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Burnham Evens Things Up Against Andrews In TIW Managerial Warfare

Posted: Jul 25th 2023 By: Michael Hunt

Feuds in wrestling are the lifeblood of the business. Personal issues arise, people get heated about them and things are said and done in the ring to resolve them. Normally those issues happen between wrestlers. But sometimes, non-wrestlers become the focal point.

For the past couple of years, tensions have grown between Mike Andrews and C. M. Burnham. In fact, it seems like they have never really been on the same page. Andrews vocally opposed Burnham and his faction called Legendary in ASP while doing commentary for their broadcasts. Andrews was instrumental in driving Burnham out of The Entitled after conflict arose between Burnham and his son, Father Padge. Seemingly everywhere that Burnham is employed as a ring announcer or commentator, Andrews has infected and brought his brand of chaos into.

So it is no surprise that Andrews and Burnham would come into conflict in the new TIW federation running in Claremore. This time, Burnham was proactive in his involvement. In April, Andrews had issued an open challenge for UWE Champion Dan Webber to defend his title against, and the surprise for him was when Burnham stepped through. Burnham quickly stated that he was not answering the challenge, but he knew who was. And since Mike Andrews was at ringside, he wanted to be there to ensure that Mike couldn't cheat to win. The actual challenger then stepped through the curtain in the form of the man called Fuel. Fuel was a 5-time UWE Champion and felt confident that he could make it to a sixth reign, especially if he didn't have to worry about Andrews. And for most of the match, that was true. Everything that Andrews attempted, Burnham countered. And Fuel used his ring experience to counter much of the size and power that Webber had on him. But even with Burnham's presence, Andrews still pulled a fast one. He interjected his selfie-stick in the match, but it ended up in the hands of Fuel and unfortunately that was what the referee saw when he turned around, disqualifying Fuel and allowing Webber to retain the title.

It was a disappointing blow to Burnham, but he's been around long enough to know that you can't win them all. Nonetheless, even Burnham was surprised when Bob Johnson, the leader of the main sponsorship company for TIW, contacted him for assistance leading up to the TIW show this past Saturday. Once again, Mike Andrews had issued a challenge, but this time, it was going to be a 6-man tag team match. Being the official representative of The Regime as well as the personal leader of the Marvelous Mafia, Andrews had a plethora of talent to pull from to create a team for this match and his choices were impressive. CPW Tag Team Champions Derek James & EPW & MajCW Champion Logan Knight, collectively known as Tunnel Vision. And the ASP Mid-American, RDW Iron Man, & UWE Apex Champion Leo Fox. Power, technical skill and unbridled determination all wrapped up in one package. Andrews made no secret that he believed this team could destroy anyone that Johnson could put together.

But Andrews never suspected that Johnson would contact Burnham. And Burnham dug deep into the Oklafan files to find 3 men who he felt could counter Andrews' assemblage. It was a very impressive collection. First, The "Wizard of the Sea" Riker, one of the biggest men on the TIW roster. Next, the CPW Champion, The "Treaty Enforce" Koko, one of the most powerful men on the TIW roster. And finally, a man with incredible intense determination. A man who will take whatever chance he can get and use whatever he has to to achieve his goal, the WFC Hometown Heroes Champion "The Showcase" Alex Royal. Three tremendously successful wrestlers who hoped that collectively they could be just as successful on this night.

Burnham's team started out strong with Riker matching the power of Fox, Koko countering the ability of Knight and Royal outshining James. Things switched after Royal was caught in a corner and his arm was yanked over the top rope. Royal found himself isolated and worked over by all members of the opposing team, much to the frustration of Riker and Koko. But after fighting the several minutes and getting so close to his corner, only to be yanked away, Royal was able to make the tag to Riker. All six men would come into the ring and hit a big move on one of the opposition and even Mike Andrews tried to get involved, hopping into the ring and drawing back his selfie stick, but it was countered by Burnham's cane and yanked out of his hand. Andrews then found himself trapped alone with Koko, who wiped Andrews, but almost got schoolboyed for the win by Derek James. But Koko was able escape that and put Derek down for the 3-count. Burnham's team had successfully defended the name and reputation of NOP and most importantly, Burnham, had shown that just because you thought you were Marvelous did not mean you always came out on top.

Now Andrews and Burnham stand at one match each in this rivalry. How can this be resolved? Could the resolution come on August 19th at the next TIW event? And most importantly, can TIW continue to be big enough for both of them?

Prior to the completion of this article, Oklafan was sent the following message from Mike Andrews: "I'm starting to think I won't be able to accomplish anything in wrestling as long as C. M. Burnham keeps sticking his nose in my business. Like, why's he so obsessed with me? I must make him pretty nervous. Maybe it's the 10 titles that currently fall under the Marvelous banner? Maybe it's the hashtag I use? #okgoat I mean, who can really argue with it? Or maybe....just maybe...Everyone of you are witnessing the changing of the guard! And he's doing anything he can to stop it! Maybe it's time I started using a new hashtag...#outwiththeold"

C. M. Burnham could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.