Da Pope Recalls Turning Down Spirit Squad, Original Plans For Undertaker at WrestleMania 23

The Spirit Squad would have had a different lineup if Vince McMahon’s original plans had seen fruition, as Da Pope says he was offered a spot in the original lineup. Da Pope had a run in WWE as Elijah Burke from 2006 to 2008 and recalled how before that when he was in OVW, he was pitched alongside the original Spirit Squad members on the stable. Pope discussed why he turned it down and discussed how original plans for WrestleMania would have seen his on-screen ally Sylvester Terkay battle Undertaker before the decision was made to have the Phenom take on Batista. You can check out the highlights and audio below:

On reports that he was offered a spot in the Spirit Squad: “That was correct. My self — well, I won’t get into the names…but I will say this. The opportunity was presented by Vince McMahon himself. And Vince McMahon told me along with the other original members of the Spirit Squad that we were going to make a lot of money because it was his idea. And he was going to push it obviously, because it was his own idea, his own creation. Vince got on a plane one day and thought to himself, ‘Ha! People hate cheerleaders, ha ha ha! I’ll get cheerleaders!’ And so, that’s what he did. He got some male cheerleaders, and he wanted me to be one of them. And I politely turned it down, as I didn’t think I could’ve did that role any justice.”

On the reaction to his turning it down: “[I got] a bunch of heat for turning it down by some of the boys who saw it as squandering an opportunity, you know, for telling Vince McMahon no. And Vince McMahon appreciated the fact that I was open, honest, and was man enough to say this it’s not for me. And Vince made sure that — he sent me back down to OVW and said, ‘We’ll bring you back when we have something for you.'”

On nearly being a part of WrestleMania 23: “It’s crazy, because that WrestleMania, the whole plan was for Sylvester Terkay and The Undertaker. And Pope was supposed to, obviously — and I had no problem with it! Young Elijah Burke riding the coattails of Sylvester Terkay. [laughs] To go against the Undertaker. They brought Sylvester Terkay in specifically because Undertaker was and is a huge MMA guy. And so, Undertaker loved the physicalness and the legitness of the MMA. And he loves to bring that time of wherewithal, and create that same type of magic inside the wrestling ring.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Lucha Libre Online with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.