Tim Burke

Rivalry with Maryland Championship Wrestling (1998–2002) In 1998, Corporal Punishment and Mark Shrader left the MEWF to form a rival company, Maryland Championship Wrestling, over creative control and salary disagreements. Most of the roster jumped to the newly formed promotion, leaving few of the originals remaining. Axl Rotten, MEWF's longtime booker, was among those who had departed the company, which meant MCW was not receiving ECW's talent. Burke was forced to use Brain Buster students to make up the loss while mainstays such as Bob Starr and Morgus The Maniac were tasked with carrying the promotion during 1998–99. Burke brought in World Wrestling Federation legends including The Honky Tonk Man and George "The Animal" Steele as well as developed new stars through its training facility such as Ruckus and Tonya Stevens. Stevens, one of the few female referees in pro wrestling, was initially trained as a wrestler and later agreed to referee for the promotion.

On April 29, 2000, after Patch was stripped of the MEWF Heavyweight Championship, a match was held between Burke and Max Thrasher for the vacant title in Middle River, Maryland, which Burke won. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was the special guest referee. During his third championship reign, he defeated Dino Casanova, Ruckus, and Mad Dog O' Malley. O'Malley would become one Burke's major rivals for the title. Though defeating O'Malley in a cage match several months earlier, he was confronted by the 450-pound Irish brawler at a June 24 MEWF house show in Dundalk, Maryland while conducting an in-ring interview. O'Malley had taken issue with Burke's announcement to the crowd that he would be defending the championship against the "younger and newer competition in the MEWF". After a brief argument between the two, Burke was blindsided by O'Malley and left lying in the ring. Burke ended up getting the better of O'Malley, decisively defeating him in their match at the main event. Burke voluntarily forfeited the title on August 9, 2000, at a special memorial show for fellow MEWF wrestler DOA, "DOA: A Night to Remember", in Martinsburg, West Virginia so DOA could be posthumously awarded the title for one night only. He was defeated for the title by Buzz Stryker in Middle River three days later.

He and Bob Starr reunited to defeat The Tokyo Terrors (Keushiro and Watsumi) for the MEWF Tag Team Championship a month later. They remained champions for over a year, defending the titles against teams such as The Freak Show and Tommy Hawk & Jimmy Jannetty, before losing the titles to Rayne and Buzz Stryker in Dundalk, Maryland on October 16, 2001. Burke had one more tag team championship run with his old rival Max Thrasher, winning them KPA on June 9, 2002, and successfully defended the belts until November 24, 2002, when he and Bob Starr (substituting for Thrasher) lost to Chad Bowman and Dino Casanova.

Final years of the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (2002–2004) Through Bruke's efforts, the MEWF was able to survive the departure of Corporal Punishment and Mark Shrader. It continued suffering from internal problems with MEWF talent, specifically backstage politics among the younger wrestlers, which resulted in stars like Ruckus and Sonjay Dutt, despite remaining loyal to the promotion and willing to work for less money, being phased out from the company. The promotion also failed to find a long-term replacement for booker Axl Rotten, using Bob Starr and Mark Osbourne among others, instead changing bookers every few months. These reasons, among others, ensured the MEWF would never fully recover.

On March 1, 2002, MEWF original Dave Casanova died following heart attack. A memorial show was held in his honor three months later jointly promoted by both the MEWF and MCW. It was the first time that wrestlers from either promotion appeared in the same ring together since the 1997 split. Lucifer and Thrasher successfully defended the tag titles against Thunder & Ceremery at the show. It was around this time that Derek Wayne, a former student of MCW's Bonebreakers wrestling school, heavily invested in the promotion and became a third co-owner. Wayne was able to make peace between Burke and MCW owner Dan McDevitt and was able to persuade them to begin working together in October 2002. A storyline invasion took place between the two companies for the next seven months, to somewhat mixed reaction from fans, ending with MCW's final show, the 2003 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup, on July 16, 2003, at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Burke previously appeared on several MCW show during this time against Gillberg (January 29, 2003) and with The Holy Rollers (Earl The Pearl & Ramblin Rich) won a six-team blindfolded match with Lita as special guest referee (May 15, 2003).

Though the MEWF was now the single remaining promotion in the Baltimore area, it was unable to win over MCW's former fanbase and attendance gradually dwindled as the booking became increasingly comedic. Former MCW talent began to leave the company and, if fact, many one-time MCW wrestlers refused to work for Burke despite Jeff Jones and Dan McDevitt were now involved backstage. McDevitt would quietly leave within a few months while Derek Wayne was forced out of the company. One of his last matches was another tag team match with Dustin Timberlake defeating The Cracker Express in Dundalk, Maryland on March 28, 2004. Its final show was held on October 30, 2004. He was also known for friendly interactions with audience members, both in the MEWF and MCW, often welcoming arriving fans "with a small joke or high five" and enjoyed personal relationships with a number of regulars. To his fellow wrestlers, he was a colorful character with a penchant for "ribbing". His frequent use of the phrase "Hey boss" as a greeting, according to "Judge" Jeff Jones, was imitated by many who knew him. He was very much characterized by his many catchphrases and a well known quote in the business, "Wrestling is no place for people with long memories", is attributed to Burke.

At MCW's "Legends of Maryland" show, Burke was inducted into the MCW Hall of Fame along with Duane Gill and Axl Rotten. It was also at the event that he wrestled his final match against the Cat Burglar, which he won.

Death Burke died on June 21, 2011, At the time of his death, a number of wrestling personalities left messages of condolences at MCW's official website which it then posted publicly. Many of them, such as those from Christian York, Jimmy Cicero, Tonya Stevens and "Judge" Jeff Jones, thanked Burke for giving them their first opportunities in pro wrestling. At the time of his MCW Hall of Fame induction, the company acknowledged the contributions of Burke and Dennis Wipprecht stating that "had it not been for these two men there may not be wrestling in Maryland today". Maryland Championship Wrestling MCW Hall of Fame (Class of 2009) Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation MEWF Heavyweight Championship (3 times) MEWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Bob Starr (2), Cat Burglar (1), and Max Thrasher (1) Regional Championship Wrestling RCW Television Championship (2 times, first) RCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Trooper Gilmore RCW United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Adam Flash