William Regal is as healthy as he’s ever been but there was a time when things were touch and go.

Regal is known for being one of the smartest minds in the wrestling industry. He played a crucial role backstage during his time on the NXT brand. He knew a thing or two about mixing it up inside the ring as well, often putting on technical masterclasses.

Today, Regal can be seen on AEW TV but in an alternate universe, he is no longer with us.

William Regal’s Dire Health Scare

Serving as a guest on Talk Is Jericho, William Regal reflected on the time doctors told him he would soon pass away (h/t Wrestling Headlines).

“Once I was released – I went home two weeks before Christmas. The reason being, which we might get to, the last time my family were all together was 2018 for Christmas, and I was in hospital for eight weeks. I was given at one point 24 hours to live, I had sepsis in my leg, they were gonna cut my leg off. This is January 4, 2019. So I insisted on going home for Christmas, because you know I’ve been through a lot. I had a hell of year 2018… sorry, it’s a bit, like, I usually just tell people, but now I’m sat with you and I’m comfortable, things hit you a little bit…”

Regal said eventually, doctors discovered that he had a sack around his heart that “completely calcified.” Regal expressed gratitude to WWE for getting him a doctor who could perform a pericardiectomy.

The former WWE and WCW star then began to experience fluid constantly leaking out of his legs. Regal was facing amputation before receiving an injection to save one of his legs.

Fortunately, Regal’s past health issues are behind him and he’s moving forward. He now manages the team of Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley. He’ll also have a backstage role with AEW on top of his onscreen presence.

William Regal has a long history with Bryan Danielson with many chapters in it. One such chapter was when Regal wrestled the former world champion in what he thought was his last match. This match, which was one of the wrestling veteran’s final outings in the ring, took place during a Superstars episode in November 2011. It was also the final time the two superstars shared a ring for a bout. The former NXT GM had suffered a leg injury the night before but Bryan carried him masterfully without letting anyone know about his injury.

Regal told his story during his appearance on Talk Is Jericho. He mentioned how he decided to put Bryan over because of their history together. Recalling the incident made Regal emotional:

“I tore me meniscus in my right leg. The next night I’m on with Bryan. They were going ‘no you can’t wrestle, you can’t wrestle.’ I said ‘no I want to put him over because he is the person who has stuck around me and listened to all my nonsense for the last [so many years] and comment and called me and sent me stuff. And I’ve sent him to places and put good words in for him and whatever else. If there is one person I wanna to have my last match with its him.’ So if you watch that match, you will see me walk down to the ring and then they actually played a rib on me. [They] played my old Man’s man music halfway down the ramp. I’m glad because they had to help me in the building that day. I couldn’t walk. I don’t like giving away this you know, that old fashioned things.

But If you watch that match it’s 17 minutes of him carrying me because I can’t walk,” said William Regal. He got emotional telling the story and took a moment to compose himself. “Sorry,” he continued. “He did a masterful job. He actually even wrestled and did stuff on my leg without bending it.”

• William Regal Apologizes For His Promo Running Long on AEW Dynamite

‘This Lad’s Something Special’

After all the effort Bryan Danielson put in the match to make it memorable for Regal, the wrestling veteran was praying that people in the office would take notice of the former ROH star. This is exactly what happened. Bryan was playing a heel in the match. His performance impressed the boss himself, leading to a heel push:

“If you know that. You go into that [match] with this [knowledge] and watch what a masterful job he did of carrying me. He even made it look like he bent my leg around the corner post and never bent. We came out there and I thought [I’ll] put in [a word for him]. I was happy. [I thought] hopefully somebody is gonna pay attention to this because this lad’s something special, which they already were. But it was just my little thing. [I believed] that’s it. I’m done now, I’m probably [done wrestling] That’s it. because I was already doing bits of commentary. [I thought] That’s it, I’m gone.

I came back and Mr. McMahon was there. I never thought he watched Superstars. He was right there to [see] me. He shook hands and Bryan walked off. He went. ‘Thank you very much.’ He said ‘That was a good old proper wrestling match.’ He said ‘that lads gonna make a good villain, ain’t he?'”

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AEW star William Regal is setting the record straight about his health.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote:

“Apparently Regal’s health issues at this stage are far more serious than have ever come out and there is an interview that will be released next week that he did for Talk is Jericho that will detail them.”

Regal says Meltzer is dead wrong about his condition and indirectly called out the veteran wrestling journalist for perpetuating rumors and gossip.

According to Regal, he’s healthier than he’s been in many years. Whatever Meltzer was referring to from Regal’s conversation with Chris Jericho, Regal says it’s old news.

Despite Dave Meltzer’s incorrect spin on things, William Regal’s appearance on the next Talk is Jericho podcast should be a must listen.

Regal made a surprise appearance at Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view from Orlando, Florida. He is now managing AEW’s newest tag team, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley.

• Tony Khan Confirms William Regal Will Have Onscreen & Backstage Roles In AEW

William Regal is apologizing to his new co-workers after his promo on AEW Dynamite ran a bit longer than expected.

Regal made his AEW Dynamite debut on Wednesday night. He managed Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson in their first match as a tag team. The duo defeated The WorkHorsemen, JD Drake & Anthony Henry.

After the match, Tony Schiavone hosted an in-ring promo segment, which saw Regal addressing Schiavone, Danielson and Moxley, individually. Regal profoundly thanked Schiavone for taking him under his wing roughly three decades ago in WCW. He raved about Bryan Danielson being the perfect professional wrestler and Moxley’s unmatched determination to win. Regal put every tag team in AEW on notice.

The segment went longer than scheduled, which apparently created some timing issues for what followed. On Thursday afternoon, Regal issued the following statement on social media.

“This is a Professional note from me as I have no other form of SM and would rather my new colleagues see this as I don’t like gossip. I’m am very sorry to everyone effected by my time issues last night. I apologized to everyone personally effected.”

He added, “I should be showing people by example and being a Pro and hitting my times.”

Watch William Regal’s emotional message from AEW Dynamite:

AEW boss Tony Khan has high hopes for what William Regal can contribute.

This past Sunday night (March 6), AEW Revolution was held inside the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida. A grudge match between Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson was featured on the card.

Both men did indeed bleed together as advertised. Ultimately, Moxley got the pinfall but the two kept brawling after the match. This led to William Regal making his way out and forcing Moxley and Danielson to embrace. Khan quickly revealed that Regal is All Elite.

William Regal In AEW

Speaking to media members during the AEW Revolution post-show scrum, Tony Khan said he was caught off guard when WWE released Regal back in January.

“Well, I was very surprised to see he had been released and he was gonna be available. I have tons of respect for his mind and I think he’s gonna be a very valuable person here in AEW.

“Obviously, I think people who follow his career closely know that he has a very long, established connection with Bryan Danielson and was instrumental in shaping the pro wrestler that Bryan Danielson has become, who I think is not just — he is one of the greatest pro wrestlers today and I think he’s also one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time, I really do.”

Khan went on to say that he didn’t hesitate to make the move to bring William Regal to the company.

“I think Lord Regal had a big contribution to that. When he was released, first of all, I was very surprised but also eager to bring him here. I think he can contribute onscreen in a major way to both Bryan Danielson and also, he has a history with Jon Moxley. I think some of the last matches we saw Lord Regal wrestle were against Jon Moxley and they had a great rivalry also.

“So, he’s very familiar with both men, they have a lot of respect for him and I think you saw after the violence and the way that they bled together tonight, they’ve built a lot of mutual respect with each other. So, I think that’s very exciting.”

When a company signs someone like Regal, they’re not just getting an onscreen talent. Regal played a key role backstage during his time with the NXT brand. He’ll have a presence backstage for AEW as well.

“Also, behind the scenes, I’m really excited to have him here. I think Lord Regal can teach all of us here a lot. It’s gonna be great having him here and I’m very excited like I said, onscreen and offscreen. It came together very recently and I think it fits very well with what we’re doing here in AEW all around.”

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William Regal is All Elite!

Regal came out after the Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley match at Revolution. The finish saw Danielson have him in a triangle choke and Moxley rolled over him as he passed out for the pinfall with Moxley coming out victorious. After they brawled until William Regal came out to stop them. He slapped Moxley to calm him down then did the same to Danielson. Regal told them to shake hands and they did. 

The storyline was that Danielson wanted to be tag team partners, but Moxley said he would only team with someone he has wrestled so they booked the match. 

After working around the world and in WCW, Regal went to WWE in 2000 where as an in-ring performer, he became a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Hardcore Champion, a four-time European Champion, a four-time World Tag Team Champion, and the 2008 King of the Ring winner.

He would later transition into the on-screen role of the General Manager of NXT that lasted from 2014through 2021. Regal also worked behind the scenes in NXT and as an independent scene scout. Regal was among the latest names to be released by the company in January that swept through the NXT brand. 

Former WWE NXT general manager William Regal has filed for a couple of interesting trademarks including his ring name “William Regal” and “Lord Steven Regal.”

Both the trademarks have been filed for various merchandising usage as well as ‘performances by a professional wrestler.’

Steven Regal is the name he used before his WWE signing. The wrestling veteran was known by the moniker during his time with World Championship Wrestling as well.

Apart from the trademark filing, the former Intercontinental champion has also opened a Pro Wrestling Tees store. His official PWT page describes the former WWE star as a ‘Gentleman Villain.’

William Regal was released from his WWE contract in January this year. This ended his 22-year long stint with the company. He donned many hats during his tenure with the promotion.

• William Regal Endorses 2 Must-Hire Former WWE Stars

After retiring from in-ring action, he started recruiting and training wrestlers in NXT. The former champion also acted as an on-screen general manager for the brand.

The new trademarks are proof that Regal is getting ready for life after WWE. He has been offered a role at Impact wrestling but Regal has not taken up the proposal yet.

There is no news on how WWE is reacting to the trademark filing or if the company is planning to file an objection to it.

William Regal has helped recruit many of the current WWE stars and the wrestling veteran knows what is needed in a talent to become a champion.

The former NXT general manager recently took time to endorse two such former WWE stars who he believes independent promoters should book for their shows.

Regal named the former NXT UK women’s champion Toni Storm and former Mae Young classic competitor Tegan Nox as wrestlers who deserve opportunities.

Toni Storm & Tegan & Nox

Regal wrote, “As well as booking Toni Storm you should be booking Stephanie Newel (Tegan Knox). Stephanie is a top class Pro and lovely lady. If you’re a promoter you’d be mad not to.”

Capt. Shawn Dean, who books talent for AEW, took notice of Regal’s advice.

Tegan Nox joined WWE in 2017 and took part in the 2018 edition of the Mae Young Classic tournament. She was called up to the main roster in July last year but Nox was subsequently released from her contract in November.

Toni Storm on the other hand asked for her WWE release in December. The former NXT UK star has so far been silent about her departure from the promotion.

William Regal had been with WWE since 2000 in his latest run. After retiring from in-ring action, Regal started working as a talent scout and on-screen general manager for NXT. He was released earlier this month.

• William Regal Offered a Role at Impact Wrestling

Renee Paquette can’t believe that WWE has cut ties with William Regal.

On Jan. 5, Regal was among the list of NXT names who were released by the company. Regal joined the likes of Road Dogg, Scott Armstrong, and others. The following day, Samoa Joe was released.

Renee Paquette Reacts To WWE Cutting William Regal

Renee Paquette was a guest on an episode of Busted Open Radio. During the show, she expressed her disbelief at the fact that WWE has let go of Regal.

“I just can’t get over the fact that William Regal has been let go by WWE. It just kills me. I just can’t wrap my head around what the thought process was of not having William Regal be a part of any wrestling promotion.

“When you think of the respect that comes from William Regal you think of the history and the knowledge. Just all of the things that sum up William Regal as a wrestler, as a mentor, on the creative side, even having him in a GM position.

“He just brings so much to the table. You keep hearing about these releases and you see different names pop up. Samoa Joe is just another one that you’re like, ‘What is happening over here?’

“It’s upsetting, it’s really upsetting and it bums me out. I know William Regal will I’m sure land somewhere happily and be able to put his services to good use somewhere and I can’t wait to see what that is.

“Maybe he doesn’t, maybe he just wants to hang out. I don’t know what William Regal’s gonna do but I think someone that was just one of the cornerstones of NXT — maybe part of what’s happened here is looking at what those cornerstones are of what has been NXT as we move forward on NXT 2.0.”

Regal seemingly already has at least one other promotion that is interested in his services. Tommy Dreamer, who works behind the scenes with Impact Wrestling, said the door is open for Regal.

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Barely a week into the new year, William Regal was released from his WWE contract back on January 5, including several other members of NXT such as producers, writers, and office staff. This brought an end to Regal’s 22-year run with the company.

While we don’t know if Regal has a 90-day non-compete clause that active wrestlers have when they’re released. We don’t know where Regal may end up in the future but he already has an offer on the table for him. On Thursday’s Busted Open Radio, Tommy Dreamer revealed that he offered a spot to William Regal in Impact Wrestling.

“If you look at management, and you look at, let’s say, the New York Giants, their G.M. is retiring, and then there goes the head coach that he picked,” Dreamer said regarding Regal’s release.

“There goes everyone associated with that person. Triple H is no longer in charge, and everyone associated with him is gone. The only guy who’s remained is Shawn (Michaels), but Shawn was a Vince guy before he was a Triple H guy. Regal, the moment I heard (he was let go), I shot him a text and said, ‘If you want to be a commentator at Impact or if you want to be a General Manager figure, just let me know.’ He will have something when he chooses to.”

Regal’s WWE Release

WWE sent out a statement to select media members explaining the releases, stating, “With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center. We thank them for their many contributions throughout the years and wish them the best.”

Wrestling fans celebrate Regal’s technical style of wrestling, as well as his on-screen role as general manager of NXT which he began in July 2014. Inside the ring, he was two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Hardcore Champion, a four-time European Champion, a four-time World Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 2008. Regal made his first comments regarding his release from WWE, thanking the company.

“Thank you to @WWE for a wonderful 21 year run. You gave a lad who was happy and in wonderland wrestling on a carnival have a charmed life for 21 years. No complaints and please no one waste time replying as I won’t have a bad work said against the company. I will add that @WWE  saved my life in 1999 when they didn’t need to, kept my family fed and took me all around the world. You have my gratitude forever. You allowed me to live a charmed life.”

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcribed quote

William Regal has made his first comments regarding the decision made earlier this week by WWE management to release him alongside several other talent and staff that had been working at the Performance Center.

The former NXT General Manager issued the following statement on his Twitter account Friday night: 

“Thank you to @WWE for a wonderful 21 year run. You gave a lad who was happy and in wonderland wrestling on a carnival have a charmed life for 21 years. No complaints and please no one waste time replying as I won’t have a bad work said against the company.

I will add that @WWE  saved my life in 1999 when they didn’t need to, kept my family fed and took me all around the world. You have my gratitude forever. You allowed me to live a charmed life.”

During his in-ring run with the company in 2000, he was a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Hardcore Champion, a four-time European Champion, a four-time World Tag Team Champion, and the 2008 King of the Ring winner. 

In July 2014, Regal was given the on-screen role of the General Manager of NXT, which lasted through 2021 In addition to his on-screen work, Regal worked behind the scenes in NXT and as an independent scene scout.

If you needed further proof that the NXT of old is dead, look no further than William Regal’s WWE release.

Regal appeared to be a WWE lifer. When Regal first made his way to WWE, WCW was still in business. He had a brief stint with the company in 1998 before being released the following year and making his way back to WCW.

Regal would end up returning to WWE in 2000 and he’d end up sticking with the company for two decades. In more recent years, he was Triple H’s right-hand man in NXT.

It made sense. After all, Regal and Triple H have been friends since their WCW days in the early to mid-90s. Besides their friendship, Regal is one of the most respected people in the wrestling business and he’s been looked at as a mentor.

On camera, Regal had served as the General Manager of NXT. There was an angle where Regal teased giving up his position and handing it to Samoa Joe. In storyline, Joe refused to take the position but served as an enforcer before returning to active competition.

While Regal is a big name who no longer works for WWE, he isn’t the only one. Road Dogg has also been handed his walking papers along with others.

• Longtime WWE Employees Road Dogg & More Released

Reactions to William Regal’s Release

William Regal has received warm responses from fans and those in the industry. PWInsider reported that Regal is among the names who have been released by WWE as part of NXT cutbacks.

There are also people who feel this is the final dagger in the old NXT.

Just days into the new year, WWE has released several people from NXT including producers, writers, and office staff.

WWE sent out a statement to select media members on Wednesday that reads:

“With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center. We thank them for their many contributions throughout the years and wish them the best.”

Here’s the current list of WWE & NXT releases, as reported by Fightful, F4Wonline and PWInsider:

• Road Dogg
• William Regal
• Scott Armstrong
• Hideki Suzuki of Diamond Mine
• Timothy Thatcher
• Danny Burch
• Cathy Corino (Allison Danger)
• Dave Kapoor, Senior VP of Creative
• Sarah Cummins, Senior VP of Consumer Products
• Ace Steel, Performance Center Coach
• Ryan Katz, Writer
• George Carroll, Writer

WWE has seen its share of releases on both the office and talent side. The cuts truly revved up following the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a time when WWE was itching to sign talent to big contracts in response to the growth of AEW. Soon, WWE began putting more emphasis on tightening its budget and many have speculated this is due to wanting to look presentable in case a sale offer is on the table.

As far as this latest round of NXT office cuts is concerned, this is likely due to Triple H losing control of his original vision for NXT. The brand has gotten away from indie talent and has gone back to being more of a developmental hub.

SEScoops will update you on any more cuts that surface.

Freddie Prinze Jr. had a great experience working with William Regal during his time at WWE.

Prinze has a new wrestling-themed podcast, Wrestling With Freddie. Most people know Freddie Prinze Jr. for his movie roles. However, SEScoops readers know he was also a member of WWE’s creative team a decade ago (2008-2009 and 2010-2012).

On the latest Wrestling With Freddie, Prinze credits Regal for being a huge help to him behind the scenes.

“William Regal, also known as Steven Regal, is and was one of the single most helpful human beings while I worked at that company,” said Prinze. “He would warn me about people. He would help show me what wrestlers’ strengths were, and to write my promos, to fit the type of wrestler that they were, because I was not doing that.”

It’s one thing to write for a television sitcom. However, professional wrestling is a unique medium with its own rules and nuances.

He continued, “You don’t want to write a Luchador like a big man, you don’t want to write a big man like a high flyer. There’s a different attitude when you’re seven-feet tall. You don’t have to say as much, you’re seven feet tall.”

Also on this episode, Prinze shares a heartwarming story involving New Japan Pro Wrestling star Fred Rosser, formerly known as Darren Young in WWE/NXT.

• Freddie Prinze Jr. recalls not getting along with John Cena in WWE

Listen to Wrestling with Freddie – powered by iHeartRadio:

NXT General Manager William Regal seemed to cast doubt on his future with the brand on Sunday night. The former Intercontinental Champion mentioned how the NXT locker room had been at war over the past few weeks, specifically the performers in the Fatal 5 Way match for the NXT Championship.

Regal said after the event that it might be time “for a change” on NXT. It wasn’t clear if William Regal meant he was going to leave the position, however Triple H did discuss the situation on the post-show media call.

“William Regal, he’s been such an integral part of this since day one,” Triple H began. “There are certain people that have and then there’s people that have come in along the way. It’s hard to envision doing it in any sort of way without them.”

Triple H on William Regal

“Regal’s definitely one of those people” ‘The Game’ added. “And I don’t think that we will ever do it without him. He’ll be a part of this until the day that he tells me he doesn’t want to be a part of it anymore.”

“It’s why Shawn’s here, it’s why I’m here, it’s why Matt Bloom’s here, Sara’s [Amato] here, it’s why this whole team is here, they love the business, and they love all the aspects of this business and want to see it continue and move forward” Triple H added.

“They want to help guide it and change it into the future, try to create the business that they always hoped and wished it could be as they were coming up and get rid of the things that none of us liked or understood about the business and enhance the bits and pieces that we did love about it.”

It’s likely that the situation will be addressed further on this week’s episode of NXT on Tuesday.

Danny Burch suffered a shoulder injury last week on NXT. Unfortunately, NXT General Manager William Regal recently announced that the NXT tag-team titles will be vacated due to Burch’s injury.

“As first reported on the NXT Injury Report, Danny Burch suffered a shoulder injury and I can now confirm, along with the following X-ray, that Danny suffered a separated shoulder. William Regal told me he will be providing an update shortly to the NXT Universe,” Tweeted host of WWE the Bump, Matt Camp.

William Regal then responded to Camp’s comments by noting the NXT tag-team titles will now be vacated. Regal also stated that he will address the state of the titles on Wednesday night.

NXT Tag Team Championship Statistics

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan became the 20th team to win the belts since their inception in 2013. PAC and Oliver Grey were the inaugural champions.

Only 2 teams, The Revival (aka FTR) and Undisputed Era have won the belts more than once.

The Undisputed Era holds most records with the belts, having held them 3x for a combined 606 days. The Ascension holds the record for the longest single-reign with the titles. They held the belts for 364 days from 2013-14.

WWE has announced that the NXT GM William Regal will be making two ‘game-changing’ announcements during this week’s episode of the show.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated has now provided more details on the situation and he reveals the announcements the company is planning to make.

According to him, Regal’s first big announcement will be the creation of the of the NXT women’s tag team championships, which has been speculated recently.

The second big announcement from the general manager will be about the upcoming Takeover event during the WrestleMania 37 weekend.

It was revealed recently that an NXT Takeover event is currently scheduled for WWE Network on Thursday, April 8, two days before night 1 of WrestleMania 37.

Later reports suggested that the company officials have discussed the idea of holding the NXT event in two nights this year. Night 1 of the show is expected to air on the USA Network on its regular timeslot on Wednesday.

• WWE Reveals Details Of Move To Peacock

Night two of the event would then take place on Thursday and air exclusively on the WWE Network and the latest reports confirm that to be the plan.

There was also speculation about the company announcing NXT’s move to Tuesday nights but it appears that the announcement for that will be made at a later date.

WWE has confirmed that NXT General Manager William Regal will be making two ‘major’ announcements on this week’s episode of the show on USA Network.

WWE executive Triple H and NXT producer Shawn Michaels joined in on the hype. Triple H is touting them as “game-changing” announcements, which had led to some speculation that we’ll dig into below.

Reportedly, the two points addressed will be NXT’s move to Tuesday nights and the brand getting it’s own Women’s Tag Team Championships.

NXT Moving To Tuesdays

It was recently reported that NXT will be moving to Tuesday nights after WrestleMania 37 in April. This move signals the end of the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ that have been ongoing since October 2019.

The brand moving to Tuesday nights can easily be considered a win-win for both NXT and All Elite Wrestling. With the two brands now on different nights it will give both the opportunity to ‘breathe’ in terms of storylines and content. This will mean not having to compete against a similar product in the same timeframe.

NXT Women’s Tag Titles

The second announcement is again being touted as a confirmation of the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. The match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships ended in controversy; with Adam Pearce got and cost Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez a shot at winning the titles.

Due to the involvement of a WWE official; it is expected that NXT will be bringing in their own titles and giving them to Kai and Gonzalez.

WWE announced 4 new signings today for its NXT UK brand. Amongst the signings is Bailey Matthews, son of NXT General Manager, William Regal. Matthews formerly wrestled under the name Joe Bailey and had at one point been training at the NJPW dojo.

“Ready to roar onto the scene and represent his hometown of Blackpool, England, Bailey Matthews is set to bring a unique style to NXT UK inspired by the likes of Johnny Saint, Billy Robinson and NXT General Manager William Regal,” reads a WWE description of Matthews. The company’s official press release makes no mention of Matthews being Regal’s son, however.

The other announced signings include Meiko Satomura, although her debut for NXT UK had been announced earlier this week.

Also signed was Tony Gill, who used to wrestle under the name Gursinder Singh as part of the Desi Hit Squad for Impact Wrestling. He is a graduate of Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy.

Metehan Kocabasoglu is a German wrestler with Turkish heritage. He is better known under the name Lucky Kid. The 27-year-old has wrestled with the WXW promotion.

Rampage Brown, Aleah James, Sha Samuels and Ben Carter all recently debuted for the NXT UK brand as well.

AEW star Eddie Kingston appeared on this week’s episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast. The independent veteran would discuss a number of topics from his time on the road, working with a number of AEW stars and his tryout with WWE.

Eddie Kingston took part in a tryout with WWE back in 2016. That tryout saw the likes of Shayna Baszler, Ruby Riot, Kimber Lee, Su Yung, Jacob Fatu and Cedric Rougeau attempt to get into the Performance Center full time also.

Eddie Kingston on WWE Tryout

“No, that was it. Just one tryout” Eddie Kingston explained on the podcast, saying how he hasn’t attempted to get back into WWE seriously since then. Kingston would also explain why he felt he never got a shot in WWE. “Again? Because I was fat. I was fat and I talked all this sh*t and did what I wanted.”

Eddie Kingston would also then reveal that NXT General Manager William Regal was looking to bring him into WWE. “William Regal was great guy to me, you know what I mean? I think he was always trying to get me there. But again, I just, I made my own choices.”

Kingston would reveal that he opted to join IMPACT Wrestling just 2 days after his WWE tryout. WWE had apparently given him a 6 to 8 week window and Kingston decided that he could not wait that long.

Jon Moxley Talks Who He Wants To Tag With in AEW

“You’d already know by then if you wanted me” Kingston exclaimed on the podcast. “I needed money, I needed to get, my ex at the time, a house.”

Interestingly, Eddie Kingston was contacted by WWE just after his first appearance in AEW. Kingston would in the end opt to sign for All Elite Wrestling and will be part of the ALL OUT PPV that takes place on September 5th. That show will be available to view on FITE TV.

WWE had NXT General Manager William Regal open Wednesday’s episode of NXT with a major announcement. 

Clearly, WWE didn’t want to waste any time in getting the announcement made. In the opening segment, Regal did a quick introduction before giving the platform to NXT and North American Champion Keith Lee. 

Lee cut a promo from his home office where he talked about cashing in on the opportunity to become the NXT North American Champion and later the top champion on the brand. 

However, he won’t be limiting the brand and thus, decided to vacate the North American Title. He wants as many people as possible to have the opportunity to win the title.

Regal started that there will be a series of triple threat matches that will serve as qualifying matches. The first match will be Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong vs. Bronson Reed on Wednesday’s episode of NXT. The winners of these matches will then advance to a Ladder Match at the NXT TakeOver special next month to crown the new North American Champion. 

The event, titled NXT TakeOver XXX, will take place on August 22nd. 

Regal had been hyping this announcement as something that would be yet another step forward for the brand. In that same tweet, he said that seeing the men and women of this brand over the last couple of months has been inspiring and invigorating.

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WWE NXT General Manager William Regal took to Twitter today and fueled rumors & speculation on the “huge announcement” that he has scheduled for tonight’s NXT show.

Regal commented on how it’s been an incredible honor to serve as the General Manager of NXT, and noted that tonight’s announcement will be another step forward for the brand.

“Serving as the General Manager or #WWENXT has been an incredible honor,” Regal wrote. “To see the men and women of this brand over the last couple of months has been inspiring and invigorating. Tonight’s major announcement will be yet another step forward for @WWENXT”

Serving as the General Manager or #WWENXT has been an incredible honor. To see the men and women of this brand over the last couple of months has been inspiring and invigorating.

Tonight’s major announcement will be yet another step forward for @WWENXT.

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) July 22, 2020

Below is the line-up for tonight’s NXT show on the USA Network:

– GM William Regal makes a “huge announcement”

– Shotzi Blackheart vs. Aliyah

– Dexter Lumis vs. Killian Dain

– Karrion Kross vs. Dominik Dijakovic

Be sure to join us for live NXT coverage at 8PM EST tonight, and stay tuned for updates going into the show.

NXT General Manager William Regal is set to once again appear on WWE show The Bump. Last time Regal appeared, he announced that NXT would be hosting a tournament to crown an Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship. This is something current Champion Jordan Devlin took issue with. Regal’s upcoming appearance on The Bump will once again regard the state of NXT gold as he will be addressing the NXT Tag Team Championship scene. 

William Regal Addresses The NXT Tag Team Championship Landscape

The current NXT Tag Team Champions are Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne. The duo, collectively known as the Broserweights, won the belts during NXT TakeOver: Portland earlier this year. They defeated Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish to claim the gold, having earned the right by winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.

It’s worth noting that The Bump’s official Twitter account wrote:

“The #WWENXT GM stops by #WWETheBump to address the @WWENXT Tag Team Championship picture, this Wednesday at 10am ET!” 

This could suggest that William Regal’s news may relate to determining new contenders rather than news directly regarding the champs.

WWE’s The Bump airs at 10AM ET on Wednesdays. Fans can watch the show via the WWE Network and WWE’s Digital Platforms. 

NXT General Manager William Regal will reveal some breaking news regarding the black-and-gold brand Wednesday morning.

Regal will be joining WWE show The Bump as one of their scheduled guests. Other guests for the episode include WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray and impromptu WrestleMania 36 host Titus O’Neil. 

At the time of writing, there is no indication as to what William Regal’s reveal will be related to. It could be connected to this week’s episode of NXT. The show airs on the USA Network tonight. This episode was pre-recorded last week during the tapings that saw WWE record RAW and WrestleMania 36 itself. 

NXT Preview (4/8)

Tonight’s episode of NXT has a scheduled six-woman Ladder Match. The winner of this bout will become the new number one contender to the new NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. NXT Superstars Io Shirai, Tegan Nox, Mia Yim, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green and Dakota Kai will all vie for the opportunity. 

The main event of the show will be the highly-anticipated clash between long-time rivals Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. Their match takes place in an empty arena. 

WWE’s The Bump airs at 10AM ET on Wednesdays. Fans can watch the show via the WWE Network and WWE’s Digital Platforms. 

Following last night’s anarchic ending to WWE’s black-and-gold brand NXT, NXT General Manager William Regal took to Twitter to release a statement on their actions:

“The actions of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa to each other and to the WWE Performance Center are beyond unprofessional and UNACCEPTABLE on every level. I will be dealing with this privately with both gentlemen.”

Chaos At The Performance Center

In case you missed it, last night’s episode of NXT took place from the Performance Center. The episode ended with a heated brawl breaking out between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

The two Superstars fought throughout the PC from the back, through to the gym and finally out to the crowd. Their clash ended after Ciampa drove Gargano through the announce table from off of a platform above the commentary area.

Their fight saw mass amounts of property damaged as Gargano and Ciampa battled one another. Gym equipment was used, mirrors were broken, walls were destroyed, and at one point Ciampa was thrown through a glass pane door. It’s believed that the two will take part in a major matchup at NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay as part of WrestleMania 36 weekend.

NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay takes place on April 4, 2020, from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.