CM Punk confirms retirement — Enjoy this gallery of the former champ over the years

CM Punk officially, officially retired. Sort of.

In a recent interview, Punk addressed the “retirement” issue and said it “feels good” to be retired at 35. He’s probably not retired for good from wrestling. Maybe he’s done with the WWE but he’s a little too young to hang up the boots completely.

CM Punk has had an impressive career — Growing up in Chicago, Phil “CM Punk” Brooks spent hours watching “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka exchange words, then blows, on his TV. These and other heated wrestling rivalries made Punk realize that sports entertainment was where he belonged.

Punk’s first venture into professional wrestling was in a backyard wrestling federation called Lunatic Wrestling Federation. The federation was started by a group of his friends and Punk’s brother Mike Brooks back in the late 1990s. Eventually, Punk moved on to established promotions and found success every step of the way.

Adopting the “straight edge” lifestyle, CM Punk has held countless championships in his career — both in the US and overseas. CM Punk is a former world champion in the WWE, ECW, Ring of Honor and Ohio Valley Wrestling, as well as in numerous independent promotions.

CM Punk is recognized in the WWE as the “longest-reigning WWE Champion of the modern era” after holding the title for 434 days (November 20, 2011 to January 27, 2013). CM Punk is also officially recognized as the sixth-longest reigning WWE champion of all time.

CM Punk will be back sooner rather than later but let’s take a look back at the career of CM Punk in some awesome pictures.

CM Punk Through the Years

[via IMGUR ]