Elijah Samuel Burke (born January 1 , 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its ECW brand.
| Elijah Burke | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1978 Jacksonville, Florida |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Elijah Burke |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (105kg) |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2003 |
Career
Burke is a former officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in Florida who would become an amateur boxer in Jacksonville's Club 5 and Club Plush where he claims to have had a 98-1 win/loss record. According to his WWE.com profile, Burke has a record of 103-1 with 102 knockouts in his amateur career. Both of these records are unsubstantiated. Still according to WWE's kayfabe, the only loss he sustained was a disqualification, after he knocked his opponent out and refused to back down to his corner.
World Wrestling Entertaiment
After signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), he was sent to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). There, he won the OVW Heavyweight Title on December 8, 2004. Burke was offered a spot in the Spirit Squad by the WWE Creative Team, but turned it down, forcing him to stay in Ohio Valley Wrestling on a longer stint before moving to Smackdown! with Sylvester Terkay.
SmackDown!
After training with OVW, Burke would be brought up to the main roster of SmackDown! on July 28, 2006 working a mixed martial arts cornerman gimmick with the also debuting former MMA fighter Sylvester Terkay. His first WWE match saw him defeating Scott Wright and he would also break Vito's 4 month winning streak while on SmackDown!, albeit with Terkay's assistance.
ECW
On November 7, 2006, Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay debuted on the ECW brand by cutting a backstage promo. The following week, Burke replaced Tazz, who had knee surgery, as color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Joey Styles. Two weeks later, Burke returned to the ring; he and Terkay lost to the Hardy Boyz. At the ECW brand's December to Dismember pay-per-view, Burke and Terkay defeated the Full Blooded Italians, a feat which the duo have since repeated. The pair were later dubbed The Knock-Out / Tap-Out Connection, in reference to Burke's amateur boxing career and Terkay's Mixed Martial Arts background.
On January 18, 2007, Terkay was released from WWE. Since then, Burke has wrestled in singles matches, and appeared in a segment where WWE owner Vince McMahon showed disdain for members of the original ECW and called Burke to the ring, naming him "The Future Of ECW". Burke was then attacked by Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney, Sabu, and The Sandman, who would later form the ECW Originals stable. Burke then became the official leader of the "New Breed", a group of new ECW stars including Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von and Kevin Thorn, who proceeded to feud with the ECW Originals. At WrestleMania 23, The New Breed faced off against The ECW Originals but were ultimately defeated.
After several weeks of trying to recruit fellow roster mate and new ECW superstar CM Punk, Burke and the New Breed were successful on April 10. However, just two weeks later, CM Punk betrayed the New Breed, attacking Burke after a match. The next week, Kevin Thorn quit the New Breed due to lack of interference in his match with CM Punk. Burke lost to CM Punk at WWE Judgment Day.
In wrestling
Finishing and signature moves
- Elijah Express (Running double high knee strike to the opponent's back)
- Elijah Experience (Forward Russian legsweep)
- Scissored armbar - 2006
- STO
- Flying clothesline
- High angle spinning sitdown spinebuster
- Stinger splash
- High angle inverted atomic drop
- Backhand chop
- Multiple bionic elbows followed by a backhand chop - OVW
- Flying forearm strike
- Flying shoulder tackle
- Moonsault
Nicknames
- The Elijah Experience - in OVW
- The Silver-Tongued Pugilist
- Your Paragon of Virtue
- Host of Hosts
- Guiding Light
- the future