10 Terrible Wrestling Gimmicks You Secretly Love
7. ‘Pirate’ Paul Burchill
There wasn't much Depp-th to Paul Burchill's pirate gimmick. OK, sorry. That was tragic. However crummy, the joke fits, because Burchill's seafaring character was a blatant bid to capitalise on the popularity of Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow in the wild successful Pirates Of The Caribbean film series. Bottle of rum, and all that.
Fans liked the hearty jaunt of Paul the pirate when it debuted in 2006. He'd swing to the ring on a rope, and renamed his finisher 'Walking The Plank'. Better yet, Burchill feuded with old partner William Regal. Typically for someone so giving, Regal was willing to make a complete fool of himself in a bid to try get Paul over.
It worked. For a while, at least.
Vince McMahon reportedly didn't get what Burchill was going for by mimicking Depp, which shows an astonishing lack of 'finger on the pop culture pulse' instincts from the then-boss. Was it hokey? You bet, but Burchill was getting some guilty pleasure cheers from fans before vanishing back to OVW.