WWE legend discloses that his final match was not against AEW star Claudio Castagnoli
WWE legend William Regal has had a storied in-ring career that officially ended with a bout against Claudio Castagnoli in 2013. However, he recently disclosed that his final wrestling match was against Sami Zayn.
While fans loved Castagnoli during his tenure with WWE, the star never truly got a massive push. After shockingly departing with the promotion in February, he debuted in AEW and is already one of the biggest names on the roster. He is firmly aligned with William Regal's Blackpool Combat Club at the moment.
During the latest episode of his podcast, Gentleman Villain, the former WWE European Champion, detailed how he and Zayn got to their unofficial match.
“I did a match with Sami Zayn but that was with no people,” Regal said. “That was just a match in a Crossfit Gym in Dubai. We were doing a tryout with 30 athletes, Sami came with us because he speaks Arabic. A lot of them had never seen professional wrestling. I said him, ‘Let me and you, at the end of this three-day tryout, have a match.’"
Regal further detailed the events of his final bout and the surgery that followed:
"Two weeks later, my legs went from under me, which I told on Chris [Jericho’s] show, and I would have my first neck surgery. I never wrestled again. The actual last match that was on film was against Cesaro and it couldn’t have been against somebody I thought more highly of. I knew my time was coming to an end.” (H/T: WrestlingINC)
William Regal will likely never lace up a pair of boots and go toe-to-toe with another star in AEW or anywhere else. Meanwhile, Castagnoli will be looking to carve out an impressive career as part of the Jacksonville-based promotion.
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Claudio Castagnoli recently opened up about his run with WWE
Claudio Castagnoli had a stellar run in WWE, capturing multiple titles. However, he never won a world championship during his tenure with the promotion.
During a recent interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, the 41-year-old described his run with the company.
“It was a lot of one step forward, two steps back, but I feel that’s how life is for many people. You have to just keep going and learn from those experiences and then learn from it, and make decisions based on that. that’s why I’m where I’m at now, and I’m very happy, ” said Castagnoli. (H/T: SEScoops)
It was made official on #AEWRampage: #ROH World Champion @TheJonGresham defends his Title against @ClaudioCSRO at @ringofhonor's #DeathBeforeDishonor THIS SATURDAY 7/23 Live on PPV! Available on @BleacherReport+More! Tix ON SALE NOW - ROHTIX.com https://t.co/KSdYVEhOxG
The Swiss star is set to face Jonathan Gresham at ROH's Death Before Dishonor event for the promotion's world championship. Fans will have to wait and see if the challenger can walk away with the gold on July 23.
Do you think Castagnoli should win the ROH World Championship? Sound off in the comments below.