Mike Mooneyham's Column - TNA's Pope destined for stardom

TNA's Pope destined for stardom
By Mike Mooneyham

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Elijah Burke’s ascension in the pro wrestling ranks may be one of the best feel-good success stories of the year.

Ask Burke about his steady climb to the top, though, and he’s the last person surprised.

Burke, now known in TNA as “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, says he was destined to achieve success in the wrestling business. That he would become a charismatic character called The Pope also isn’t a surprise once you learn that his roots are in a small Southern Baptist church.

“It may sound very weird, but it’s strange only to the unknown mind,” says The Pope, who often refers to himself in third person. “But it’s funny how predestination works itself out. Some people may not believe it, but those who do believe will understand very clearly that I was destined to be where I’m at.”

Burke, 32, grew up a wrestling fan in Jacksonville, Fla., where he had the opportunity to watch some of the best grappling in the country.

“I was able to watch such programs as Georgia Championship Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. My favorites were NWA Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling. It was just Wrestlepalooza around there. It was crazy.”

Burke vividly remembers watching the sport at a very young age.

“I got hooked on it when I was 2 or 3 years old. I can still remember sitting on my dad’s knee. There was nothing like the intro to World Class Championship Wrestling. It was just so exciting when that show used to come on with that drumbeat and that little satellite coming out the sky.”

Burke was such a fan that he was nicknamed “Nature Boy” in high school.

“I grew up in the church. Daddy, I used to walk up to the pulpit, drop my little offering in the collection plate and do the Ric Flair strut. They’d call me the ‘Nature Boy.’ When I got to high school it was openly known that they called me ‘Nature Boy.’ Some called me ‘Rev’ because I was a Bible-toting high schooler.”

“I could take it back even further,” adds Burke. “When I was a little arm baby, my dad’s cousin nicknamed me Abdullah because I was so thick and had these big thighs, just like Abdullah the Butcher. And she hasn’t stopped calling me Abdullah to this day.”

Burke competed in a number of sports during high school, but low grades forced the youngster to shift his emphasis to obtaining a diploma.

“I played everything that I could play until I was kicked out because my grades weren’t up to par. I even played a little soccer ... anything to stay active in school. My focus became simply to get out of high school.”

Burke pursued a career in law enforcement as a corrections officer in Jacksonville following high school.

“A little encouragement from my sister led to my enrolling in the police academy at 19 years old. I was one of the youngest guys to graduate from the police academy. I went straight on to active duty.”

He remained involved in athletics through amateur boxing, and his interest in pro wrestling never waned.

“When I started boxing for the sheriff’s office, I was the only one going out to the ring in a robe. The policemen went out to the ring in blue shirts and blue shorts or red shirts and red shorts. But guess who came out the entranceway with a robe a la Ric Flair? I’m not talking about a bathrobe or some cheap robe. I’m talking about a robe I had personally made. Of course I became the biggest heel those charity events had ever seen.”

Burke, as smooth-talking “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, a name given to him by head writer Vince Russo, has been in TNA since August 2009. He says, without reservation, that it was the best career move he ever made.

“It’s a good time to be in the business under that umbrella. I’m loving it. I haven’t got any complaints,” says The Pope, who will be part of a TNA show tonight at Blackbaud Stadium.

Burke had always been an NWA fan, and it had been his goal years ago to one day land a spot in WCW, the Ted Turner-owned company which folded in 2002. WWE, he admits, wouldn’t have been his first choice back then.

“I was Nitro all the way. My NWA roots go back a long way, and I was just pro-NWA/WCW, period. I thought that if I could ever get to that Power Plant, I was on my way to WCW. And I can tell you right now, thank God I never went to the Power Plant and thank God things happened the way they did, because I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”

While TNA may not be WCW, it’s the closest thing to it, with many former WCW stars now a part of the Nashville-based company.

“In my wildest dreams I wanted to wrestle in WCW,” says Burke. “And now here I am sitting in the locker room with Sting, Flair, Nash, Hogan, Double J. Good grief. Isn’t it something? Now, not only am I standing in the ring with Flair, I’m standing in the ring side by side with Kevin Nash and Sting. Here I am standing in the ring next to the Hulkster. That really is something.”

Burke also is quick to note the difference between TNA and former employer WWE.

“The major difference is the atmosphere. The atmosphere starts at the top and then goes down to the bottom. The atmosphere we live in is above you because the top is so smooth, and I’m talking about (TNA president) Dixie Carter. It’s so smooth and relaxed and family-like. The vibe is just so good. And that’s the biggest difference.

“You show up to work knowing you have a boss you can approach, talk to at any given time, and she’s always going to be kind and friendly and try to help you out in any way. That versus going to work somewhere you never know what you’re going to get.”

Burke sometimes gets so excited talking about TNA that he seems to effortlessly channel mentor Dusty Rhodes.

“Dixie Carter isn’t just a nice lady and a good person to work for. She’s sweeter than a honeycomb. And not only is she sweet, but she’s sexy too, good Lord!”

Burke, whom Carter refers to as “the real deal,” has been the beneficiary of a nice push this past year in TNA, and he’s looking forward to where it may take him. For now, he says, he’s just enjoying the ride.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides me saying I’m having fun, I think anybody can look at me and tell I’m having fun,” he says.

Road to the ring
Burke spent five years working in law enforcement. The job posed a number of unique challenges, he says, but it helped prepare him for a new path that his life was getting ready to take.

“The job had its hardships and challenging moments being that you’re faced with taking care of other people. I started in jails in corrections, and that’s just as hard as actually being a cop on the beat. It’s rough seeing a lot of people that you know. Not that you were ever on their side, but now you’re definitely not on their side because they consider you the enemy. You may even see some family members who want special treatment, so it’s kind of tough.”

While making an arrest in 2004, Burke came across an advertisement for WWE’s first-ever tryout camp at the company’s Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory in Louisville, Ky. He printed out the ad and sent it in.

“I wanted to see what happened. I got my letter back saying that I had been accepted to the tryout camp. It didn’t say that I had been accepted for a WWE contract, only that I had been accepted for a tryout to come and pay a thousand dollars and let them see me.”

At that point, says Burke, he could tell destiny was beginning to unfold.

“I ran and jumped and caught my breath. To me, it was like, this was it. I put in for my vacation time and took two weeks off. I got my money together and headed up to Louisville ... and Jim Cornette.”

Burke was impressive enough to receive an invitation back for full-time training and quickly earned a WWE developmental contract.

“He (Cornette) gave me a call back the week after the training camp. They accepted 50 people. I was one of 50. A lot of guys lied about their size, their age and how they looked. But obviously they liked me.”

Cornette, in typical straight-shooting fashion, didn’t sugarcoat the situation.

“Here’s the deal,” Burke says Cornette told him. “You don’t know nothing from nothing. You don’t know a headlock from a wristlock. You’ve got potential, and you can be taught, and that’s what we care about. You look great, you’ve got charisma, and I’m not telling you to leave your job because I know you’ve got your hands full with your mama. And I know if you come back to Louisville, I can’t guarantee you a contract, but I can almost guarantee you a contract.”

That was more than enough encouragement for Burke. He immediately put in his resignation at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department and headed for OVW. A year later he was signed to a WWE contract.

Burke became OVW heavyweight champion by the end of 2004. He was elevated to WWE’s main talent roster in the summer of 2006 and brought in as the corner man for former MMA fighter-turned-wrestler Sylvester Terkay. The two started out on the Smackdown brand and later moved to ECW.

The Pimpin’ Pope
‘Burke’s “Black Pope” character, which he honed in WWE, is that of a charismatic Harlem street preacher whose loyal following is referred to as his “congregation.” His strong verbal skills are a cross between The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) and “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.

The gimmick comes naturally.

“Character-wise, Elijah Burke was just Elijah Burke (in WWE),” he says. “When you come into something, especially a new job, you walk a fine line. You’re not quite sure how to act and do whatever especially in this line of work where you have so many people pulling you different ways and giving you advice. So you can’t be yourself at first because you don’t know how.”

He slowly began planting the seeds for his new character.

“I wanted to do something. I had a couple of guys who were on the WWE website who were big fans. They wanted me to do it.”

His blog, a journal on WWE’s website called the “Elijah Experience,” became more than just a writing job for Burke.

“I had folks who were literally writing me and asking me serious questions. While I was writing for entertainment, I was also writing some very real stuff. They saw that I was a straight shooter. And they realized that those were my words and not something scripted by someone else. It was actually me.”

Before long, he says, he was “preaching” to his “congregation.”

“I had people actually writing me, and they were really giving me their problems and asking my opinions. I was giving them real advice. I began referring to them as my congregation. To them I was their black Pope, and that’s how the ‘Black Pope’ came about. I never considered coming out full force with the Black Pope. At the time it was just my alter ego via cyberspace.”

Budget cut casualty
Burke was released from his WWE contract in November 2008 — four years after first signing a developmental deal. His tenure with the company was a long and complex story of ups and downs.

“I’ll never know the full extent and actually what happened,” says Burke, whose strongest run came as part of the ECW roster.

“They wanted to make me a babyface and they were going to send me to Raw,” he says. “(WWE director of talent relations) Johnny Ace, and really Jim Cornette and many others, have always argued that my strength is really as a babyface character. Johnny was a main proponent at the time, as well as Arn Anderson, who said, ‘Here’s a guy who does a lot of creative stuff, and I’m holding him back telling him he can’t do it because he goes out there and outshines his opponent, which is a babyface, so why not just let the guy be a babyface and do his stuff.’”

Burke’s move to Raw, however, was put on hold due to the Ric Flair retirement angle in early 2008.

“They didn’t want me to go over there and be overshadowed or lost because of this big angle concerning Ric Flair. So now I get held off until after Wrestlemania. And, of course, it was at Wrestlemania where the whole incident with Mark Henry and Michael Hayes happened. So now we have a shuffling of the writers. The writer who was over ECW is now over Smackdown. Now, with the writers going back and forth, and Wrestlemania over and the draft coming, they decided to hold off again in moving me over. The draft came, and I ended up not getting moved. This time Michael Hayes came back, and we had another reshuffling. Now we’ve got a new writer at ECW who says if they’re not going to do anything with me, they were going to get me back on the road.”

In the meantime WWE owner Vince McMahon caught wind of the Black Pope character and wanted to know more.

“Vince apparently loved the idea. But some people started talking about big white hats and big staffs. The Pope is anything but a religious character. There’s nothing religious about The Pope except the name Pope. I didn’t want to go out there and be talking hellfire and brimstone. If people want to hear that they’ll go to church. They don’t go to a wrestling event to hear that.”

Burke got to work two matches with his new gimmick in June of 2008 — one against Funaki and one against Stevie Richards.

“I wrestled Funaki first, and then I wrestled Stevie. The point is that I went out there on a whim. I showed up at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and was told that they wanted me to be the Black Pope character. Just like that. Now how am I supposed to go out there and be The Black Pope when I didn’t have anything? So I went to the mall and bought some black pants. I already had my white Nikes Air Force Ones. And I just went out there with a black tank top. And I got a pimp cup from Spencer’s. And that was it. The next time I got a chance to do the character, I had a little more advance time, and I went out there and wrestled with my regular black trunks. There was no time to prepare.”

Burke was even getting pumped for a high-profile program with Kane.

“We were going to run with it, but no one was quite sure how we were going to do it. There was talk of me doing something with Kane to build for Summer Slam. They already had the Popemobile and Kane setting me on fire inside it.”

Burke worked his final WWE match in June 2008 with Matt Hardy on an episode of Smackdown. Few knew at the time that he was suffering from a bout with the flu.

“At the end of the match you see me looking up towards the heavens with my arms reached out. That was the last match I had on WWE television. And I wrestled that match with the flu. I was sick as a dog. The doctor said I shouldn’t wrestle. Of course you being under that umbrella, you don’t say I can’t wrestle. So I go out there and do my stuff, and I had a good match with Matt Hardy.”

Ace questioned Burke following the bout.

“I remember going back there and Johnny going, ‘Kid, you weren’t your normal self. You weren’t animated. What was wrong with you? You weren’t vocal enough.’ I told him I was sick. He then told me to go home and get better, and he’d explain to the others.”

Burke’s new character never saw the light of day. While he was sitting at home waiting to be called back up to reintroduce his gimmick, WWE instituted $20 million in budget cuts. Burke was one of the casualties.

“ Johnny shot straight with me as far as I was concerned. He had no reason to make a lot of excuses because I was nobody. He told me that they weren’t doing anything with me, and he always felt the money with me was as a babyface. He told me to lay low for about six months and he’d bring me back and try to get whatever going again.”

In the interim, Burke attended a convention where he exchanged notes with Terry Taylor, TNA’s director of talent relations.

“We had a long talk. When my 90 days were up, I was in Jacksonville when Raw came to town, and I met with Johnny. We went over some stuff, and he showed me some paperwork and e-mail that he was sending out in regards to me. I was supposed to come back and do a couple of matches, but some issues came up where Johnny had to go down to Florida. I thought at that point that TNA sounded a whole lot better to me, so I called Terry and we got that rolling, and here I am.”

Diversity problem
It’s a subject that’s rarely broached in the wrestling business, but it’s a fact that there’s a shortage of top-tier African-American performers in the profession. Burke would like to see that changed.

“In all my years in professional wrestling, I never saw a slew of black people pushed in professional wrestling until Michael Hayes had come back,” says Burke, referring to an April 23, 2008, incident in which Hayes, a member of the WWE writing team, was suspended for 60 days without pay by WWE for purportedly making racist comments to WWE performer Mark Henry. “And that is what we call damage control. I’ve never seen it. I don’t know if it’s a diversity problem or not.”

“WWE is very smart when it comes to marketing,” says Burke. “Vince wants to take over everything ... Africa and Ghana and all that too. So he creates his own African wrestler. He wants to take over Russia so he gets Vladimir (Kozlov). Very smart and you can’t take that away from him. Besides Ron Simmons, when has there been that nice black babyface character that’s not black with stereotypes? Just a good guy that goes out there and gets the job done? I don’t know.”

The Rock?

“I’d have some people argue about The Rock being that he’s half-black,” says Burke. “If The Rock had the average African-American nose and he was darker, would it have been the case now? That’s always going to be argued on that front.”

Burke says he’s like to a take a proactive role in effecting change. And, if that means single-handedly leading the charge, he’s up for the challenge.

“You’ve got to be a self-promoter in this business. If you don’t go out there and make it happen, it’s not going to happen. That’s just the bottom line. I remember talking to someone in the ‘E’ about how come some of the African-Americans up north haven’t received any movie opportunities yet. WWE’s movie deal has been going on for about five or six years now. Somebody told me not to pull the race card. It’s not pulling the race card at all. It’s simply fact.

“Kofi Kingston’s not selling out arenas. Cryme Tyme’s not selling out arenas. John Cena is. OK, maybe John Cena is, but none of the movies are popping. None of the movies are bringing in big bucks. And look at Ted DiBiase. He did a movie. They have guys writing the movies, so write a script to star one of the black superstars and give them a chance to show their stuff too. Whatever the WWE machine gets behind, it happens. It gets over regardless.”

Burke sees an opportunity in TNA to make a real change.

“This is where TNA is making the difference and has the opportunity to make a much bigger impact. I’m telling you that I’m the one who’s going to lead that impact. I’m definitely trying. Right now I’m getting out to the schools and trying to help out the young kids. Even when I was in law enforcement, I dealt with young groups. I like helping people and I like motivating them to know that the impossible is impossible only if you don’t think it’s possible. So you have to think positive about every situation that you’re in and realize that the impossible can indeed be possible if you make it possible. You just have to work hard. Look at President Obama. It can happen.”

The Pope sincerely believes that one day he’ll be able to share his story on a grand stage.

“The world will be able to hear it and hopefully be inspired by it.”

Via book or DVD, he says, “hopefully it’ll get out there to help somebody.”

The Nature Boy
Taking his early nickname from the Nature Boy, and adopting some of the 16-time world champ’s mannerisms, it was a dream come true when Burke found himself working for the same company as his ring idol back in 2008.

It was an even bigger thrill when he got to wrestle Flair on ECW television as part of a tag-team match pitting Burke and Orangeburg native Shelton Benjamin against Flair and C.M. Punk. It was one of Flair’s final bouts prior to his retirement match against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24.

“While it was never that one-on-one matchup that I dreamed about, at that point with Naitch on his way out the door, I didn’t think anything was possible with me and Flair at that time because I wasn’t a big marquee star, so I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance,” says Burke. “Brother, my stomach was turning, because all these years I finally got so close and now he’s about to retire.”

It was fate once again for Burke as he originally wasn’t even supposed to be in the match.

“One day we show up for ECW and I ended up getting put in the match against Flair, and it was only because somebody decided Chavo (Guerrero) should not be in there for whatever reason. I thought I was just written in to be in that match. You talk about destiny and predestination. I’m telling you ... it’s wonderful. I cried. I tried to hold it back. All of a sudden Tommy Dreamer, who hired me in WWE, saw me trying to hold it together. He grabbed me and said let’s go. He took me over to Naitch, and Naitch being the crybaby that he is, he started crying. He said, ‘Don’t do this to me,’ and he reached out and gave me a nice hug. We were standing there like two wimps just crying our eyes out. I was like a little baby to be honest with you.”

Good on the stick
Burke enjoys the freedom he has in TNA. But that wasn’t always the case. In WWE, he says, he saw many of his colleagues’ characters manipulated by creative teams that fed them scripted lines for their interviews.

“That’s the worst thing you can do as any type of performer. If I’m going to sing the song, then give me the song to sing. But I have to sing it in my own way. If I don’t sing it in my own way, then it’s going to come across as a carbon copy. When it comes across as a carbon copy, then obviously it’s not authentic. It’s just a copy. It’s a ruse. It’s not real.”

Burke’s been on both ends. One of the first people to recognize his slick interview style was Dusty Rhodes.

“Everyone knows my admiration for the ‘American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes,” says Burke. “To be working with him in ECW was a pleasure. He knew I could talk. He saw me in the developmental system and he came to me when I was in OVW. He said they were going to do something big with me. Dusty just let me go. He just let me rip. Sometimes it would have to be a rewind. Vince wouldn’t let that fly, or more specifically, Stephanie. Then you have to just go back and be a robot. I don’t think anybody likes being a robot.”

It’s different, he says, in TNA.

“One thing about my boys in TNA. Those guys say: ‘Pope walk in, Pope walk out.’ Just give me the outlines and I’ll do the rest.”

Only The Pope knows how The Pope would talk.

“You haven’t come from where I’ve come from. You haven’t lived in the skin that I’ve lived in.”

Burke says he appreciates the freedom he’s been given at TNA, and he doesn’t take it for granted. He says it’s just a matter of time before not only he, but TNA, makes a major impact.

“Pope’s going to get there,” he says. “I’m such a selfless Pope, if you will, that I believe I’ll get to where I’m going, and I’ll be able to help TNA get exposure. That’s how I look at it. When I do make it, I’m not going to dis or leave TNA. I’m just going to try to cross-promote it and help get TNA more over. I am very grateful and very thankful for my time in TNA. I can’t say that enough.”

Making Mom proud
Burke, preparing for life after wrestling, is taking online courses at Florida State. He needs six more classes to get a B.A. in criminal justice, and expects to graduate in March.

“Hopefully I’ll be marching down the aisle in March. I will walk. I have a mother whom I tend to make very proud. I want to let her know that her son has not yet accomplished it, but he’s still accomplishing one goal after the next, and I want to make her proud. What mother doesn’t want to see one of her own marching? My mother has never had that opportunity, and I want to give that to her, to see her baby boy walk down that aisle with his college degree.”

Burke says his mom has backed him all the way even though she wasn’t a big wrestling fan.

“While me and my dad and everybody would sit around watching wrestling, my mom never got into it. She might have watched a little now and then while cooking and walking back and forth, but she was never a fan. Now, I have to say, ‘Mom, stay home, please don’t drive down here to Orlando.’ They’re front row in Orlando. They really love the atmosphere here. And when they show up at TNA, they’re treated just like family. They love to come down and watch the matches.”

Burke remembers the apprehension his mother had when he first left home for training at OVW.

“When I first left Jacksonville to go up to Kentucky and train, I saw fear in my mom’s eyes. I don’t know if it was fear of worriation or fear of concern, because I’ve always been that backbone and supporter for my mom. But thanks be unto the heavens, man, because it all worked out and to this day, what Momma needs, she got. She ain’t got no worriation, Daddy, and if that means Pope’s gotta go home and roll up his sleeves and go out there in the front yard and cut the trees and cut the grass, Pope gets it done.”

Spreading the message
Burke has experienced his share of thrills and exciting moments in his six years in the pro ranks, but nothing compares with the satisfaction he derives from impacting the lives of youngsters.

His main goal is to get out to the schools. And he wants TNA to be the force leading change.

“Let’s make a positive impact on our community. Let’s bring some awareness that TNA cares about the communities that they’re wrestling in. It’s only going to help our product as well.”

“My biggest thrill was speaking at a high school recently,” he says. “The auditorium was packed, and most of the kids stayed. To go up there and hold those kids’ attention for 15 or minutes and see the response and to see the teachers crying and coming up and saying how much it meant because of the low economic background that most of these kids were living in. That’s what I like. It’s definitely what I like to do.”

“He’s one of the ones that really goes out and speaks to these kids,” TNA president Dixie Carter says of Burke. “It speaks volumes. When he talks about what he went through ... does it get any better than that? I’m so proud of our wrestlers. They’re always talking at schools, or they’re talking about drugs, or they’re going to hospitals. And it’s not something I’m asking them to do or making them do. They do it because they know it’s the right thing to do. I try to lead by example, and the fact that they do that just means everything to me.”

“My biggest thrill is just touching people,” says Burke. “And I mean that in the most sincere way possible. It’s touching me just talking about it right now. I always tell people, and I say it in my promos sometimes, that when The Pope is in the near, everybody knows that something special’s gonna happen, and why you may come in one way, I can guarantee you’ll never leave the same way you came. If I can put a smile on one person’s face, than I know my job is done.”

The Pope remembers what is was like when he was a young fan, and the thrill he experienced whenever one of the stars took time to sign an autograph or take a photograph.

Now a star in his own right, he sees the opportunity to touch others’ lives, and he dares anyone to try and stop him.

“Any opportunity I had to speak with some of those guys was just awesome. That’s why I try to do the same thing now. Oftentimes at TNA live events we do what is called backstage passes and meet and greets. Everytime I do this, if you want me to leave from signing these people’s autographs, then you better send security to come and get me because I can’t turn my back on them.”

Burke has seen other wrestlers who are not as eager to interact with their fan base. He understands the demands placed on many of them, but he feels it’s a responsibility that he doesn’t take lightly.

“While it is not necessarily our job to do so, I do feel like we have the responsibility to do so. It’s just a simple thank you by signing an autograph. Sometimes I think to myself, ‘Wow. I was once doing this. I was once asking to get my picture signed.’ So I can’t turn away from these folks who want autographs. I’ll stay until I sign every last one.”

During his free time, which is rare, Burke says he likes to play the piano, much like he did when he was a youngster growing up in Florida.

“I like to sit down at a piano and ease my mind. I can do a little somethin’ somethin’ that I enjoy doing. I like to sit down at the piano and tickle the ivories. Sometimes I just like to go to the water and stand there. I’ll just say: ‘Peace be still.’ But I’m not really good at fishing. My dad was and my brothers were, so every now and then when I have free time, I ask my brothers to take me to the creek or the river.”

Burke’s alter go, “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, is looking forward to coming to town for TNA’s inaugural live show in the Lowcountry.

“Rain, sunshine, it don’t matter. I guarantee you everybody’s going to leave happy,” he says. “We make sure to give that added ingredient to the fans. There’s nothing like the live-event experience of TNA. I’m saying that as a fan and a wrestler. I’ve never seen anything like it. I guarantee you we’re gonna come and rock it and have a great time. Everybody’s going to leave talking about TNA.”

Naitch on the bill
Sixteen-time world heavyweight champion Ric Flair will be at Blackbaud Stadium on Daniel Island tonight as TNA makes its Lowcountry debut with a show set for 6 p.m. The Nature Boy will manage A.J. Styles against Jeff Hardy in one of the featured matches on the card. “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero will meet Jeff Jarrett in another top bout, while Angelina Love will battle Madison Rayne in a TNA Knockouts championship match. Also appearing will be TNA tag-team champions Motor City Machine Guns, Beer Money, Samoa Joe, Rhino, Shannon Moore, Doug Williams, Brian Kendrick, Eric Young, Magnus and others.

Reach Mike Mooneyham at (843) 937-5517 or mooneyham@postandcourier.com.

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