Among Elijah Burke and former ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer, the sinister Kevin Thorn has a long-awaited opportunity in the Elimination Chase to No Mercy. Finally receiving the chance he feels he rightfully deserves, Thorn appears to be fueled by not just a vile red venom, but also remnant animosity from the defunct faction he once aligned himself with: The New Breed.

As the vampiric ECW Superstar explained face-to-face with Burke this past week on ECW on Sci Fi, Thorn quit the New Breed months ago and attributes the group's disintegration to the Experience's loud mouth. In fact, the macabre marauder said that he and the other New Breeders were the only thing that Elijah had to back up his boastful claims.

"In the days of the New Breed, Elijah and his mouth misconstrued things," Thorn told WWE.com. "Elijah was never really a leader, though he perceived himself as one."

A mere three weeks from potentially facing ECW Champion CM Punk live on pay-per-view, a title hungry Thorn has other grim thoughts on his morbid mind -- thoughts of released aggression upon the outspoken Burke.

"Think about it this way," Thorn added, "if Elijah wasn't riding my coattails, he would never be where he is right now. He would never have gotten as far as facing CM Punk for the ECW Title and losing at Unforgiven."

He continued, "If I have anything to say about it, Elijah will never have an opportunity like that again because I am going to win the Elimination Chase and I am going to be the next ECW Champion."

While the towering specter Thorn is channeling his left-over ill will towards winning the Elimination Chase, Burke argued that Thorn's derision is being misdirected.

"In order to be a good leader, you must first be a follower," Burke proclaimed. "These individuals [in the New Breed] were not good at taking orders or falling in line. The New Breed ceased because I got tired of babysitting," Burke claimed. "I could no longer take guys like Kevin Thorn to the playground and watch them have fun and be sure they didn't hurt themselves. I had to focus."

Steady in his belief that he truly was the Guiding Light to the young-blooded assemblage of ECW Superstars, Burke has his own theory on the New Breed's demise.

"The New Breed had one goal: Total dominance in ECW," he stated. "They weren't ready for that, and I had to drop them from the Elijah Express and move forward. They never quit. I kicked them out."

So who really is to blame for the New Breed's collapse earlier this year? In all honesty, it doesn't really matter; Thorn has already made up his mind and has targeted his former cohort. More importantly, the bloodlusting ECW Superstar has targeted the ECW Championship and Burke is one of two individuals left standing in his path to meeting CM Punk for the coveted gold.

Just as easily as Burke supposedly "kicked him out" of the New Breed, might Thorn be the one who personally kicks the Paragon of Virtue out of the Elimination Chase to No Mercy? The bigger question: Will Thorn's wrath earn him his very first opportunity at the ECW Title? Will the Land of the Extreme's dangerous wraith figure take the next step toward his goal by surviving the Triple Threat Match this week?

Find out on ECW on Sci Fi, live Tuesday night a 10/9 CT.

Watch Estrada's announcement now in this ECW After the Bell exclusive video.