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Katarina Leigh aka Winter aka Katie Lea Burchill has been a respected wrestler for about two decades now. The international journey traveling the roads of the independent circuit landed her a big break when she joined WWE and made it to the biggest promotion in the world. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out according when getting called up to the main roster.
Katie Lea had a lot of momentum in developmental and even had a stellar rare women’s ladder match with Beth Phoenix. However, it was the gimmick concept that led to a call up as the sister to Paul Burchill. The uncomfortable gimmick was meant to imply a romantic intent between the siblings. WWE changing plans led to many moments that shouldn’t define the career of the talented woman behind the controversial character.
Katie Lea Was Paired With Paul Burchill As On Screen Siblings
The topic of Paul and Katie Lea Burchill’s original storyline often gets criticized. WWE showed a controversial idea for a very short introduction before changing course. Both talents involved were viewed as two of the most talented and important prospects in WWE developmental. Paul was coming off his failed run playing a pirate character on SmackDown, but his developmental run allowed him to change his character.
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There was more of a mysterious element between Paul Burchill and Katie Lea to make fans wonder. Rumors indicated that there would be a tease of romance between the siblings. The main roster debut together on Raw saw the commentators expressing some concern over how close they were. WWE never actually used incest as part of the story, but the idea of pushing the buttons of the audience was the bigger selling point.
Katarina has said today that she loved the original gimmick and was excited to make it work on Raw. The Top Dollar and Myca characters from The Crow film were her inspirations for how she wanted their direction to go. WWE certainly created some buzz with controversy.
WWE's New PG Direction Quickly Killed The Controversial Sibling Storyline
The original version of Paul and Katie Lea Burchill only existed for a few weeks before the PG rating changes went into effect. WWE was already reeling following the Chris Benoit story putting wrestling in the forefront for all the wrong reasons. A pivot to PG program was being set up, with wrestlers no longer allowed to intentionally bleed, and the desire for a rating change created set rules.
Any previous gimmicks that crossed the line to put the PG rating in question would be dropped. Paul and Katie Lea were so new into their runs that WWE removed the controversial element of their gimmicks. The duo played traditional heels with a sibling dynamic to get involved in each other’s matches. Unfortunately, they lost their momentum and direction, and floundered as a result.
WWE eventually split them up with both talents being used in singles roles. Katie Lea typically had the better matches of the women’s division at the time and even challenged Mickie James for the Women’s Championship. The good matches and solid character work wasn’t enough to have a long run after her original plans ended. WWE released Katie Lea after about two years on the main roster.
As Winter, Katie Lea Burchill Was A Two Time Knockouts Champion
Most wrestlers leaving WWE in the early 2010s viewed TNA as their next best chance to break out. TNA introduced Katie Lea Burchill under the new name and character of Winter. This instantly led to more success in noteworthy storylines, like having mind control powers of Angelina Love and showing a rare supernatural side to the women’s division.
TNA trusted Winter to have many noteworthy matches and to become the Knockouts Champion when that belt was considered the top female title in pro wrestling. Winter had an underrated run with two Knockouts Championship reigns and a Knockout Tag Team Championship reign. Even a later return in the late 2010s as Katarina Leigh saw her character work thriving with Joe Hendry and Grado.
Katarina has spent her post-WWE time in between having a strong wrestling career and transitioning into Hollywood. Acting, along with producing movies and television is likely the bigger future career path, but she’s also been a great fixture on the independent circuit. Current or past promotions like FWE, Hoodslam, and now WOW Wrestling have all benefited from her in relevant roles. The top story of Katarina’s WWE career will always likely be the “what if” scenario as Katie Lea Burchill, but she deserves respect for an extremely underrated list of accolades.
