When Vince McMahon Was Accused of Copying Johnny Depp’s Iconic Movie Character for WWE Gimmick

Despite Vince McMahon’s genius contributions to WWE creative storylines, he was once accused of bootlegging Johnny Depp’s iconic movie character for a WWE gimmick.

By Rishabh Singh

Published on Aug 30, 2024 | 08:43 PM IST | 42.9K

Vince McMahon and Johnny Depp. Image Credits: Getty and Licensable images from Google

Former WWE chairman Vince McMahon undeniably had a creative and genius mind for wrestling. However, he was once accused of building a WWE gimmick by copying Disney’s popular character, portrayed by Johnny Depp.

If it wasn’t for Vince McMahon, the old WWE-era storytelling would have lacked flavor. Some of the most fascinating and bizarre storylines in WWE history have been attributed to McMahon. After all, McMahon himself was one of the most nefarious characters in WWE.

But one of his pitched gimmicks in WWE, portrayed by former WWE star Paul Burchill, was perceived to have been influenced by Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Caribbean.

While speaking on his podcast, Gentleman Villian, William Regal clarified that McMahon did not draw inspiration from Jack Sparrow for Paul Burchill’s WWE gimmick. According to Regal, McMahon didn’t even know about the popular Disney franchise. However, Regal did admit that McMahon took inspiration from an older classic film, Treasure Island.

He stated on Gentleman Villian, “Mr. McMahon had no clue about Pirates of the Caribbean and he just heard Burchill talk and he remembered some old movies, like Treasure Island from years ago, and thought he sounded like a pirate. That’s why he gave him the character. He wasn’t trying to copy Johnny Depp. I’m sure other people, and probably Paul Burchill, would base it around Johnny Depp.”

Although Regal assured that Mr. McMahon did not copy the Pirates of the Caribbean character, Paul Burchill's version of the story says otherwise. During an interview with WWE, Burchill revealed that McMahon wanted him to portray a pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean, except McMahon intended Burchill to draw inspiration from Keith Richards, not Johnny Depp.

Burchill pulled off the pirate character so well that, to this day, he is still remembered for it in WWE. Despite the mixed reactions to his gimmick, Burchill revealed that he loved playing the role and would gladly do it again.

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Nonetheless, the gimmick worked in Burchill's favor. The former WWE star debuted as the pirate character on the March 10, 2006, edition of SmackDown, complete with a flashy entrance where he would swing down to the ring on a rope. However, the gimmick came to an end when Mark Henry assaulted Burchill, leading to him being stretchered out of the arena.

After a brief stint on WWE’s now-defunct ECW brand, Burchill was formally released from his contract in 2010.