10 WWE Releases That Could Have Been Easily Avoided

When Elijah Burke finally made the transition over to WWE's main roster in 2006 - after spending two years in developmental - his ability in the ring instantly screamed 'next top star' and his exploits on commentary (back when ECW was WWE's third brand) helped highlight just how good he could be on the mic, too.

So, he had all the credentials needed to become a main event calibre performer in WWE and even became an integral part of one of the company's up-and-coming stables in the form of The New Breed, before the group disbanded following a loss to Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and CM Punk in a tables match at One Night Stand 2007.

Burke would then enjoy a decent singles run, taking on Punk for the ECW World Championship at Unforgiven and found himself involved in a short feud with then-World Heavyweight Champion Batista towards the end of the year.

Burke wouldn't really be given a chance to capitalise on his singles appearances and found himself booted out of the company in November 2008.

In interviews following his departure, Burke mentioned how he felt as though he had gotten lost in the shuffle due to a few backstage changes. If that was the case then WWE should rightly rue not realising what level of talent they had under their noses and Burke's run as D'Angelo Dinero (or Da Pope as he was also known) in TNA certainly proved what a seismic impact (sorry) he could've made on WWE's programming if he was given the chance.