Punk had moved from the Raw to the Smackdown roster in 2009, and the writers had created a spot for him as a leader of a group called the Straight Edge Society. They moved John over to Raw and decided that I was going to manage John on Raw but be a wrestler on the Smackdown roster. Stephanie McMahon was in charge of the writing on Smackdown and thought it would be a great idea to put me with the group as well.
"Oh, this is going to be fun." I complained to John.
"You don't have to do this, you know. Talk to Stephanie." John encouraged.
It had been really awkward with John for a little while after that fight I had with Punk but we eventually moved past it. I finally got it through to him that we really were better off just being friends.
"No, it's a great spot and I'm a professional. I think I can make this work." I said, slightly hopeful.
The only time Punk and I would talk would be either during or about the Straight Edge Society. He wouldn't address me backstage typically. If I had to talk to him, I normally asked Luke or another one of his friends, Cliff Compton. We had both been told to not cut our hair and for him to not shave for a while leading up to the start of the SES. My hair had been really long at that point but now it was almost completely down my back. It was becoming difficult to wrestle with hair as long as it was. Punk's hair was well past his shoulders.
"You're starting to look like Jesus." I teased him.
Punk gave me a smirk, one I hadn't seen in a while.
We would go out to the crowd and praise straight edge like it was a religion and offer to save someone from their addictions. We would then pull a random person from the crowd (most of the time a plant but the occasional willing fan too) into the ring and shave their head as a symbol of their addictions and sins washing away. It was very similar to a baptism. We were joined by one of Punk's friends, Luke Gallows who had been on drugs at one point but had gotten clean by Punk's example. Eventually, a girl named Serena as put in the mix. Like Punk, Luke was really straight edge but Serena was what I called straight edge for TV. She was for the storyline but would drink when she knew she couldn't get caught by fans. She and I really didn't like each other. Both Serena and Luke shaved their heads and kept it shaved while Punk's and my hair just kept growing. At this point my hair was to my butt.
"Why does she get to keep her hair?" Serena whined in the ring.
"Because unlike you, my dear, Jasmine is pure." Punk reached over and touched my cheek. "She has never known the taste of booze as you have."
Backstage, things were tense between us. I think for a while, the only thing that kept me from losing my head was John. He became a sounding board when Punk ticked me off, which was on a regular basis.