Elijah Burke

[Sicko]

I agree with all, that man is so good on the Mic why not use him that way for now since they are clearly not pushing him as a wrestler, some ECW shows they don't even use him which is flat out stupid, you can use him as a Manager/Mouthpiece for somebody on smackdown like he use to do for Sylvester Terkay

I thought he was awesome when they was doing the entire New Breed ECW vs The Old Breed that was when ECW was very entertaining as well, now it is the same crap every week a few quick boring matches, I think he will get his time eventually though

but you would think it is always creative ways to use a guy with that much charisma

 

[Danmen001]

I actually sometimes think that he isn't all that great, he generally pretty damn good though.

He is good in the ring, he can put on decent type matches. I find that his moves are good but sometimes not that charasmatic. He is definately good at technical and high flying type wrestling. Not 'high flying', I mean he his athletic and can go high.

He is pretty good on the mic too. He doesn't get much promo time anymore unfortunately. He was great when they had the new breed vs. the original.

I don't think he will get a push, at least for 3 years plus though.

 

[HellBoundPower]

I honestly think that it's a crime that this guy isn't getting pushed on ECW. He radiates charisma, he's pretty good on the mic, and he's good in the ring. I just don't understand why he's not used. He was pretty over during the New Breed vs. Originals feud, and he had some good matches against Punk before and during his ECW Title Reign. It seems that ever since Shelton Benjamin came on the brand, Elijah Burke has taken a backseat. I think Burke and Kofi Kingston should feud after his program with Shelton, as I can see some good competition out of these two. Hopefully Burke will eventually get the rub and start competing for the ECW Title again. Until then, let's hope he at least gets some TV time.

 

[Mr. TM]

What to do with Elijah Burke? Hes on a brand that is an hour long a week, and gets less time than Colin Delaney. You have the majority of the wrestlers are heels. You have 2 other African Americans, 1 Latino, and 1 Arabic wrestler. He cant stand out in ECW. He needs to move to Raw or Smackdown. As Raw is packed with Midcard wrestlers as it is, he could find himself a good spot on Smackdown, feuding for the US title with MVP, Matt Hardy, and a returning Rey Mysterio. This will later give him an oppurtunity to go for the WWE Tag Team titles, partnering with MVP, and a possible run at the World Championship. If he is to make it big, he has to leave ECW.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

If Burke doesn't stand out on ECW then he sure aint gonna on one of the bigger shows. ECW just has their priorities mixed up. All their heels that thet push are pretty bland. Morrison is a bit dull, Chavo is duller, Is The Miz really over. Yet Burke can talk. He's not a great wrestler, or maybe he is and I just haven't seen it. But he's no worse than Morrison, or The Miz, and he couldn't be more boring than Chavo. Just pull the old switch-a-roo. Chavo for Burke and away we go. Your former ECW World Champion accompanied to the ring by Bam Neeley Elijah Burke. It would work, and I doubt anybody would notice. Or just bring back the New Breed.

 

[Draven Filth]

If Burke doesn't stand out on ECW then he sure aint gonna on one of the bigger shows. .

Thats not really true....I think depending on what superstars are on what brand help determine what kind of push burke gets. Personally i think the idea to put him in the u.s title hunt on smackdown would be a great idea....Unless im wrong, matt really isnt doing much of anything now that he has the belt....
Why not have matt issue an open challenge style thing on an episode of smackdown and have burke accept it. You can let burke win via a heel effort or even have mvp screw him (matt) over. Then the next week you can have mvp come up to burke and say that since mvp helped burke win the u.s title he should get a shot...When burke refuses they get into a fistfight....after commercial they announce it be burke/mvp later that night for the us title....(whoever wins really dosent matter) After the match hardy can run in and attack the winner in retaliation of the week before. That brings in the loser of the match to go after hardy....both men double team him which at some point brings out rey mysterio (or another face im only using rey mysterio because he would get a return pop/face pop) he helps hardy in typicl face fashion which would bring out vickie to announce a 4 way match at w.e ppv is coming up. Then you can do a tag match the next week between the 4 men and have the winning team turn on eachother to utalize the "every man for himself" aspect.

Sorry if that wasnt too great of an idea but it cant hurt and i figured posting it wouldnt hurt either

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I still feel that the best possible thing for Burke is to either move over to Raw's midcard scene (where it wouldn't hurt him to lose to the likes of Cody Rhodes and score some wins, because you can't say that isn't better than his "no air time, but losses when he gets on TV anyway" status as of right now) or to just tag team him with Ron Killings.

Really, where else does Burke have? ECW has Benjamin, Smackdown has MVP, and neither of them seem to be changing their "cocky athletic black guy" gimmick any time soon. He's just getting lost in the shuffle. Like Draven said above me, the guy gets less air time than Colin Delaney. Burke seems to be one of those guys that could work if they want/need him to, but he just doesn't have anything to warrant a big push. Same goes for Jamie Noble. He's decent in the ring, but where's he going to fit?

 

[Draven Filth]

i kinda think burke would fit best in tna right now....they showcase the talent that wwe dosent have a clue how to puch...Take christian for example....in wwe he never really got anywhere, but tna found a way to showcase him and now he's a top guy...i see burke doing something similar to that. They could do a future of tna angle with him like they tried to do in wwe. He can focus on going after the older guys and beating them to show that he's better then the older guys and eventually help with the more physical style they incorporate.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

IMHO, the best thing for Elijah Burke would be for them to give him Shelton Benjamin and Koffi Kingston as lackies. Maybe call up Charles The Hammer Evans from developmental as well. The four of them would form a kind of modern day Nation of Domination/Team Canada type of stable.

Elijah would be the leader on the mic, Shelton would be the super cocky over achiever who a early Randy Orton type, a snake but very athletic and vicious. Koffi would be the super quick Eric Young type who is comedic but still dangerous in the ring. Charles Evans would be the strong man and enforcer that Mark Henry was for the Nation and an early Batista was for Evolution. His job would to just take guys out.

I really think that this could work with Elijah at the helm. It would enable Elijah to get a push as the leader, just like Farooq was as well as providing a push for those under him. You would see if Koffi would be the next speedster star or just another D-Lo Brown. You would also see if Shelton is salvageable as well. Evans would get exposure and a chance to work the big ring. Of course, this is just Old Spawnie's two cents.

 

[Crimson Bonez]

i think burke should go to smackdown he has good talent and that being wasted by him either not wreslting or being a jobber a mid carder on the smakdown brand fueding for the US title or a team with shelton benjamin, 2 good atheletic wreslters maybe even throw kingston in there but get him off ecw hes being wasted there

 

[Frank the Frowner]

Elijah debuted a new gimmick in a dark match... and he looks awesome.

I really enjoyed his gimmick the way it was, but it seems like they're repackaging him either as a new incarnation of Gangrel, or what he's been calling himself on his WWE.com blogs, "The Black Pope". I have a feeling he's going to be on the upswing soon, possibly as soon as this upcoming week. They've moved a lot of names off ECW, including the guy who pretty much took all of his momentum, Shelton Benjamin. ECW's in need of some heels, especially one who could feud with Matt Hardy and put on some good matches. Elijah's that guy. I can't wait to see him wrestle Hardy and Bourne.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I wish him luck. He'll need it. The Gangrel gimmick didn't work out well for Kevin Thorn, or err, Gangrel. Thorn is remembered because his valet was the epitome of hotness, and Gangrel 'cus he had cool musak. Nothing more. To try it again after it failed on two wrestlers, one as little as a year ago, is pointless.

I thought Burke had enough charisma to get buy with what little in ring talent he already had. I can't see how this will help.

 

[Crimson Bonez]

whoa i heard he wreslted in a new gimmic i didnt no it was that gimmic i hope it does good for him and hell return back do the ME on ECW, i liked his last gimmic but wel just have to see how this 1 goes, but im sure that means itll be no more elijah express, 4-up combo punch, and that turnbuckle handstand turn elbow drop or whateva its called casue i dont see those moves working for his new gimmic and i liked those moves, guess well just have to see what his new moves will be

 

[Shaft]

I doubt whatever his new thing is, the Black Pope..which i know he's comfortable with cause like PeteRose'sHaircut said he's been writing like that for a while on his blog...will make him change any of his in-ring moves...if anything it'll just add to em, cause the Elijah Express is already over with fans and the Outer Limits elbow and the other ropes move he does are too.

He's also had solid matches with plenty of guys so..i wouldnt say he has little in-ring talent..he has more than half the ECW roster anyway so even if he had little to no talent it wouldnt matter.

Also...his persona as the black pope...the only similarity to Gangrel is he has a chalice....Snoop Dogg has a chalice...Bishop Don Magic Juan has a chalice...dont have to be a vampire to have one.

 

[chasingamy]

A few weeks back I was hoping for a brand switch for Burke. That didn't happen and now that I think about it, it makes sense considering he can't even get any TV time on WWE's C show. I'm really starting to think his best days and greatest shot in the WWE at anything other than dark matches or the once every three month job on tv are behind him.

I may never know or understand why they don't use this guy. He's young, has charisma and solid mic skills, and is entertaining in the ring. I haven't seen the new Black Pope gimmick yet, but maybe that will be the thing to make him stand out finally. I'd like to see him feud with Matt Hardy for the US title. The two put on a good match on Smackdown about two months ago. And now that Hardy's a member of ECW, there's no time like the present.

 

[Crimson Bonez]

cant say i understand either why they dont use burke and i didnt like the idea of him not being drafted but i think that it may have hen good for him cause maybe now hell be back in the ME on ecw, maybe a fued with matt in the ecw title pic, but im hoping that with ecw losing a majority of their talent (punk, kingston, kane, striker, V) and just picking up hardy and super crazy if im not mistaken, maybe itl elevate him back to the ME

 

[Mighty NorCal]

THATS Elijah Burke??? Fuck. Welp, like Jake said, good fucking luck buddy. Why on earth....no ya know what im not even going to try and delve into the madness of WHY they would do this. I mean I guess other people have a smilular gimmick, but SHIT they give him THAT??? This gimmick has been done with a ton of theatrics and awesomeness added to it before, and couldnt last. Kevin Thorne had the hottest girl EVER with him, and Gangrel had one of the sickest entrances ever, and HE couldnt do it. You know something though, from the looks of the pic, that very well could be a "pimp" Bishop Don Juan type gimmick, with the straight hair, and the goblet and all. Seriously it might be. Id love to hear more explanation behind that picture. Fuck just make him the black Mr. Perfect already, ive been screaming that for days....

 

[whojgov32]

HAHA I was just shitting on Elijah Burke on another post... BORING! A good gimmick can make about any talented guy fun to watch... but so far he has shown me NOTHING! Not one thing really. Boring on the mic... boring in ring skills. I seen him LIVE at Judgement Day 07 and WRESTLEMANIA 23 and I just can't stand him. They gave him a pretty decent push for awhile and I have no clue why? There are about a dozen wrestlers that need to be pushed before him. ESPECIALLY JOHN MORRISON!

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

THATS Elijah Burke??? Fuck. Welp, like Jake said, good fucking luck buddy. Why on earth....no ya know what im not even going to try and delve into the madness of WHY they would do this. I mean I guess other people have a smilular gimmick, but SHIT they give him THAT??? This gimmick has been done with a ton of theatrics and awesomeness added to it before, and couldnt last. Kevin Thorne had the hottest girl EVER with him, and Gangrel had one of the sickest entrances ever, and HE couldnt do it. You know something though, from the looks of the pic, that very well could be a "pimp" Bishop Don Juan type gimmick, with the straight hair, and the goblet and all. Seriously it might be. Id love to hear more explanation behind that picture. Fuck just make him the black Mr. Perfect already, ive been screaming that for days....

Lol the black Mr. Perfect. Seriously though, that could actually work with him, if only he could learn how to become more of a technical wrestler and get a different finisher.

I have no clue what this Black Pope gimmick is...as it truly does look like a mix between Gangrel and "what the fuck?"...but I was hoping that Burke would've simply been tagged with Ron Killings instead. The tag team divisions are severely lacking and it seems like there isn't a place for Burke/Killings in the midcard, so why not? But hey, maybe he WILL be tagging with Killings and this will just be part of it. Ron "The Truth" Killings and Elijah "The Black Pope" Burke. Sounds terrible, but who knows, lol.

All in all, its unfortunate that Shelton doesn't have Burke's charisma, as the two of them merged together would make one hell of a superstar. But since we can't genetically modify that, I could very well see this being the last straw for Burke. If this doesn't work out and they can't find anything for him to do, they'll probably just release him.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Seriously NoFate, I really mean the black Mr.Perfect thing. They could roll vingettes of him being all super good at every sport, todays generation would have no idea of the old school connection. He already rolls with the towel. I mean, fuck it. That Gimmick is all about charisma. They could give him the perfect plex and everything. I mean, it would HAVE to better than what the fuck is in that picture LOL. And the more I look at it, the more I think its a pimpin gimmick. Which would own. I just cant see why they would do a gimmick thats failed twice already, a third time.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Seriously NoFate, I really mean the black Mr.Perfect thing. They could roll vingettes of him being all super good at every sport, todays generation would have no idea of the old school connection. He already rolls with the towel. I mean, fuck it. That Gimmick is all about charisma. They could give him the perfect plex and everything. I mean, it would HAVE to better than what the fuck is in that picture LOL. And the more I look at it, the more I think its a pimpin gimmick. Which would own. I just cant see why they would do a gimmick thats failed twice already, a third time.

Burke could very well work with the Perfect gimmick, but I don't think he has the technical skills to pull it off just yet. The charisma, definitely, but the skills, not so sure. And yeah, I have no clue what this Black Pope gimmick is supposed to be (hell it could even be a face gimmick), but if it IS something like a Gangrel/Thorn...he'll be released soon afterward. As far as a pimp thing, it worked for the Godfather, but it might be too soon to do something too similar to that...though it would definitely be better than trying another vampire-esque angle that nobody ever responds to. That would fit better in the gimmick-fest of TNA (which Burke may end up going to if this doesn't work out for him lol).

 

[Miko]

Seriously NoFate, I really mean the black Mr.Perfect thing. They could roll vingettes of him being all super good at every sport, todays generation would have no idea of the old school connection. He already rolls with the towel. I mean, fuck it. That Gimmick is all about charisma. They could give him the perfect plex and everything. I mean, it would HAVE to better than what the fuck is in that picture LOL. And the more I look at it, the more I think its a pimpin gimmick. Which would own. I just cant see why they would do a gimmick thats failed twice already, a third time.

I am with you on the pimpin' gimmick because Elijah's charismatic enough to carry that one off, at least charismatic enough to get some air-time on WWE's C show, I mean Colin Delany gets more air-time than this guy, and sadly he gets more wins as well.

Unfortunatly I can see this being the Gangrel/Kevin Thorne thing all over again because it seems to me that some of the WWE writers have amnesia and think "shit, a vampire gimmick, thats a good idea in a profession thats trying to gain more credibility among the general public"

I guess we'll have to wait and see what the future holds for Elijah Burke

 

[tap-out]

This may be something like a tweener gimmick, not so much evil but also not a face, kind of like and undertaker gimmick, just one who keeps to him self and is enough of a badass to fight for himself.

 

[klunderbunker]

I've never seen the great rising star in this guy that everyone else has seen. I remember seeing him in OVW, where he was given a monster face push, and I couldn't stand him then. This guy is just another guy on ECW to me. He has a good moveset I'll give him that, but if he has all this talent, then it's definitely being wasted because to me he's above average at best. None of his promos have ever gotten me the slightest bit interested in any of his matches, and his time in the New Breed is forgettable, granted so is the whole storyline involved with that. Burke could be decent someday, but not without a major change to him.

 

[mister_e]

im going to have to disagree i think this man is amazing and possibly the future, he is great on the mic and great in the ring he has got the looks and th moves he got everything. plus he writes a great blog. i just hope this man isnt released i wud definately rather see this man than knox and henry hoggin up screen time each week. WWE are holding on 2 summit good here lets hope they realise it.

LETS GET THE BLACK POPE BACK ON SCREEN
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