Elijah Burke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elijah Burke | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Elijah Burke |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Born | 1978 Jacksonville, Florida |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2003 |
Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its ECW brand.
Contents |
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 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. According to WWE, his one loss was also by DQ, due to Burke not returning to a neutral corner after handing out another knockout.
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.
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 to the also debuting former MMA fighter Sylvester Terkay. His first WWE match saw Elijah Burke defeating Scott Wright and he would also break Vito's 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 along side 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 have since been 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, his tag team partner Sylvester 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 unofficial 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. He is now a legitimate ECW main eventer and has picked up wins over Rob Van Dam and Sabu.
In wrestling
Finishing and signature moves
- Elijah Experience (Forward russian legsweep)
- Elijah Express (Running double high knee strike to the back of an opponents head in a turnbuckle)
- Scissored armbar
- Front flip into flying clothesline
- High angle sitout spinebuster
- Stinger splash
- High lifting inverted atomic drop
- Open handed chop
- Multiple bionic elbows followed by a backhand chop
- Flying forearm
- Flying shoulder tackle
- Moonsault
- STO
