Dimo’s Pizza, (3463 N. Clark St.) announced the return of two best-selling pizza specials just in time for WWE superstar CM Punk to sing the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field. The vegan Anaconda Vice and not-at-all-vegan Go To Sleep specials will be back on the menu for the week of May 8-14.

Cubs fans can stop by Dimo’s on their way to and from the game Sunday, and all week, as the quirky pizza shop is located just steps from Wrigley Field.

The Anaconda Vice pizza features a base of slow-cooked black beans topped with Upton’s chorizo seitan, vegan bacon bits, dairy-free cheese, chopped tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and parsley. A vegan twist on the Brazilian dish feijoada, Dimo’s created this pizza to commemorate Punk’s new meatless diet.

The Go To Sleep, or G.T.S. special, features smoked turkey leg, sliced potatoes, Swiss cheese and French fried onions. This special was an especially popular delivery request for Wrestlemania earlier this year.

About Dimo’s Pizza
Dimo’s Pizza believes in pizza for the people, by the people. With a focus on local ingredients, reducing our carbon footprint, and an Open Book Finance policy for employees, every Dimo’s pizza is crafted with a foodie-friendly sense of humor and sustainable sensibility.

Dimo’s Pizza
Phone: 773.525.4580

Source: PWInsider.com

Source: prowrestling.net

Although The Straight Edge Superstar did not suffer any permanent injury, the full impact of the brutal assault on the champion is yet to be seen.

Stay with WWE.com for more.

Source: WWE.com

Once in a decade a WWE Superstar comes along and changes the game. CM Punk’s secret is that he isn’t a character, he is who he is—and he’s badass. See for yourself, below, and compare during WrestleMania XXVIII this month.

Few lifestyles seem more at odds than pro wrestling and straight edge punk. The success of WWE relies on its ability to tell over-the-top stories involving larger-than-life Superstars to millions watching on TV or in packed arenas. Excess is the key to the WWE image: enormous egos, huge physiques, gigantic spectacles. The straight edge movement is more defined by substance than style, outspoken but less brash (unless the target is Chris Brown). Straight edge finds its home at all-ages basement punk shows free of alcohol and drugs. Serving as a bridge between these two divergent worlds, we find WWE champion CM Punk.

Since arriving in the WWE in 2005, Punk has introduced a whole legion of WWE fans to straight edge and punk rock while also converting some young punks to fans of combat sport. He also has eccentric ink, from a large Pepsi logo to a slice of deep-dish pizza. If you disapprove of his tattoos, Punk doesn’t care: “These are all things that make me who I am. So, yeah, you’re damn right I ink them on my body and I want them to be with me for the rest of my life.” Many would try to conform to one lifestyle or the other—not Punk. He has always found himself out of step with the world, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

INKED: After you first won the champion title at Money in the Bank and “quit” the WWE, you took the story line beyond Monday Night Raw and other WWE events by posting pictures of the belt in your fridge on Twitter and by showing up at Comic Con. What made you want to use alternate media to move the story line forward?

CM Punk: Pure boredom. That and my belief that I have my fingers on the pulse of what our audience wants way more than management. I think that it’s important for me and for any other Superstar that works for the company to be in the public eye, to be out there, to be considered celebrities. TMZ sees me on the street now and they want to ask stupid questions like they would with some phony like Tom Cruise. We’re on television and we seem to have this one niche audience, and I want to expand way beyond that.

Leading up to your championship you were portrayed as an outsider and an underdog. You’ve talked about how you weren’t marketed correctly or enough. Now that you have been crowned champion, can you still make that claim?

Not without adding some sort of severe backlash from people. It’s hard to say you’re an underdog when you’re the champ. There are still people who are crossing their fingers waiting to see me fail. This industry has always been about image, and I don’t fit that image. I’m the one standing up and saying, “So what?” I’m the best wrestler in the world, and that is what this is about. Who cares if I don’t look like you want me to? That’s something I’ve been dealing with my entire life.

Your wrestling persona doesn’t seem to differ too much from your actual personality.

I don’t really have a different persona. Now, I don’t walk around the street and kick people in the face to solve my problems, obviously—I would be in jail. [Laughs.] There is really no other difference between inside and outside of the ring.

Was this a conscious decision? We ask because some of your earlier WWE story lines almost seemed to mock the straight edge lifestyle.

That was an extreme interpretation of the idea of straight edge. I’m not preachy like that when I’m in my jeans and my hoodie. I’m straight edge for me. That’s one thing about the business that I’m in: It’s my job to twist and bend reality to meet my needs. It was fun to get people pissed at me because the straight edge thing always draws a line in the sand.

Have you always been straight edge?

I never really fit in anywhere. When I read about Ian MacKaye, Minor Threat, and straight edge I thought, Oh, there’s a label for what I am—cool.

It would be safe to say that the first time your average wrestling fan was introduced to straight edge was through you. How do you feel about this?

It’s kind of a when-worlds-collide situation. I’ve always been the punk rock kid who grew up listening to the Clash and the Ramones. Straight edge has always been associated with the hardcore scene—with music—so for it to be associated with combat sports all of a sudden is a little bit of a culture shock. Some people can’t handle it. For me, the bottom line is that no matter who you are or where you come from, just be yourself. The message is positive and I don’t force it on anybody. If one kid can take away anything positive from that, I think it’s awesome.

What bands got you into punk?

I think everybody had to like Naked Raygun, which was a rite of passage. I was a big Slapstick fan; I thought those guys were awesome. Obviously, later on, all the members of Slapstick were in various bands like Alkaline Trio and the Lawrence Arms. I’m drawing a blank on any others—I do get hit in the head for a living, so my memory is not the best.

Who does your tattoo work?

I’m fortunate enough to have parlayed what celebrity I have into the opportunity to get tattooed by great artists. I had Dan Smith draw me up some stuff to work with him out in L.A. Recently I had Luke Westman, a friend of mine, tattoo me. So I get to bounce around now. For me the meaning is still there, but when you’re as tattooed as I am it ends up being:
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Luke is around—wanna go get tattoos?”
“Oh, yeah, great.”
So I wound up getting a lot of—I guess there’s no other way to describe them, but—bro tattoos. My friends and I all have a lot of the same tattoos.

When you’re not using those celebrity connections, who inks you at home?

WWE Champion CM Punk sounds off on life, family, friends, co-workers and his film aspirations.

Vince McMahon: “(We) have a lot more one-on-one conversations. I wont say he takes the time to talk to me now, because he always did, but I think he views me differently now. He used to view me as maybe talking to a boy. Now he thinks he’s talking to a man after I stood up and did everything I did over the summer. I always thought I was a main event player. The difference is now he knows I’m a main event player.”

The Rock: “I don’t think I have a relationship with The Rock. Over the past few weeks, it’s been better. Probably because I’ve been outspoken (about him) in the media. Of course, everything gets sensationalized and twisted. I don’t hate The Rock or fault him for coming back. I just think heaping credit on The Rock for ratings, buyrates – that’s where I get offended. It’s a team effort 365 days a year. Me and the entire locker room bust our (butts) and all our super stoked. Give credit where credit is due. Wrestlemania had a huge buyrate last year, not because of one guy. The numbers out there prove he hasn’t done much else, like the Survivor Series buyrate.”

John Cena: “I think the general consensus is that me and Cena don’t get along. While I definitely agree that we don’t see eye to eye, we coexist and get along just fine. I don’t get why people love to hate John Cena. But as long as he gets a reaction that’s positive or negative, he’s doing his job.”

Chris Brown: “I’ve gotten nothing but pats on the back: ‘Good job.’ I said what I said, the video is out there. He obviously erased his tweets and hopes this disappears. It is what it is. I meant what I said. It’s not a publicity stunt. I don’t want to work with him at Wrestlemania. Some day karma will get a hold of Chris Brown, and me along with 99 percent of the world will sit back and say I told you so.”

Beth Phoenix: “I have no problem being friends with anybody. If me and Beth have friendship issues, it’s not me.”

Wrestling websites: “I think you have to (read them). Anybody who dismisses it — that’s (crap). You have to have your fingers on the pulse of everything. You have to read it.”

CM Punk DVD: “I think they wanted to do a ‘Road to Wrestlemania’ DVD. I was like ‘Who gives a (crap).’ The pay per view after Wrestlemania is in Chicago. That was a no brainer to me – coming home. The last day of filming will probably be the pay per view. I’ll get my sisters in there and (Colt) Cabana.”

Movie career: “(WWE) offered me a movie when I first told them I wasn’t re-signing. I immediately turned it down. They probably figured I would jump at a movie because I’m not a movie star. That’s not to say that if the right thing doesn’t come along, I won’t do it. That’s not my priority. … I think WWE films signed on three new movies. I’m sure one of them is probably slated to be a CM Punk vehicle. I haven’t heard anything yet. Nothing is set in stone. Take that for what it’s worth. I think I would love to do a movie if it’s the right project. I’m not going to be in ‘The Marine 3′ just because they offered it to me. If it’s something good, I’ll do it. I’d love to do it – as long as it doesn’t interfere with my wrestling schedule.”

Friends: “I’m an excellent judge of character. I can tell people who want something from me or if they’re actually buddies. Kofi (Kingston is a friend). Guys like Evan Bourne, Daniel Bryan I’ve known for a decade wrestling on the indies.”

Family: “I don’t believe you have to be blood to be family, so I have a lot of family members. I have two sisters and a brother by blood. I talk to my sisters but haven’t talked to my brother in like 10 years. … I think I have always had to outsource for support or anything I want to do. The people who were willing to accept me with open arms weren’t blood related to me. To me, that’s what family is. Family supports you. So like my Mom, my Dad, my brother – the only thing my brother ever did to me was steal a (crap) load of money from me.”

Ratings: “I don’t know what I can or can’t do to make it better. It doesn’t necessarily fall on one person’s shoulder, but I shoulder a lot of the blame from other people, so I might as well shoulder it myself.”

Promos: “What people need to realize is I’m not just watching promos on wrestling. The reporter on CNN interviewing Joe Paterno is a promo to me. I listen to the inflection in people’s voice, their body language, what they do with their hands, fidgety, how many times they touch their face — depending in what situation they’re being interviewed for. If they’re on the spot or they’re guilty of something, emotional, nervous, joyful, just won the Super Bowl. I watch people’s eyes mostly: How to convey certain emotions, rage, happiness, sadness.”

Good guy vs. bad guy: “I’m certainly not a baby kissing, hand slapping, rah rah good guy. I definitely think there’s more of an edge to my character. … I’m way better at (playing a heel). When you’re a bad guy, you are in control. You’re the boss. I’m still waiting for that bad guy to come around and tell me to shut my mouth.”

Source: chicagotribune.com

Luis Gomez About Last Night
5:45 p.m. CDT, March 26, 2012

When he blasted WWE’s higher-ups on live TV, CM Punk had GQ, ESPN and “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” banging on his door. TMZ and CNN interviewed him about his recent Twitter feud with pop star Chris Brown. But on this particular March afternoon on the Blue Line — the train he takes to and from O’Hare International Airport every week with the diamond-encrusted WWE Championship belt in his suitcase — Punk appears to have gone unrecognized by those sitting around him.

That’s just how he likes it.

“I’m so cranky,” admits Punk, holding onto a pole by the “L” train’s doors to keep his balance. Punk (real name: Phil Brooks) is on the third day of a diet that requires him to skip food entirely in favor of juices because “I’m bored out of my mind and I’m trying to get in wrestling shape. I can’t work out harder than I do. I’ve been a (pescetarian) for three months.”

The pro wrestler is by no means out of shape. But when you compare his heavily tattooed body to the superhero physiques of The Rock or John Cena, you can see why WWE’s muscle-obsessed CEO, Vince McMahon, may have overlooked Punk for so long, and why 13-time WWE champion Triple H called him a “skinny fat kid.”

“I think that’s (Triple H’s) perception of me,” says Punk, who will defend his title against Chris Jericho on Sunday at Wrestlemania XXVIII in Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens. “It shows the perception people have is completely archaic and outdated. I assume it’s a bodybuilding thing. I’m not skinny, and I’m not fat. I’ve never used a drug in my life.”

Punk famously has the words “Drug” and “Free” tattooed on his knuckles and “Straight Edge” inked on his stomach (he says he’s never used steroids, painkillers or recreational drugs or drunk alcohol, due to his Straight Edge lifestyle). And on this afternoon, what was supposed to be a day off from his hectic schedule, he is wearing a “Drug Free” T-shirt underneath a baggy black hooded sweatshirt, along with a Cubs cap that appears to be on its last legs.

“I can be pretty incognito,” Punk says of getting recognized on the train. “I’ll have my hood up and hands in my pocket. … It doesn’t stop a lot of people. They’ll talk to me for a while, and I’ll stare at them for a while (with headphones on), and I’ll say, ‘I didn’t hear a word you just said.’”

The Lockport native is, in wrestling parlance, a baby face (good guy) and soaks up the fan adoration every time he walks to the ring with his theme song, Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality,” playing over the loudspeakers. But Punk can come off as an unapologetic, walking “do not disturb” sign when he isn’t working.

He’s been known to vent about fans who don’t respect his privacy — specifically the ones who tap him on the shoulder when he’s checking in at the airport or the ones who take off his headphones to get his attention — and has laid into autograph hounds with binders full of photos who he feels are trying to make money off of him. He’s more than willing to communicate with his fans and critics on Twitter, but anyone who tweets him risks a sarcastic or insulting response, including making fun of spelling and grammar. When one follower tweeted, “I’m going to Chicago for the 1st time for St Pattys Day. What places should I visit?” Punk simply replied, “Indiana.” When another tweeted, “noone cares where ur going or what your doing,” Punk fired back, “You mean ‘you’re’. Unfollow me. Or kill yourself.”

“I’ve tweeted a few things that I thought for sure would get me a call from (WWE’s) office,” Punk says as the train approaches his stop. “It never happened. … Maybe I need to be more rebellious.”

The Bongo Room in Wicker Park is known for its brunch and isn’t juice-diet-friendly, but Punk would rather go there than a juice bar just a few blocks away. Why? It becomes apparent right away that he feels at home at The Bongo Room.

“Welcome back,” the waitress says after Punk slides in a wooden booth “How have you been?”

The restaurant, just like the neighborhood, has a hipster feel to it. That’s one of the reasons Punk likes both. He says most of the hipsters who recognize him are “too cool for school” to approach him. And when people approach him at the bar, the Bongo Room’s staff tells them to back off.

It wasn’t always this way. A year ago, Punk was one of many WWE wrestlers hoping to join the ranks of the organization’s elite (and stay there). The difference was Punk clearly belonged among the elite due to his superior wrestling skills and mic work — and he knew it. But after years of wrestling through injuries only to see the same guys holding the title, he revealed to the company six months before his contract expired in July that he would not be re-signing. Punk blurred the lines of reality last June when he announced why he was leaving during a memorable episode of USA network’s “Monday Night Raw.”

“I’ve proved to everybody in the world that I’m the best on this microphone, in that ring, even on commentary,” Punk told the crowd and the millions watching at home. “And yet, no matter how many times I prove it, I’m not on your lovely little collector cups, I’m not on the cover of the program, I’m barely promoted. I don’t get to be in movies, I’m certainly not on any crappy shows on the USA Network. … But the fact of the matter is I should (be). … Vince McMahon’s going to make money despite himself. He’s a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why he’s not a billionaire? It’s ’cause he surrounds himself with glad-handing, nonsensical, yes men. … I’d like to think that maybe this company will be better after Vince McMahon’s dead, but the fact is it’s going to get taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family.”

Punk’s closest friend on the WWE roster, Kofi Kingston, was well aware of his frustrations. He just didn’t know Punk would air them on live TV.

“Backstage, it was quiet,” says Kingston over the phone from Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, where WWE recently taped “Raw.” “Everyone was viewing the TV. I get goose bumps thinking about it. He said what everybody wanted to say. … (Afterward) I went up to him smiling — ‘That was incredible’ — as people hugged him. … (He was) same as always: ice cold. You never see him celebrating. … He won’t let emotions show on his face. … It’s pretty cool. He acts like he’s been there before.”

Punk, it turns out, was told by WWE that he could air his grievances but had to run them by McMahon first. Because he knew McMahon wouldn’t let him say everything he wanted to say, Punk claimed he handed McMahon a piece of paper with talking points that were “completely different” from what Punk actually said.

Asked during a later phone conversation about McMahon’s reaction to the speech, Punk says, “He had dollar signs in his eyes. He said, ‘Hell of a promo. Too bad you’re leaving. We could make a lot of money together.’ “As for the enormous response he received from peers, fans and media, Punk says, “At that point, I was so out the door. … I was counting down the days.”

On the last day of his contract, Punk was scheduled to wrestle Cena for the WWE championship at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena. The hometown crowd was rabid in its support for Punk even though he was a heel at the time, and it erupted after he pinned Cena and exited through the crowd with the belt in hand.

Little did fans know Punk had signed a contract extension shortly after the pay-per-view had begun broadcasting.

Eight days later, Punk returned to WWE TV, lost the title at the next pay-per-view and then lost his match at the pay-per-view after that. But he won the title back in November and will defend it at Wrestlemania (the Super Bowl of wrestling). Besides, WWE’s higher-ups are starting to see what many fans have been seeing in Punk all along — well, most fans.

“We heckled him at a house show here in Hartford (Conn.) a year and a half ago before he had blown up,” says Michelle Beadle, co-host of ESPN’s “SportsNation” and a die-hard wrestling fan, over the phone from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn. “‘Who is this dork with a Pepsi tattoo?’ Fast-forward a few months, and now I’m, like, ‘That’s the greatest wrestler of all time.’ … We thought he was a dork, and now we’re big fans.”

Asked whether he has the marketability to be the face of WWE, Beadle, who calls Punk a friend, says, “He’s where he is because he’s been very successful. I don’t think he will be that guy who is overly nice — that’s just not his (shtick). If people want to take pictures with him on his own time, they may not get a nice answer or reaction from him. But I think he sells tickets. Attaching the wagon to that guy is not a bad idea.”

He wouldn’t reveal how long he re-signed for, but the 33-year-old Punk says he isn’t interested in wrestling into his 40s. He has goals outside of wrestling, including opening a doughnut shop and naming his baked goods after wrestling terms such as “The Bear Claw.”

One goal that doesn’t seem to be at the top of his list? Marriage.

“I don’t think marriage is in the cards for me,” says Punk. “I think it’s an archaic institution. I think people got married when their life expectancy was (shorter). It kind of made sense then. … People now live to 100. But who’s to say? I would love to find a woman who will absolutely floor me, make me stop everything, intrigue me that much that everything stops. I’m not positive she exists.”

Punk believes dating within the industry helps, because of the grueling road schedule, but says you risk bringing your work home with you and talking about wrestling seven days a week. That’s not to say he hasn’t done it. Punk has been linked to WWE Divas champion Beth Phoenix and ex-WWE Divas Lita and Maria Kanellis, an Ottawa, Ill., native and former”Celebrity Apprentice” contestant now with the Ring of Honor wrestling promotion.

Kanellis notes that she dated Punk for a year and a half and got to know his protective side — she says he once texted her right before his Wrestlemania match to let her know a wrestler was flirting with her sister — as well as his sentimental side. “Giant Sweet Tarts are my favorite candy,” says Kanellis over the phone from her Los Angeles condo. “And from the day I met him until the day I left WWE, he gave me giant Sweet Tarts — even when we weren’t together.”

whether he considers himself romantic, Punk locks his hands together on the table at The Bongo Room and reveals a tattoo on his fingers: “Romance.” “I’m a hopeless romantic,” Punk says. “Nobody believes me.”

Whether to make conversation or move the focus away from the tattoo, Punk praises the waitress for refilling his tea without his noticing. “You’re good,” he tells her. “You’re (expletive) good. I held up my cup (for a refill) and spilled boiling water on my phone.” Pressed about the origin of the tattoo, Punk says, “I don’t even know. I think I just want my hands to be all tattooed to make it look like I was in a Russian gulag, and it made sense at the time, so …”

The conversation soon shifts to romantic comedies.

“Dude, you know what’s a good movie?” Punk exclaims. “It’s got Ryan Reynolds, and he has a daughter and tells her stories about four different girlfriends and she has to figure out which one was her mom. What I do on international flights is watch crappy, sappy love movies. … Sometimes they’re so bad, it’s laughable. It kills time.”

Punk says part of the reason he likes the movie “Definitely, Maybe” is because he can relate to it, but he doesn’t elaborate. Also, he wants a daughter. He has a soft spot for children — even if they do stare at his tattoos and lip ring — and tries to make time for the young fans who want autographs and photos.

“I do envision myself having kids one day, and I always wanted a little girl,” says Punk. “I figure it will happen regardless — especially if I don’t want one. ‘No, I can’t have a little girl. It would be torture if I have a little girl.’ It’s like a wrestling curse.”

Ever since he re-signed, Punk seems to have taken a greater leadership role in the WWE locker room. He volunteers to do interviews on his days off when a show’s ticket sales could be better; he is adamant that wrestlers leave the locker room the way they found it; and he is giving more of the younger guys advice on their matches.

Kingston believes young wrestlers can learn a lot from Punk — just as he did back in the day.

“I’m really lucky Punk chose to take me under his wing,” Kingston says. “A lot of people have a story about the first time they met Punk and how he was kind of a jerk. The earliest thing I remember is him coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, want a piece of advice? … Remember, they all came here to see you.’ I had been jumping around nervous, and he went out of his way to make me feel comfortable.”

On the road, Punk takes Kingston along on his personal bus, which saves them the trouble of having to drive and find time for sleep. The bus was one of Punk’s contract stipulations when he re-signed, along with a raise. But Punk claims it was never about the money. He says he isn’t much of a spender. Still, he did make sure it was enough to make WWE think twice about not using him again.

And then there’s the intro song he’s been using since “returning” to WWE: “Cult of Personality.” While most wrestlers have theme music created in-house, Punk asked WWE to pay for the rights for the popular 1988 Living Colour song.

Was it expensive?

“Yeah,” Punk says about the song he listened to during his Little League baseball days. “But (expletive) it.”

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

Source: chicagotribune.com

CM Punk-inspired Anaconda Vice Pizza Celebrates the WWE Superstar’s New Meatless Diet

Dimo’s Pizza, (3463 N. Clark St.) home of Chicago’s favorite quirky pizza by-the-slice, today announced its pizza special for the week of March 26, 2012. The Anaconda Vice Pizza honors World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestler CM Punk, who is the main event in this year’s WWE Wrestlemania, which airs April 1.

A vegan twist on the Brazilian dish feijoada, the Anaconda Vice pizza features a base of slow-cooked black beans topped with Upton’s chorizo seitan, vegan bacon bits, dairy-free cheese, chopped tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and parsley.

“What better way to celebrate CM Punk’s infamous Brazilian Ju-Jitsu submission hold than with a Brazilian-inspired pizza?” asked Celia Rose, Pizza Artist and Specials Coordinator for Dimo’s Pizza. “Like Punk himself, this pizza proves that you don’t need meat to kick ass!”

“I’ll be sharing an Anaconda Vice Pizza with my friends as soon as I get home from Wrestlemania,” stated CM Punk. “It will be my reward for serving Jericho the fat slice of humble pie he deserves.”

The Anaconda Vice special will be available by the slice March 26 – April 1, whole pizzas are also available for delivery and pick up. Also in the works for April 1, a top-secret April Fool’s pizza special.

About Dimo’s Pizza
Dimo’s Pizza believes in pizza for the people, by the people. With a focus on local ingredients, reducing our carbon footprint, and an Open Book Finance policy for employees, every Dimo’s pizza is crafted with a foodie-friendly sense of humor and sustainable sensibility.

Follow Dimo’s Pizza on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dimoswrigley
Visit www.DimosPizza.com
Credit to Natalie Slater

This week on The Wedge we made Damian’s dream come true: we got the current WWE Champion CM Punk to co-host the show with him. But even as a mega fanboy, Damian was able to keep his cool and talk to the champ about everything from the parallels with indie music and indie wrestling, social media, what he thinks of his rival Chris Jericho’s band and his love for comic books, among other things.

Watch CM Punk Co-Host “The Wedge” here

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