AEW star William Regal gives his take on current wrestlers' struggles, says he can't "survive in today's world"
AEW star William Regal recently discussed some of the problems faced by the new generation of wrestlers. He also added that he wouldn't survive as an up-and-coming star in today's environment.
Regal is currently the manager of the Blackpool Combat Club in the Jacksonville-based promotion. He had a stellar 30-year wrestling career, mainly with WWE. His final match was a loss to current stablemate Claudio Castagnoli (FKA Cesaro) on the December 25, 2013, episode of NXT.
In an interview with Wrestling with Perspective, Regal was saddened by what he thought were quick expectations for the current stars when they were anointed in TV matches.
The AEW personality then claimed he would've not lasted with that approach if he wrestled today as a young competitor.
"For a lot of the youngsters, I feel very sorry for ‘em because there’s just not enough work... and nowadays, it doesn’t matter what company you’re working for, you’re just thrown onto TV and expected to be good straightaway. It’s like I know I couldn’t survive... I am who I am because I’ve always understood and never got believed anymore and I still truly don’t believe this that I could survive in today’s world. That you are expected to be as good pretty much straight away or to be able to perform on TV and whatever else," Regal said. [H/T POSTWrestling]
William Regal and Claudio Castagnoli, then known as Cesaro in the ring in 2013 for NXT, in what would be the last match of Regal's wrestling career. #WilliamRegal #ClaudioCastagnoli #Cesaro #wrestling https://t.co/0rxufO4fyV
After his last match, the English star became an on-screen authority figure as the general manager of NXT in July 2014. He had a successful tenure in the black and gold brand until his release on January 5 this year.
Bryan Danielson persuaded William Regal to go to AEW
During the same episode, William Regal revealed it was Bryan Danielson (FKA Daniel Bryan in WWE) who called him about the prospect of joining AEW.
"I wouldn’t be there [if that phone call came from anybody else besides Bryan Danielson]. No. It’s only him that could have got me there and so… take that however you want to take it."
Regal added that he initially wanted to take a break after his WWE release, but The American Dragon eventually influenced him to sign with the Jacksonville-based promotion.
William Regal reveals that he was thinking about maybe taking at least a year off and start looking for something in the U.K. so he could go and see his family and go home for a bit.
But then he got a call from Bryan Danielson for a gig in AEW, and rest is history. https://t.co/NgZ04ZXwBO
Regal made his debut at Revolution 2022 by making Danielson and Jon Moxley put their differences aside. From there, the Blackpool Combat Club was created and has added AEW stars such as Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli to its ranks.
What are your thoughts on William Regal's comments about the struggles of today's crop of wrestlers? Drop off your thoughts in the comments section below.