Booker T reveals that he almost fought William Regal when they first met
Booker T spoke on the ruthless aspects of wrestling and how it can often prove to be irritating. The same factor that keeps the fans entertained can sometimes cause disputes between competitors.
He explained the aforementioned topic on the Notsam Wrestling Podcast. He spoke about the time when he met the current general manager of NXT, William Regal and how the two of them almost came to a scuffle.
King Booker jokingly added that bragging about his in-ring capabilities may have rubbed Regal the wrong way.
“The first time I met Regal, we almost got into a fight, I swear, the first time,” Booker stated. “I remember so vividly, it was Main Event gym, Sting and Lex Luger had a gym and my brother and I walk in with Sid Vicious and Regal is walking out the door. I look at Regal, and he looks at me and we look like we want to kill each other. From that point on, we really didn’t have a great relationship, we wasn’t friends, we wasn’t pals, we wasn’t buddies or anything like that. Then, all of a sudden as King Booker we are working together. Man, we had one of the greatest runs ever as far as King of the Ring goes, so you know, he’s a good friend of mine, William Regal now,” Booker T added.
He further added that despite the differences the two wrestlers had, he was always appreciative of Regal's incredible skill.
“I thought William Regal was one of the best. Before I got to WCW, I saw William Regal, the Television Champion, William Regal from England. I thought this guy was so real,” he said. “His wrestling made me say, ‘good god, I don’t know what I would do if I am working with this guy,’ and I am thinking like that in my mind like it’s real. Because I am watching this guy do it like it’s real."
William Regal is still WWE NXT General Manager
My statement regarding the status of the #NXTChampionship. #WWENXT https://t.co/bT7J9fE4my
NXT was an unfocused competition show filled with strange contests when it was launched February 2010. The show featured some of the brightest talents from around the globe, including prospective wrestlers from Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
William Regal was one of the veteran figures bought in to test the fortitude of future NXT Superstars.
Regal actively took part in the NXT commentary team during the concluding years of his wrestling journey.
Since the former King of the Ring had notable influence in the exponential growth of the black and gold brand, it was only fitting for him to replace John Bradshaw Layfield as the new general manager of NXT.