Elijah Burke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Elijah Burke |
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Burke in 2007
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| Birth name | Elijah Samuel Burke |
| Born | May 24, 1981 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | D'Angelo Dinero The Pope Elijah Burke General Pope Da Pope |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from | Big Bear, California Jacksonville, Florida "The Streets of Harlem, New York" |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2003 |
Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is also known by his wrestling names "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and Da Pope. He currently wrestles for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). There, he was a World Television Champion.
Elijah Burke started his wrestling career in 2003. He first worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He trained in their special school called Ohio Valley Wrestling. Later, he joined the main WWE shows from 2006 to 2008. While in WWE, he sometimes helped commentate during matches. But he mostly wrestled, especially as part of a group called The New Breed.
From 2009 to 2013, and again from 2015 to 2017, Burke worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), also known as Impact Wrestling. During his first time there, he was a wrestler. In his second time, he became one of their main TV commentators. Burke has won several championships. These include the OVW Heavyweight Championship, OVW Television Championship, and OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. In 2010, Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine named him the Most Improved Wrestler of the Year.
Before becoming a professional wrestler, Burke worked as a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida. He also studied criminal justice. He was a good amateur boxer and competed in "toughman" contests. This background helped shape his wrestling style. In 2014, he was honored in the Guns ‘N Hoses Boxing Hall of Fame.
Contents
- Elijah Burke's Background
- Elijah Burke's Wrestling Career
- Other Activities
- Personal Life
- Championships and Accomplishments
- See also
Elijah Burke's Background
Law Enforcement and Boxing
Elijah Burke used to be an officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in Florida. He started in corrections and then moved to street patrol. During this time, he also became an amateur boxer. He competed in "toughman" contests in Jacksonville. He had an amazing record of 98 wins and only 1 loss over three years.
According to his WWE profile, Burke's amateur boxing record was 103 wins and 1 loss. He had 102 knockouts. His only loss was a disqualification. This happened because he knocked out his opponent and refused to go back to his corner. Before his matches, he writes "4-Up" on his wrist tape. He said this comes from a comedian's phrase, "I'm going to give you five upside your head." But when you punch someone, it's usually "four upside the head."
Elijah Burke's Wrestling Career
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Starting in Ohio Valley Wrestling (2004–2006)
After signing with WWE, Elijah Burke went to their training school, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He won the Heavyweight Championship on December 8, 2004. He defeated Chad Toland to win the title. On April 14, Burke lost the championship to Matt Morgan. While in OVW, WWE offered Burke a spot in a group called the Spirit Squad. But he turned it down. This meant he stayed in OVW longer before moving to the main show, SmackDown!, with Sylvester Terkay.
Joining The New Breed (2006–2007)
Burke joined the main WWE roster on SmackDown! on July 28, 2006. He worked with former MMA fighter Sylvester Terkay. Burke acted as Terkay's mixed martial arts cornerman. In his first WWE match, he defeated Scott Wright. He also ended Vito's four-month winning streak on SmackDown!, with Terkay's help.
On November 7, 2006, Burke and Terkay moved to the ECW brand. The next week, Burke became a color commentator with Joey Styles. Two weeks later, Burke returned to wrestling. He and Terkay lost to The Hardys. At the December to Dismember event, Burke and Terkay defeated The Full Blooded Italians. They were called The Knock-Out/Tap-Out Connection. This name came from Burke's boxing and Terkay's MMA background. On January 18, 2007, Terkay left WWE.
After this, Burke wrestled mostly in single matches. WWE owner Vince McMahon called Burke "The Future of ECW." Burke was then attacked by original ECW wrestlers. These wrestlers included Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, and The Sandman. They later formed a group called the ECW Originals. Burke then became the leader of The New Breed. This group had new ECW stars like Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von, and Kevin Thorn. They started a rivalry with the ECW Originals. At WrestleMania 23, The New Breed lost to the ECW Originals.
After trying for weeks, Burke and The New Breed got CM Punk to join them on April 10. But two weeks later, CM Punk turned on The New Breed. He attacked Burke after a match. The next week, Kevin Thorn left The New Breed. Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von also lost a match. Burke yelled at Striker, causing problems between them. The New Breed then had rivalries with the ECW Originals, CM Punk, and other wrestlers. At Judgment Day, Burke lost to CM Punk. The New Breed group then ended.
Singles Matches and Leaving WWE (2007–2008)
On June 19, 2007, Burke lost a match that would decide who would challenge for the ECW World Championship. Burke then lost to CM Punk again. On July 10, Burke won a match against Balls Mahoney. He was then named the top challenger for the ECW Championship. He faced CM Punk at the Unforgiven event but lost.
Two days later on ECW, a challenge was set up. This challenge would find the next top challenger for CM Punk's ECW Championship. Four ECW wrestlers competed. Burke won the first match, eliminating Stevie Richards. The next week, Kevin Thorn was eliminated. In the final match, Burke was eliminated by Tommy Dreamer.
Towards the end of 2007, Burke had a short rivalry with World Heavyweight Champion Batista. Batista said his match with Burke was not important. This made Burke upset. They had two matches, and Burke lost both. On November 20, Burke formed a team with Shelton Benjamin. Burke was then off TV for several months. He returned at the 2008 Royal Rumble. He entered as the 28th wrestler but was eliminated by Triple H.
He later competed in a big match at WrestleMania XXIV. This match would decide who would challenge ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr.. Burke was eliminated early in the match by Kane. Burke then appeared again in a tag team match on SmackDown. He and Shelton Benjamin lost to Kofi Kingston and United States Champion Matt Hardy. Burke faced Hardy the next week in his last TV match, but he lost. Burke later returned in 2008 with a new "Black Pope" character. He won matches against Stevie Richards, Kung Fu Naki, and Jamie Noble.
On November 10, 2008, Burke left WWE. He had not been on TV since May 2008.
Independent Wrestling (2008–2010, 2012–2015)
After leaving WWE, Burke wrestled for different wrestling companies. On November 16, 2008, One Pro Wrestling in England announced he would appear at a show. Burke also appeared at the World Wrestling Council (WWC) show LockOut on December 13. He lost a three-way match there. In January, he teamed with Armando Alejandro Estrada. They tried to win the WWC World Tag Team Championship but lost. Burke also wrestled at a Blue Collar Wrestling Alliance (BCWA) show in Detroit, Michigan, on April 12, 2009. He won a singles match there.
In 2012, he returned to WWC. He defeated Ricky Banderas. He also wrestled Carlito for the company in 2013. Burke returned to independent wrestling on April 4, 2013. He lost to John Morrison at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate show. Burke wrestled Jason Steel in WWC in December 2014. On January 1, 2015, he defeated Chicano. Burke also wrestled in Puerto Rico for the International Wrestling Association (IWA). He defeated Gilbert there.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
Working with Devon (2011–2013)
In June 2011, Dinero helped Brother Devon in his rivalry with Mexican America. Devon at first did not want his help. He said Dinero was a bad influence on his sons, Terrence and Terrell. Later that month, Dinero and Devon both joined the Bound for Glory Series. This was a tournament to decide who would challenge for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Dinero helped Devon win a tag team match. But Devon did not help Dinero when he was attacked after a match. On August 7, Dinero defeated Devon in a tournament match. Dinero offered to let Devon win, but Devon refused.
Devon finally changed his mind about Dinero. He saved Dinero from an attack on August 25. This attack caused Dinero to leave the tournament due to a storyline injury. On September 8, Dinero and Devon defeated The British Invasion. This made them the top challengers for the World Tag Team Championship. On September 11, Dinero and Devon tried to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship but lost. On December 1, Dinero and Devon became the top challengers for the World Tag Team Championship again. On December 11, they failed to win the title. In the next episode, Dinero, along with Terrence and Terrell, turned against Devon. On January 8, 2012, Terrence and Terrell turned on Dinero. They helped their father, Devon, defeat him in a match.
Dinero returned to TNA on June 14. He joined the 2012 Bound for Glory Series. He was eliminated from the first match. After only one win and eight losses, Dinero got a real shoulder injury. He had to stop competing in the tournament. In the storyline, Dinero was injured after being attacked by a group called Aces & Eights.
On January 8, 2013, Burke announced that his TNA contract had ended. He would not be staying with the company.
Return to OVW (2013–2015)
On September 11, 2013, Burke returned to Ohio Valley Wrestling. He defeated Flash Flanagan to win the Television Championship. He defended his title twice. But he lost the title to Shiloh Jonze on October 5. On October 9, Burke teamed with Eddie Diamond and won a match. He then challenged Jonze for a title rematch. On October 16, Burke faced Shiloh Jonze in a Steel Cage match for the Television Championship but lost.
On September 16, 2015, Burke returned as General Pope. He teamed with Private Anthony. They won a match to become top challengers for the Southern Tag Team Championship. On December 5, The Band of Brothaz (General Pope and Private Anthony) won the Southern Tag Team Championship. With this win, Burke became the sixteenth wrestler to win three different championships in OVW history.
Return to TNA (2015–2017)
Burke returned to TNA on June 3, 2015. He joined Josh Mathews on commentary as Da Pope. On October 4, 2015, at Bound For Glory, Pope entered a big match. It was won by Tyrus.
On March 15, Pope saved Josh Mathews from an attack by Lashley. But then Pope was attacked himself. The next week, Pope stopped Lashley from winning a chance at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Pope fought Lashley backstage. On April 5, Pope lost to Lashley in a street fight. He was working as a good-guy commentator.
On August 16, 2017, Dinero announced he was leaving TNA.
Return to Independent Wrestling (2017)
After leaving TNA, he mostly wrestled for Fighting Evolution Wrestling. This is a wrestling company based in Florida.
National Wrestling Alliance (2019–2020)
Burke started wrestling for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) on December 23, 2019. He used his "Pope" name. On October 20, 2020, Burke defeated Zicky Dice to win the NWA World Television Championship.
Other Activities
Elijah Burke was a guest on Sci-Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters. He appeared on their October 31, 2007, Halloween live special. He was the second WWE wrestler to be on Ghost Hunters. The first was CM Punk. He also wrote a journal on WWE.com called The Elijah Experience. In it, he talked about what was happening on ECW on Sci-Fi.
Burke is a character you can play in the video games WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 and WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009.
Personal Life
In May 2011, it was announced that Burke had finished college. He earned a degree with high honors in criminal justice.
Even though Burke has not been in WWE for over ten years, he is good friends with Xavier Woods and the rest of The New Day. He appeared on an episode of Woods' YouTube channel UpUpDownDown in January 2019. They played Madden 19 together.
Championships and Accomplishments
- All Caribbean Wrestling
- ACW Heavyweight Champion (1 time current)
- Atomic Legacy Wrestling
- ALW Next Level Championship (1 time)
- ALW Rapid Fire Championship (1 time)
- Baltimore Championship Wrestling
- BCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Combat Revolution Wrestling
- CRW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jeremy Prophet
- Fighting Evolution Wrestling
- FEW North Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FEW International Championship (1 time)
- FEW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with JB Cool
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA World Television Championship (1 time)
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- OVW Television Championship (1 time)
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Private Anthony (1) and Big Jon (1)
- Sixteenth OVW Triple Crown Champion
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2010)
- PWI ranked him No. 36 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- 8 Card Stud Tournament (2010)
See also
In Spanish: Elijah Burke para niños
