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Power Abolished! C. M. Burnham Suffers Consequences For Actions At MSWA, Promises Retribution

Posted: Jul 21st 2016 By: Michael Hunt

The MSWA attendees were shocked on July 1st when Commissioner C. M. Burnham kicked MSWA Mid-South, WFC Hometown Heroes and BCW Buzzsaw Champion Drake Gallows in the groin during a No DQ Match and caused him to lose the MSWA Title to Mr. Barnes.

For over two years, Burnham had been the constant standard of justice, making sure that competitors such as the Saints of Pro Wrestling, The Creepsters, Largus RagnaBrok, EmpCW Champion Rick Russo and others toed the line.

But as soon as the match was over and Barnes was declared the winner, fans started asking the question:

Why, Burnham, Why?

No response was given until the July 15th event when Burnham interrupted the opening remarks of Milton Winkelman. But it was a completely different Burnham who emerged onto the rampway then had ever been seen in MSWA before. Previously, Burnham was positive, smiling and generally pleasant to be around. But now, Burnham, along with new MSWA Champion and protoge Barnes, came out with a scowl on his face. And as soon as he entered the ring, it was clear nothing would ever be the same.

Immediately, Burnham demanded that Winkelman exit the ring. And then he began to answer the questions everyone had been wondering about for two weeks. Burnham explained that the problems began back on February 26 when allows won a Battle Royal which put him in charge of the company at the next event. At that event, Gallows had Burnham serve as a Ring Girl, carrying around signs indicating what match it was. That was embarrassing enough, but the next week, Burnham arrived to find that Gallows had signed and notarised paperwork for a special fundraiser event in on March 18, making Burnham the ring announcer and denying him commissioner privileges for yet another show. But the real incident that triggered the plan for Burnham took place on May 6, when Gallows smashed a cake into the face of Burnham during a birthday celebration in the ring. At that point, Burnham knew that he wanted revenge. So when Mr. Barnes won the Mid-South Rumble, Burnham knew exactly how that revenge was going to take place.

As far as Burnham was concerned, Gallows demonstrated a complete lack of respect to an authourity figure and he declared that Gallows was over and done with as far as his career in MSWA was concerned. Then, Burnham reminded the crowd that he was the most connected individual in wrestling in the state of Oklahoma and proceeded to go through some talent contacts in his phone, declaring that popular figures like The Canadian Red Devil and Double D would never be seen in an MSWA ring again. His capstone was to remind fans of Johnny Z and Burnham decided to make a phone call to the IZW promoter at that point to bring him back into MSWA.

To the fans relief, that was when MSWA Board of Directors member Adam Patrick emerged and confronted Burnham in regards to what he was doing. Patrick reminded Burnham that they were supposed to be role models and enforce the rules, but Burnham countered with the very uncharacteristic idea that the pro wrestling business was all about making money and becoming stars. Unwilling to listen to anymore of the ideas coming from Patrick, Burnham began to leave, but then MSWA owner Bad Boy arrived.

Bad Boy immediately went to work and his first action was to fire Burnham as commissioner of MSWA! Burnham protested, saying that Bad Boy was the one who put him in that position, but Bad Boy countered by saying it was his company and he could do what he wanted. He did not fire Burnham from the company, saying that if he wanted to ride the coattails of Barnes he could do so, but as far as he was concerned, Burnham was nothing more than a weasel and did not need to be in charge. Bad Boy then declared that Adam Patrick was the new commissioner of MSWA and finished things up by saying that he would be watching Burnham. If Burnham got out of line, Bad Boy had been known to put on the trunks and if it was necessary to handcuff himself to Burnham or perhaps face Burnham for 5 minutes in the ring alone, that was all a possibility.

Now reduced to just a managerial status, Burnham was not about to let that stop what he considered to be the Barnes Era of MSWA. And the first step on solidifying that era was to defend the MSWA Title against EmpCW & BCW Hardcore Champion Kareem Sadat. While Sadat certainly held the advantage in experience, there was no doubt that the presence of Burnham at ringside countered this. Add to that the fact that it was a regular match, not a hardcore match, forced Sadat into a bit of an uncomfortable corner. On a couple of occasions, Burnham made it apparent that he was not willing to be a neutral bystander and got physically involved behind the back of referee Willy D. But ultimately Burnham was not needed to help Barnes gain the victory over Sadat as the Avalanche Splash incapacitated Sadat and D then counted to 3....and then to 5 at the insistence of Burnham.

So, while there may have been a power shift, the presence and influence of C. M. Burnham will still be felt at MSWA. And for Patrick, Bad Boy and the MSWA fans, it looks like a long and bumpy ride ahead of them is certainly in store. Burnham has made it clear that just as there were consequences for his actions, there will be consequences for their actions as well.