Paul Burchill

Burchill made his WWE debut on the August 27, 2005 episode of *Velocity*, when he made a run-in in a match between fellow Englishman William Regal and Scotty 2 Hotty. Burchill quickly established an alliance with his countryman, helping Regal to beat down Scotty 2 Hotty. A week later, he debuted on *SmackDown!*, teaming with Regal to defeat Hotty and Funaki via submission when Scotty tapped out to Burchill's *Royal Mutilation*. The next week on *SmackDown!*, Burchill defeated Scotty 2 Hotty in a singles match in the same manner. After rising through the tag team ranks, Regal and Burchill were given a chance at the WWE Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match, facing The Mexicools, MNM and then-champions the Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich), but lost out to MNM. Regal and Burchill continued tagging together, mainly feuding with The Mexicools on *Velocity* while Regal often acted as a manager for Burchill during his singles matches. He lost to the debuting Bobby Lashley in mid-December, but bounced back with a win on *Velocity*, debuting his *C-4* move in WWE to defeat John Xavier. In January, he appeared in a 20-man battle royal for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated by the eventual winner Kurt Angle.

On *SmackDown!* on February 3, 2006, Burchill and Regal told *SmackDown!* "network representative" Palmer Cannon that they no longer wanted to be a tag team so they could go their separate ways. During this discussion, Burchill informed Canon that his family heritage traces back to the pirate Blackbeard and he wanted to do a pirate gimmick on *SmackDown!*. He followed through on this promise the following week when he appeared backstage dressed as a pirate. Regal tried to convince Burchill to return to his former ruthless gimmick, while Burchill refused cementing him as a fan favourite. Burchill had his first match as a pirate on *SmackDown!* on March 10, 2006, making an elaborate entrance by swinging down to the floor on a rope. Burchill defeated Regal using the *C-4*, which was renamed *Walking the Plank* to suit the gimmick. After Regal continued to persuade Burchill to return to his former gimmick, the two were booked in a match where the loser would be forced to wear the winner's choice of clothing. Burchill won the match, forcing Regal to dress at his whim until Burchill lost another match, initially dressing him up as a buxom wench, and later in various costumes such as a chicken suit and a gorilla suit. Eventually, he made Regal dress up like a buccaneer to tag with him against Gymini on April 21. Burchill ended up abandoning Regal during the match, which led to Gymini picking up the victory. In early June, Burchill's popular pirate gimmick came to an end when Mark Henry, who was going on a rampage, defeated Burchill and then assaulted him afterwards resulting in him being stretchered off *SmackDown*.

After appearing on *Heat* on several occasions, Burchill made his return to WWE television as a villain for the first time since 2005 with Katie Lea playing his on-screen sister during the episode of *Raw* on February 11, 2008, defeating Brian Kendrick in a singles match. Continuing to appear on *Heat*, Burchill and Katie would occasionally appear on *Raw* in handicap matches. On May 26, Burchill assaulted Mr. Kennedy because he forced William Regal to leave *Raw*, which led to a brief feud until Kennedy was drafted to *SmackDown*. After this, Burchill engaged in a brief feud with then-Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston while Katie Lea feuded with then-Women's Champion Mickie James, but despite defeating them in a tag team match, neither won their respective titles in singles matches. Following this, Burchill had a minimal on-air role, making brief appearances in squash matches to Batista and Jamie Noble.

Burchill and Katie Lea were later both moved from *Raw* to the *ECW* brand on December 30, 2008, where Burchill lost to DJ Gabriel in his debut match for the brand. The Burchills were defeated in a mixed tag team match against Gabriel and Alicia Fox on January 13, 2009. On the February 3 edition of *ECW*, Burchill scored his first win as a member of the *ECW* brand by defeating Tommy Dreamer. The following week on *ECW*, Burchill defeated The Boogeyman. At Bragging Rights, Burchill challenged Christian for the ECW Championship, but was defeated.

Burchill then became embroiled in a rivalry with backstage interviewer Gregory Helms, who he accused of being masked wrestler The Hurricane (who Helms also portrayed). After several months of matches and attacks, the two finally agreed to settle the matter in a match on November 17's *ECW*, which saw Hurricane's mask put up against Burchill's career on the *ECW* brand, which Burchill lost. Despite the storyline firing, Burchill appeared on the December 3 episode of *Superstars* under a mask during The Hurricane's match with Zack Ryder, and subsequently attacked Hurricane. The following week on *ECW*, Burchill and Katie Lea, now sporting masks and calling themselves **The Ripper** and The Beautiful Nightmare respectively, appeared in a backstage segment with general manager Tiffany and asked for a contract, which Tiffany said they would receive if The Ripper could defeat The Hurricane the following week in a match. However, The Ripper was unmasked by Hurricane and subsequently defeated, resulting in Burchill and Katie remaining off *ECW*. After the closure of the *ECW* brand, Burchill was formally released by WWE on February 26, 2010.