Former WWE star reveals Dusty Rhodes was behind him becoming the leader of a major faction

Elijah Burke, currently known as Da Pope in the NWA, has revealed Dusty Rhodes was the man responsible for him becoming the leader of The New Breed faction on WWE's ECW brand.

The New Breed also featured Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker, Kevin Thorn, and Ariel. CM Punk also had a brief run as a member of the stable.

In a recent interview with Michael Morales Torres of Lucha Libre Online, the current NWA World Television Champion praised the late NWA World Heavyweight Champion, saying Rhodes was "part of that whole equation."

"Dusty Rhodes. Dusty Rhodes, period. Dusty Rhodes, as you guys may have heard before branching out and going to ECW as part of The New Breed, Dusty Rhodes was very much a part of that whole equation, in how Elijah Burke becomes the leader of The New Breed. It was just very all a lot Dusty… They were trying to find the villains to the superheroes that were the ECW Originals of sorts, and I was just fortunate enough to be chosen, given that I have always been a good talker, to lead that new group into the war, The New Breed vs the ECW Originals. It ended up taking us to WrestleMania and that was pretty cool."

https://t.co/X7dIUjhz18ECW on Sci-Fi #48 The One With Lashley vs. The New Breed pic.twitter.com/ojr7tjM5cC

— forever tired (@Maffewgregg) March 26, 2017

Even after the end of ECW, Dusty Rhodes was a regular presence behind the scenes in WWE. He is often credited with the growth of NXT in its early days.

Along with Dusty Rhodes, Elijah Burke has worked with other wrestling legends

D'Angelo Dinero in TNA

During his wrestling career, Elijah Burke has been fortunate enough to work with some of the biggest names in the wrestling business, including Hulk Hogan and Sting, among others. During his conversation with Michael Morales Torres, Burke described how he felt upon meeting such legends during his time in TNA.

"Meeting your heroes, meeting the people you grew up watching and idolizing, and honestly Hulk (Hogan) being the biggest name in the history of wrestling, it was everything you could probably imagine it to be."

"The people that you grew up watching, the Hogans and the Stings and Nash, forming our own version of the Wolfpack, you know, having confrontations, being attacked by X-Pac and Scott Hall, all these four who are going into the hall of fame. It was just an unbelievable time and, I agree, it was probably the best time of my career. I certainly had a lot of fun in TNA."

Shout out to @nwa President @Billy for giving Pope an opportunity to accomplish this great achievement. Shout out to The Congregation for always believing such a day would come. Thank You All! ~PHS#NWA #TVChampion #NWAPowerrr #Pope4TheGold pic.twitter.com/cntRAe4PPG

— Elijah Burke (@DaBlackPope) October 21, 2020

Burke (Da Pope) is currently one of the headline names working in the National Wrestling Alliance. He is scheduled to compete at the promotion's return to pay-per-view, "NWA Back For The Attack."