Though it technically isn't official just yet, and likely won't be until “The Gentleman Villian” graces a television – for some promotion – all signs point to William Regal, the former NXT GM turned leader of the Blackpool Combat Club jumping ship from AEW back to WWE, with some suggesting that he could be back in The Fed in some way, shape, or form by 2023.
So, like, what happened? It was reported that his contract was set to expire in January of 2023, then Dave Meltzer reported that he signed a three-year deal, then others reported that even if the deal was for three years, the contract has some sort of an opt-out, either formal or informal, that would allow him to leave the company, with the prevailing takeaway being that if Regal is on television in 2023, it will be for WWE, not AEW.
But why? Well, everyone seems to be hearing something different, with EC3 telling Sportskeeda that Regal wasn't happy with the “maturity of management” while others, including Justin LaBar of Wrestling Inc. saying that Regal's “wisdom and coaching not (being) appreciated/received,” which is a claim Brian Pillman lightly pushed back on but ultimately agreed with.
Meltzer tried to explain things further on Wrestling Observer Radio, but even he couldn't wrap his head around it definitively.
“I believe that there is something that's going to be on Wednesday's show, if it doesn't change, where there will be something addressing certain things,” Meltzer said. “That story is supposed to keep going in some way, but [Regal] is going back to WWE.”
When asked to elaborate on the exact conditions of Regal's contract, Meltzer tried his best but admitted that he wasn't definitively sure either way.
“I've had so many different people tell me so many different stories. The primary source story is that his contract was short-term. The WWE side says that he had an out. Does he sign a nine-month deal? It doesn't sound right but that's the closest thing to what I would say is official,” Meltzer continued. “Others say that he had an out, or Tony gave him an out.”
Bryan Alverez attempted to set the record on William Regal, WWE, and AEW.
Speaking of The Wrestling Observer, Meltzer's partner in crime, Bryan Alvarez, took to the airwaves in an attempt to set the record straight once and for all, as transcribed by Wrestling News.
“I don't know what is going on with William Regal but this is what I can tell you,” Alvarez began. ‘I believe, and I was not told this outright but I've kind of been given the indication that that was the end of William Regal on AEW on last night's show. that was writing him off the show, he was beaten up by MJF, he was taken out on a stretcher, and he was taken away in an ambulance. I believe that we are not going to see him again on AEW.”
“He originally signed a multi-year deal that was going to be up in the spring. For the last several weeks, there have been a lot of rumors about William Regal. It started a little bit before that but people really started talking about it when they did the segment after he turned on Jon Moxley. Jon Moxley got in the ring, they had the face to face and Moxley told him ‘walk and never come back.' He walked. A lot of people believed he was never going to come back…I was not outright told that he was gonna come back but I kind of was given the impression that there would be more with William Regal.”
“Again, I want to make this clear. I have not been told outright that he is gone but based on several things, I believe he's gone. He's no longer going to be in AEW. I don't know this for a fact that he is going back to WWE imminently but this is what I can tell you for a fact…The belief among people within WWE is that when he signed with AEW, he essentially had an agreement where if Triple H returns to power, he can go back to WWE. And Triple H is now back in power. The belief within WWE is that is what is going on. He is going back to WWE and it was part of an agreement that he made when he signed and Triple H is now back in power and so William Regal is returning. Whether this is the case, we will I'm sure find out soon enough.”
Is Alvarez correct? Is WWE where Regal wants to be, thanks to his relationship with Triple H? Or did he simply not want to be in AEW any longer and opted to pursue a role with his former employer despite being fired less than a year ago? Could it be a little bit of both? Either way, it's clear Regal won't be #AllElite for much longer, and like it or not, that's the bottom line, as if “Stone Cold” himself said so.
Follow Us
Subscribe