Extensive Updates: Chuck Palumbo & Elijah Burke Firings

Posted By: Wrestling-Radio.com on Nov 13, 2008

As reported on recently, WWE released Paul London, Chuck Palumbo, Kenny Dykstra, Elijah Burke and Lena Yada over the course of four days this past weekend. Some new reports have shed light on each release:

Chuck Palumbo: Palumbo's deal with WWE had just expired and many expected he wouldn't be resigned to a new deal since they hadn't used him in months. While Vince McMahon was a fan of his biker gimmick and many enjoyed his brief feud with Jamie Noble, he ended up getting lost in the shuffle after an angle with Finlay. He was often given the label by some in the WWE office that he would never get over. His draft to Raw this past summer was almost the nail in the coffin as he was never used again on a regular basis. There were reports that Rey Mysterio had tried to get Palumbo work in AAA, while others were trying to help him get into CMLL.

Elijah Burke: Interesting story here regarding his release taking place the same time Kenny Dykstra's did. Burke was originally slated to be part of The Spirit Squad, but turned it down feeling it would be a gimmick that would kill his career. Some described Burke has having small attitude issues, but everyone felt he was a great promo guy and had potential to be a big money player someday. He was pushed as the lead heel on ECW in the New Breed angle. However, when the angle lost steam it seemed the company gave up on him and no one involved could really give a solid reason why. At one point he was supposed to be switched from ECW to Raw when Shelton Benjamin made the transition, but Brian Gewirtz didn't want him and he ended up falling off the face of the earth pretty much.