2001. Richards was then fired (in storylines) along with the rest of the Alliance roster by Vince McMahon. Ric Flair was able to save his job and get him drafted to the Raw brand. There, he became a twenty-two-time Hardcore Champion, trading it several times with Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Crash Holly, Shawn Stasiak, Justin Credible, Bradshaw, Terri, and Tommy Dreamer. Richards formed an alliance with Victoria in late 2002, as a mentally unbalanced couple helping each other win their matches. He often helped her retain the WWE Women's Championship. This led to a feud with Bubba Ray Dudley and Trish Stratus, who would win their titles in a tag team match on RAW. As Victoria turned face, the duo quietly separated. Around this time, he proclaimed himself "General Manager of Heat", a title that carried no actual authority. In August 2004, Richards began appearing in drag as "The Mystery Woman" during Victoria's matches, helping her win. The Mystery Woman's painfully obvious identity was "revealed" at Unforgiven, after "she" saved Victoria from Tyson Tomko and Trish Stratus. Richards then quickly lost an impromptu match to Tomko. He went on a losing streak on Heat from April 19, 2004 till December 3, 2006 (when he defeated Rene Dupree). Reunion of The Blue World Order (2005–2006) Richards was legitimately injured during the Raw debut match of Chris Masters in February 2005, when a botched Polish hammer broke his nose and orbital bone. After healing, Richards faced Masters in a rematch but lost again. Richards appeared at the ECW reunion event, ECW One Night Stand in 2005, reuniting with his bWo comrades and proclaiming "We have only three words for you. We're taking over!" He then dropped The Sandman with a Stevie Kick. Richards was traded to SmackDown! on June 30, 2005, and reformed the bWo with Nova and The Blue Meanie. At The Great American Bash, the bWo lost to The Mexicools (Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, and Super Crazy) in a six-man tag team match. Richards then had a short stint on WWE Velocity, dropping the bWo gimmick as he lost to Hardcore Holly and Booker T. After September 6, he disappeared from TV for over six months. He returned for an 18-Man inter-promotional Battle Royal at WrestleMania 22. ECW (2006–2008) Shortly after the introduction of the ECW brand in 2006, Richards left the SmackDown! brand to join it on the "WWE