Elijah Burke
| D'Angelo Dinero | |
|---|---|
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Dinero in 2009
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| Birth name | Elijah Samuel Burke |
| Born |
May 20, 1978 Jacksonville, Florida, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
D'Angelo Dinero Elijah Burke General Pope The Pope |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from |
Big Bear City, California Jacksonville, Florida The Streets of Harlem, New York |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2003 |
Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 20, 1978) is an American professional wrestler and color commentator, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as a commentator under the ring name D'Angelo Dinero.
Burke is a former Corrections 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, the only loss he sustained was a disqualification, after he knocked his opponent out and refused to back down to his corner. Before each of his matches he writes the phrase "4-Up" on his wrist tape, and in an interview with WWE Magazine, Burke stated that this came from the phrase "I'm going to give you five upside your head," used by comedians such as Redd Foxx. However, when you punch somebody, it's more accurately four upside the head. On the "Right After Wrestling" program on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 98, Burke told hosts Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas that early in his professional wrestling career, he never threw worked punches due to having difficulty pulling his punches.
After signing with WWE, he was sent to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). There, he won the Heavyweight Championship on December 8, 2004, by defeating Chad Toland. On April 14 Burke lost the championship to Matt Morgan. While in OVW, Burke was offered a spot in the Spirit Squad by WWE's creative team, but turned it down, which forced him to stay in OVW on a longer stint before moving to SmackDown! with Sylvester Terkay.
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Wikipedia