireman's carry slam

*Slingshot somersault senton

*Springboard corkscrew crossbody

*Suicide dive

*''Welcome to Chicago, Motherfucker'' (Double underhook backbreaker)

*With Julio Dinero

*Double superkick

*''Near Death Experience'' (Diving neckbreaker (Punk) / Powerbomb (Dinero) combination)

*Managers

*Milo Beasley

*Tracy Brooks

*Bobby Heenan

*Alexis Laree / Vicki Adams

*Lucy

*Joshua Masters

*James Mitchell

*Dave Prazak

*Entrance themes

**"Shitlist" by L7

*"South of Heaven" by Slayer

*"A Call for Blood" by Hatebreed

*"Miseria Cantare (The Beginning)" by AFI

*"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour

*"Night Train" by The Bouncing Souls

*"¡Olé!" by The Bouncing Souls

Wrestlers trained

Anthony Blanca

Anthony Franco

Bobby Dempsey

Davey Andrews

Derek Dempsey

Evan Starsmore

Grizzly Redwood

Jay Jensen

Matt Turner

Pelle Primeau

Shane Hagadorn

Smash Bradley

Championships and accomplishments

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South

IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

International Wrestling Cartel

IWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Mid-American Wrestling

MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Cyberspace

NWA Cyberspace Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Julio Dinero

NWA Revolution

NWA Revolution Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Ohio Valley Wrestling

OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Skyfire

OVW Television Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Feud of the Year (2011)

Match of the Year (2011)

Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2011)

Wrestler of the Year (2011)

PWI ranked him #3 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010

'''Revolver

Golden Gods Award for "Most Metal Athlete" (2012)

Ring of Honor

ROH Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Colt Cabana

ROH World Championship (1 time)

St. Paul Championship Wrestling

SDW Northern States Television Championship (2 times)

SPCW Northern States Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

ECW Championship (1 time)

World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

WWE Championship (2 times, current)

World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kofi Kingston

WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

Money in the Bank (2008, 2009)

Nineteenth Triple Crown Champion

Slammy Award for "OMG" Moment of the Year (2008)

Slammy Award for Shocker of the Year (2009)

Slammy Award for Despicable Me (2010)

Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year (2011)

Slammy Award for "Pipe Bomb" of the Year (2011)

Slammy Award for T-Shirt of the Year (2011)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Best Gimmick (2009, 2011)

Best on Interviews (2011)

Feud of the Year (2009)

Feud of the Year (2011)

Match of the Year (2011)

1 Punk held the title concurrently with John Cena during his first reign. After defeating him Punk became undisputed champion but was not recognized by WWE as having won the title a second time.

Luchas de Apuestas record

CM Punk

style="background:#e3e3e3; width:5%;"	Wager	Winner	Loser	Location	Date	Notes
Hair	Rey Mysterio	|	Detroit, Michigan		Over the Limit (2010)>Over the Limit.

References

External links

Professional wrestling record for CM Punk from The Internet Wrestling Database

WWE Profile

Category:1978 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:Masked wrestlers Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Pescetarians Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestlers from Illinois Category:Straight edge individuals

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