He debuted in WWF on the March 21, 2002 episode of SmackDown! as the stylist of Billy and Chuck (the heel gimmicks of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo), establishing himself as a villain.[4] Rico portrayed a homosexual stylist as his gimmick. On the May 9 episode of SmackDown!, Rico wrestled his first match in WWE, where he teamed with Billy and Chuck to defeat Al Snow, Maven and Rikishi.[5] At Judgment Day, Rico was forced to team with Rikishi to defeat his clients, Billy and Chuck for the WWE Tag Team Championship.[6][7] On the June 6 episode of SmackDown!, Rico turned on Rikishi by helping Billy and Chuck in pinning Rikishi for the tag titles.[8]