The best short run in wresting?

It’s Ring of the Hawk season 4 and it’s time for yet another short run in wrestling. Because it’s not the time of Pirate Paul Burchill 2006 wwe. I’m not sure what to expect from this one but it should be strong from a character point of view. He was also closely pared with William regal during this run. Did wwe miss an opportunity with Paul Burchill?
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[@kevinfightsbears]

This gimmick was forever cemented in smackdown vs raw 2007 and I'm thankful for that 🙌

[@ReinEngel]

We all gave Shawn Michaels his entrance animation in order to recreate his IYH6 rope swing. Good times.

[@Crushbra]

Did you give Pirate Paul a championship?

[@green_eye_shy_guy]

Guys like Sean O Haire, Rodney Mack, and Paul Burchill are like artifacts, they’re only in one game, but that’s what makes them legendary.

[@kingxd3ath]

Hell yeah

[@BiLLz66614]

@@green_eye_shy_guy YES!! Agreed man. I still have my HCTP save from when I did a Sean O Haire run and had the world title on him. So when I'd replay later as different wrestlers he was part of the big boy stories lol Always liked O'Haire.

[@oatz8449]

My best take for this run “a gimmick too good for creative to take it away from you”

[@rayvenkman2087]

He’s like a cute throw back to the WWF Golden Era and New Gen with the gimmick personas where we know he’s not a real pirate but we’re hoodwinked to assume he could be one.

[@patriksodin9349]

I'm pretty sure this gimmick is actually in one of the Raw vs Smackdown games too!

[@ryujigoda3445]

@@patriksodin9349 svr 2007

[@patriksodin9349]

@@ryujigoda3445 yep

[@KonahaAliana]

Pirate Paul Burchill was massively over with my group of friends back then. That entrance and the spanish fly finisher was incredible. I remember being really sad when the gimmick disappeared.

[@wingedhussar1453]

Disney assholes sent legal papers

[@jamieholmes4751]

Let’s be honest: No one at the time could’ve pulled off the gimmick as well as Paul Burchill 😃😃😃 I actually enjoyed it 😃😃 I remember during his entrance for his first match that William Regal was laughing his head off and when Paul Burchill pulled his sword out , Regal absolutely crapped his pants 😂😂😂

[@ExpressDunlop]

i think he had this gimmick before is wwe run but not sure

[@haraldrauppraupp1761]

​@@ExpressDunlopno, he had a Goldberg like Gimmik in England.

[@beaulynskey8470]

I loved the pirate gimmick. Such an unusual but otherwise entertaining character for a very underrated wrestler. 🗡🏴‍☠️

[@jabronijoeoutdoors]

I was actually SUPER into his gimmick when I was younger. The whole thing just worked for me. His entrance, presentation, and finisher were all badass!

[@jabroni7706]

He was my favorite character to play as in SvR 2007

[@mrmoviemanic1]

Good to remember Paul Burchill, the dude took a career-killing gimmick and made it work till creative didn't want him anymore. Really deserves a lot of praise for that alone.

[@emanuelmartinez7267]

Honestly the gimmick had “kid friendly midcard” act written all over it. Paul was getting great reactions and the kids in school loved the character and his finisher was awesome. I wished they leaned into it more by having him on the hunt for all the wwe "treasures" ie the championship gold and they could have did some comedic stuff where he finds items from wrestlers old gimmicks like when he was feuding with regal he could have found his hard hat from his man’s man gimmick, that would have gotten some good laughs from the older the crowd. Sorta like a face Repoman

[@edh286]

Pirate Paul was great. A shame it ended so quickly.

[@fuccyofeelings8718]

I never knew other people would still remember Paul Burchill

[@AshRiot81]

Anyone who saw him as the Pirate Paul Churchill definitely remembers him, however I had completely forgotten Rasche Brown😂

[@kerv7711]

I have a crush on him and Katie

[@dree35]

​@@kerv7711gheyyyy

[@OldWestCooper]

I discover wrestling with a match between Burchill and The Hurricane in 2009 and even if they were jobbers back then their performance made me a big fan instantly

[@kerv7711]

@@dree35 bi

[@antonmasters8626]

Paul Burchill was a really underrated worker and the pirate gimmick worked and the fans loved it.

[@theOneOnlyTed]

Yeah, Pirate Paul was one of thr most entertaining characters at that point. I remember clearly how exited his act made us for the possibilities of Smackdown

[@GilesArt]

That sudden change in booking for the last 3 matches was so jarring that I almost couldn't finish this episode. Remember when WWF heard "Austin 316" for the first time and just blasted it to the moon? - A pirate rip-off so on the nose could potentially be SO HARD to get over, but our boy did it! And screw Disney, they don't OWN the entire concept of pirates!! All WWE had to do was tweak a few things to keep Pirate Paul Burchill nice and legal but they couldn't be bothered. Then again, they've kinda been raging war on "fun" since the year 2000, so we should be lucky that this dude got any screen time with a gimmick like that.

[@eriklarson7023]

I loved this character and he got a good crowd reaction. What a shame it ended so quickly. There was a rumor that Vince had never heard of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and had no idea pirates were popular at the time, so when combined with the Disney drama he just pulled the plug.

[@medes5597]

According to Court Bauer and Bruce Pritchard that's true. It's why, despite his bit crowd response, Vince would only have him as a heel. When people said "he should be a face" Vince insisted Pirates are always heels.

[@SensiofRabbitude]

The story I'd always heard was that Vince wanted a pirate so Burchill gave him a full on Depp inspired Pirate but Vince had naturally never seen the movie and had either just randomly decided he wanted a Pirate, or vaguely knew that pirates were popular and wanted to cash in but didn't know why they were popular and when he saw the Depp inspired version of a wrestling Pirate, he didn't get it and thought Burchill was doing it wrong.

[@emanuelmartinez7267]

@@medes5597yup that’s what I remember as well. Instead of saying “huh this character I wanted to be the bad guy is actually a fan favorite, maybe I should change directions and embrace it” Vince being Vince just scraps the whole idea because it’s not what he wanted 🙄

[@jackdaone6469]

@@SensiofRabbitude Yeah, Vince was expecting an Errol Flynn sort of pirate and instead got Johnny Depp and didn’t get it.

[@wingedhussar1453]

​@emanuel martinez it wasn't Vince tht scrapped it but Disney legL paperwork

[@williamsmith666]

Pirate Paul Burchill was fantastic, and admittedly one of the things that got me hooked on pirate culture.

[@lastfewtokes]

*4:05* That might be the funniest and most accurate statement I’ve ever heard! 😂 I’m dying

[@JoshHatfield]

Burchill actually took his gimmick from Alan Tudyks character from Dodgeball.

[@codster9]

Steve the Pirate!

[@ExpressDunlop]

Burchill had so much potentiel going on WWE. A bit sad he missed is career.

[@ExpressDunlop]

and than i started watching this and i dunno why is potentiel was that high, hes slow at doing movement no agility and missed so many spot.

[@JorgeRTrevino]

I saw the video, I clicked. Every once in a while I remember this run and recall it as one of the greatest things ever.

[@exe2517]

The rated yarr superstar.

[@stephenmillar7455]

Burchill had the greatest run in Britain before he was picked up. He was an absolute monster in the FWA with a fantastic gimmick.

[@simonworden4728]

He was actually better at the technical stuff than the FWA really showed. Some of his early matches elsewhere were really great technical bouts that nobody will ever see

[@RC99_Productions]

Ah yes, the best character in SVR2007, PAUL BURCHILL! In all honesty, I liked the pirate gimmick. Sure, this run was short but he made the most of it and is still fondly remembered today.... now let's just forget the whole thing with Katie Lea Burchill a couple years after this....

[@quentinkaasa47]

No, I prefer his run with Katie Lea a whole lot more. The most disappointing thing about his WWE runs is that they chickened out on the "incest" angle. 2008 was when the entire product had become neutered, and I loved that year, but it started sucking so much after the next year. WWE became Harrison Bergeron.

[@Machete87]

@@quentinkaasa47 really? that angle is fukd up bro😝🤢🤮

[@Paugose]

Believe me or not, this was pitched by both Paul and Katie Lea. A former WWE booker did an article on 10 lessons or cool stuff he had there. He explained the common wrestling fan would be shocked by how many outlandish if not weird ideas are often from the wrestlers themselves, because they go into the "Positive or Negative, they'll talk about me" mindset, he then mentioned that incest angle as being from the two superstars because, as mentioned earlier, they fought that, even if it gave bad buzz, that'll still make them a talking point of ECW.

[@thedrewdog]

@@Paugose Someone should have reminded him about the Red Rooster, not all publicity is GOOD publicity.

[@Paugose]

@@thedrewdog Or JBL doing a funny walk in Berlin.

[@JadenCH2K]

Thank you Enzo, I LOVED “Pirate” Paul Burchill as a kid

[@TheTopTurnchuckle]

Pirate Paul, Boogey, Mexicools, Khali, this era of Smackdown was so golden in its intriguing weirdom

[@UltimoDragon83]

Such a shame Burchill never got a decent push considering the crowd reaction. He was a monster in FWA back in the UK

[@hentaidream420]

I remember when I was a kid I had his action figure it was actually like my second or third so it meant a lot to me at the time and then years later as a teenager I found it again I didn’t play with toys anymore but it was nice to see it one more time and reminisce ❤😂

[@slayyyyyedmanatee5649]

I absolutely loved Pirate Paul when I was a kid. I'll always remember his entrance in Smackdown vs Raw 2007. Severely underrated theme song as well.

[@slipendoos1123]

I can't believe he only had 10 matches with that gimmick. I have an action figure they released of that gimmick so I always assumed he was around longer, especially because I remember it so well

[@ColeYote]

Ah, Paul Burchill. Excellent Boy Stable material. Didn't realize he had so few matches with this gimmick. Maybe the fact that he was in one of the video games with it made me think it had more longevity to it.

[@HildemanFTW]

I remember Burchill from the old FWA days I was hyped to see him in WWE. He did an incredible job with this gimmick it should have gone much further than it did.

[@scootermcsnatch5585]

Best part of the gimmick is finding out later that Vince had no clue what “Pirates of the Caribbean” was and someone had to explain the similarities to him

[@Shape430]

Sad because Disney doesn't own nor did they come up with the concept of pirates lol. It's honestly silly WWE caved on this they could have probably just tweaked his outfit a bit and still ran with it :/.

[@attila4759]

burchill was so good in ring I'd be interested to see how he would have performed if he debuted in today's era which focuses a lot more on in ring ability

[@rob27dap26]

See his FWA stuff

[@Beatnu3000]

Burchill’s C4 finisher was amazing and unique for its time. Now we see Spanish Flies getting handed out like candy lol

[@jamesbounds]

I enjoyed Paul Burchill's pirate gimmick.

[@1Masterevil1]

I missed Pirate Paul...though it was funny how the reaction he was getting was better than the reaction other, supposed higher booked, faces were getting (like Bobby Lashley at the time).

[@AtlanticCoastJoey]

If Disney didn't piss their pants, they would of had kept the Pirate Gimmick for Paul, plus he probably would of won a title, not World Heavyweight but maybe United States or Intercontinental.

[@petesmart1983]

No chance it's a jobber gimmick

[@NoTengoDinero69]

His interview on the Edge & Christian podcast from about five years ago is worth going out of your way to listen to if you like this character. Paul is hilarious and honest with lots of funny thoughts on this gimmick.

[@mairsh]

Cheers as always for putting this together, Hawk. I remember enjoying this run during a fruitful time for Smackdown. You are spot on, this was a great example of getting over by simply having an enjoyable character. I'd never seen the Walk the Plank finisher before, and it did stand out as something different. Funny to think that Birchill was just an absolute beast in different promotions. Curb stomp an all time favourite finisher of mine.

[@James-if3kc]

I loved Paul Burchill, and Katie Lea Burchill too. Two of the most underrated gimmicks/wrestlers of the past 20 years.

[@Nomed38]

Did you also love the incest gimmick between the two of them?

[@GunthersLoyalSoldier1307]

If they just brought him back in 2008 in his powerhouse gimmick like in the independence then he would’ve been a top star!

[@Thebossstage1]

We only remember him from SvR 2007

[@Landofnothing]

"So he is now William 'don't look at my ass' Regal" I popped!

[@michealwilliams8293]

I’ve been asking for this for YEARSSSS!!

[@nickthelaststand]

I love pirate Paul honestly he's probably one of my favorites at the time from theme music to the look he had it until the poachers named Disney came a knocking

[@HawkXOXO]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that actually enjoyed his Pirate gimmick. And his theme song was great too

[@XXV_Flea333]

As not-so-frequent wrestling watcher, His finishing is so memorable to me. That's look so good on his gimmick.

[@MikeJr9284]

Pirate Paul Burchill was one of the many wrestlers I remember seeing on Smackdown growing up.

[@kennyking9347]

Lemme get the bearcat Keith Lee in this series please🙏🏽

[@chapmje]

I loved the gimmick, but I never understood why they didn’t do a whole “stealing the gold” bit to steal a championship belt.

[@yellowkangdexasthur4904]

Most of those crowd reactions were sweetened on Smackdown back in the day. Hell, they still do it almost every show

[@thaddeusmarcuscheeleyjr.786]

That Finley signage got a good chuckle out of me. 😂

[@Brando-Lee3725]

I really liked burchill ! Even the Pirate gimmick . I was rooting for him to be a bigger star .

[@arrownoir]

An old timey pirate in the 21st century was never going to last.

[@AlexGledhill237]

I loved Burchill's gimmick and enjoyed his run. He'd have been a great US Champion

[@edrayed]

I remember playing SVR2007 and Burchill was in the game. I've decided to CAW Captain Jack Sparrow and put all Paul Burchill entrance and moveset to him. It fit so well.

[@OldWestCooper]

Hey Enzo Vital here, glad you did this video Burchill is a very skilled wrestler it's a shame WWE never capitalised on his talent. His storyline with The Hurricane in 2009 in ECW was very nice to follow and I discovered pro wrestling with this feud and have been a massive fan ever since. Big support @Markyd123 your work is awesome man !! Enzo from France 🇨🇵

[@taylorstillman7932]

Burchill was awesome! The pirate gimmick was decent enough and people were pretty with it for a while. His run before he got to the E was pretty cool too.

[@kmajorleague]

crazy his run was 10 matches. i feel like he was on TV for way longer

[@crushrevczar]

I loved this gimmick. Not a main event character but enjoyable reason not to fast forward.

[@coreyklima8929]

I loved this gimmick my friends laughed but I thought Burchill was awesome. You can tell he loved every minute of it and he was great in the ring. I still can't believe they dropped this in favor of an incest gimmick.

[@IkYs-fo9dv]

I really loved this gimmick it was dumb but fun lol.And he was decent in the ring.

[@kingxd3ath]

2:49 oh my damn that back arch was holy😮😮😮

[@nicksoapdish157]

I absolutely loved the WWE during the ruthless aggression era of the mid-2000s. Personally I also would have gave pirate Paul Burchell at least a C.

[@TheAutistWhisperer]

The mythical filter dropped the ball again with this gimmick.

[@sleep4200]

Regal is such a good sport on anything they have him do ❤

[@lewisaino]

I remember when Mark Henry beat him up like when Akainu killed Ace 😂😂😂😂

[@ricardonb6375]

Henry had also injured Batista in early January 2006, forcing him to vacate the Heavyweight Title and scrapping the planned main event for Wrestlemania 22.

[@user-db5zc1gp6t]

I was thinking about him the other day and then this video pops up I love how shit like that happens

[@jeromelancashire3278]

7:50 No, instead Vince McMahon had not watched Pirates Of The Caribbean, and did not understand how a pirate could be face.

[@dougchap8673]

The standing Spanish fly was dope AF

[@jaryant]

I miss gimmicks in wrestling

[@Robyamdam]

Pirate is one of the hardest characters to not be cringey at I think he nailed it

[@mesousagaby740]

Yeah, a factor on this is that the second Pirates Of The Caribbean movie was about to come out around this time.

[@wjamesmci]

Paul burchill was a beast in Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 I put him in a tag team with Regal again they won the tag belts a few times on my GM mode

[@cubzrulz]

The funny thing is I was in about 7th or 8th grade when the pirate gimmick was going on. Everyone at school enjoyed the gimmick. We were 13 years old give or take so cut us some slack.

[@thegreatboppilini9006]

I totally forgot about this gimmick! I thought it was cool despite being corny, Paul burchill was like able

[@PraiseThaDon]

Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 vibes 🔥

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

I just googled regal to see how old he was......the man is only now just 55! I thought he was old back then!!

[@afd19850]

“Goofy Wrestling for life” This was a fun run!

[@BostonBori92]

Pirate Paul Burchill had one of the best finishing moves in WWE history

[@jeffreymarksworld534]

I thinks it funny that even MarkyD didn't even bother watching those brother peace videos

[@BigRemzOfficial]

That last rhyme was dope

[@Beans981]

6:59 Not only is he a pirate, but Paul is also a magician after pulling off a hair drag on a bald man.

[@bigungibson7105]

Every time a wrestler gets over organically they have to cool them down.

[@trueSconox]

If the tuned down pirate would have happened, we wouldn't talk about Paul Burchill today.

[@isaacwilliams398]

I used to love Paul Burchill as a kid

[@Vinnce12]

There's a disproportionate amount of wrestling content creators who insist that this gimmick was an outright dud despite all evidence to the contrary. It's nice to know there are people willing to actually acknowledge the fan perception of the time, because Burchill was pretty damn over for that brief run.

[@subteeninhumansamuraiamphi5019]

no, it really wasn’t…it was cringe all the way.

[@Mr.WhatzitTooya]

Hell yeah the chart is back!

[@FuckPeople92]

William "don't look at my ass" Regal😂😂😂😂

[@rayvenkman2087]

*Everyone else looks at Regal’s ass*

[@elijahgalvan2794]

6:45 he went from the kiss my ass club to the don't look at my ass club 😂

[@codster9]

The movies have always been inspiration for gimmicks. Look at Sting and The Crow.

[@no-yj2cf]

Seth Rollins' character work is very similar to this Paul Burchill run. You could replace one with the other and the gimmicks would look exactly the same

[@aleksandarjankovic39]

Burchill and Regal have very good ring chemestry

[@Juggalo94]

I remember watching this when i was young He was over he really was

[@Barry80Elms]

Love the theme of his gimmick…

[@falcon176]

shoulda been a C since they legitimately went out of their way to bury him at the end and there was nothing he could do about it

[@AwkwardLoser]

He has all the makings of a “Boy”

[@LordJudgement1818]

Enjoyed my some Pirate Paul. The Spanish fly is a cool move.

[@JustJulyo]

Always thought if it wasn't a blatant Pirates of the Caribbean this gimmick would've succeeded

[@TheMagnificentMongoSlade]

Love Pirate Paul. He ruled ass