Darren Matthews
Encyclopedia
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born May 10, 1968), is an English
professional wrestler
, author
and color commentator
currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand
under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling
under the ring name Steven Regal. Having started his career wrestling
on the carnival circuit in England
, Matthews moved on to wrestle around the world in countries such as Germany
and South Africa
, before being called up to World Championship Wrestling
in 1993. In 2000, after leaving WCW, Matthews joined the World Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Entertainment and now just WWE), where he became commissioner
. More recently he has been General Manager of Raw
and also the 2008 King of the Ring
.
While he has never been a world champion, Matthews has, nonetheless, achieved considerable championship success in professional wrestling. Throughout his career, he has won more than 60 titles worldwide, including four in WCW and 15 in WWE. He has overcome multiple drug problems as well as a major heart defect during his career, and he has written an autobiography, Walking a Golden Mile.
, Staffordshire
, England
, United Kingdom
, before moving with his family to London. Matthews made his ring debut wrestling in carnival
s and on the North Pier of Blackpool
at the age of fifteen. He wrestled professionally all over England, where he regularly teamed with Robbie Brookside
, before going to the United States
in 1992. He wrestled his first few matches under the name Roy Regal before settling on the name Steve Regal, a name he saw in an American wrestling magazine (in use by "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal
). Both Regal and Brookside appeared on World of Sport
in several matches that were televised.
(WCW) as Steve Regal, beginning as a face character
. He became the villain
Lord Steven Regal in 1993, claiming descent from William the Conqueror. At times arrogantly charming in this persona, one of his memorable statements to a post-match interviewer was, "Do you know what my New Year's resolution is going to be? To wake up a half an hour earlier so I can hate you more."
Bill Dundee
served as his manager
under the name Sir William, and he won the World Television Championship
four times. He teamed up with fellow aristocrat Jean-Paul Levesque
, but after Levesque left WCW, he was replaced by Alabama
-born Bobby Eaton
. Regal formed the team The Blue Bloods and was involved in humorous vignettes where he tried to teach Eaton the finer points of dining and the proper usage of the Queen's English
. He renamed him "Earl" Robert Eaton and soon added "Squire" David Taylor
to the team. They came close to winning the WCW Tag Team Titles
, but never did.
During his stint in WCW, Regal faced Antonio Inoki
at Clash of the Champions on August 28, 1994. Regal also had a match with Shinya Hashimoto
for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On February 9, 1998, Regal had a match with Goldberg
on Monday Nitro
, in which he appeared more aggressive and stiff than expected with the then-rising star. It was later revealed that most of Regal's moves on Goldberg were shoot-style moves
, which caught Goldberg off-guard at the time. It was rumored that WCW management was upset with Regal because, even though he did job
to Goldberg as expected, he was supposed to lose to Goldberg in a squash, like most of Goldberg's other competitors at the time, as opposed to actually keeping the match competitive. However, in his autobiography, Regal disputes this.
was on the June 29, 1998 edition of Raw Is War
, in which he defeated Droz
via submission with the Regal Stretch. After featuring in one more match against Tiger Ali Singh at Penn State in Pennsylvania, Regal was sent to a training camp run by Dory Funk Jr. in order to get into shape. On his last day, in a match against Rhyno, Regal twisted his ankle, upon returning home he aggravated this injury falling in his bathroom, breaking his ankle and leg. During this time Regal was suffering from an addiction to Renutrient, pain medication and valium and was not seen on WWF television until he returned that fall with a "Real Man's Man" builder/lumberjack style looking gimmick created by Vince Russo
that was based on the image of The Brawny Man. Vignettes for the character showed him doing "manly" things like chopping wood, shaving with a plain razor, and squeezing his own orange juice
. After he made his full-time debut in October 1998, he faced X-Pac
in the opening round of the tournament for the vacant WWF World Championship at the Survivor Series
, ending in a double countout and thus eliminating both men from the tournament. Regal then began a feud with The Godfather
, but was taken off television soon after before subsequently checking into rehab in January 1999 and was released from the WWF in April.
. On Nitro
the following night, Regal, accompanied by both Fit Finlay
and Dave Taylor, fought Billy Kidman. The fans reacted as if Regal had never left and straight after the bell began chanting "USA! USA!". Despite outside help from Finlay and Taylor, Regal was unable to pick up the win. Two weeks later he faced Mikey Whipwreck
. Jimmy Hart
's First Family
came out to challenge The Blue Bloods at Road Wild for the Hardcore Trophy, causing Regal to lose the match. Nothing came of this challenge as neither the First Family or the Blue Bloods were featured on the Road Wild card. Similar to his previous run, much of Regal's performances took place in tag team bouts. He continued his role as a rule breaking villain and had small feuds with teams such as the Filthy Animals
. In late February 2000, Regal faced off in a Career vs. Career match against "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
on Saturday Night
for the Television Title. Regal lost the match and was again released.
Regal was once again hired by the WWF and sent to the developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling
for a short time. After a match with Chris Benoit
at the Third Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show
, he was brought up to the main roster and re-debuted on the September 18 episode of Raw is War
. His new character was Steven William Regal (soon shortened to William Regal), a stereotypical
English snob
, hearkening back to his WCW character. As a villain, Regal had much more success, winning the European Championship
. He later became the on-screen commissioner and self-proclaimed "Goodwill Ambassador" of the WWF and was given a comedy sidekick in Tajiri
. During the WCW/ECW Alliance storyline, Regal became a villain by costing Kurt Angle
the WWF Championship
and joining The Alliance. He was fired as commissioner by Linda McMahon
, but Shane McMahon
, who was the owner of WCW, hired him as the Alliance Commissioner. After the Alliance was defeated at Survivor Series
in November 2001, Regal was forced to become the first member of Vince McMahon
's "Kiss My Ass" club by kissing the left cheek of McMahon's ass so he could keep his job.
from Edge at the Royal Rumble
in January, where he began using a set of brass knuckles
in order to win matches. Regal defended the title against Edge again at No Way Out
in a brass knuckles on a pole match before losing the title to Rob Van Dam
at WrestleMania X8
. Soon after, he beat fellow WCW alum Diamond Dallas Page
for the European Championship
on an April 2002 edition of SmackDown! In mid-2002, the World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, and the roster was divided into two separate "brands
". During this time he was drafted to the Raw
brand by owner Ric Flair
. He was defeated by Spike Dudley
in a match for the European Title, but won it back two weeks later to become a four-time champion. He later lost the title to Jeff Hardy
and later held the Hardcore Championship
five times. He formed an alliance with Molly Holly
before joining The Un-Americans
, an anti-American villainous alliance consisting of Canadian wrestlers Lance Storm
, Christian and Test. On the September 30, 2002 episode of Raw, every member of The Un-Americans lost their matches, causing the group to separate later in the night and break away into separate groups. Regal began teaming with Lance Storm, Christian formed a tag-team with Chris Jericho
, and Test branched off into single competition. Storm and Regal won the World Tag Team Championship from Booker T and Goldust thanks to Regal's brass knuckles. They lost the titles to The Dudleys
(Bubba Ray and D-Von) at the Royal Rumble
, but regained the titles twenty four hours later, thanks to an impromptu match set up by Chief Morley
after Regal and Storm had put Bubba through a table. Regal would later have to give up his title due to a heart condition (initially thought to be a stomach virus contracted on a recent WWE tour of India).
Eugene
, the "mentally challenged" nephew of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
, was placed in the care of Regal during his return to WWE. Initially dismayed at having to babysit Eugene, Regal eventually grew very fond of him and they became friends, becoming a fan favorite in the process. Regal was ordered by Bischoff to make Eugene lose so that he would leave WWE, but his friendship with Eugene caused him to try only half-heartedly to cost Eugene his match with Robert Conway. Despite this, Bischoff put Regal back on the active roster. Regal would later team with Eugene and win the World Tag Team Championship from La Résistance on the November 15, 2004 edition of Raw. Eugene legitimately injured himself at New Year's Revolution
after botching
a dropkick
. This ultimately cost them the World Tag Team Championship, as Regal unsuccessfully attempted to defend the titles with announcer Jonathan Coachman
as Eugene's stand in. The pair wrestled and lost a match against La Résistance at a house show
, crowning them with their third reign. On February 4, 2005, Regal and old ally Tajiri defeated La Résistance to win the World Tag Team Championship on an episode of Raw, broadcast live from Tajiri's home country Japan
. La Résistance entered in a feud with the champions, and repeatedly missed out on the titles during matches, mainly on Sunday Night Heat
. During their last shot for the titles, La Résistance thought they had won back the titles, only to have the decision reversed by referee Mike Chioda
due to the legal man not being pinned. After winning this match, an open challenge to any tag team was issued by Regal to try to win their belts. On the following episode of Raw, Regal and Tajiri successfully defended the belts against the debuting Romeo
and Antonio, known collectively as "The Heart Throbs
." At Backlash
in May, Regal and Tajiri participated in a Tag Team Turmoil match in which four teams competed for the World tag team titles. Regal and Tajiri were eliminated by La Résistance who, in turn, were eliminated by Hurricane and Rosey, who became the new champions. Shortly before the 2005 ECW One Night Stand
, Regal announced that he was joining Eric Bischoff's anti-ECW faction to invade the pay-per-view, and told Tajiri he had to make a choice, either to join with Regal or join with ECW
. Tajiri responded by chanting, "EC-Dub! EC-Dub!" (the traditional ECW
chant). Regal did indeed invade the ECW pay-per-view, along with many other WWE performers. This would turn him heel again as a result.
On June 30, 2005, Regal was sent to SmackDown! as part of an eleven person trade during the draft
. His first match on SmackDown! was on July 7 against Matt Morgan, in what was to be Morgan's final WWE match. It was interrupted before Regal was even able to enter the ring by The Mexicools
. His first full match as part of the roster was a loss to Chris Benoit
in a catch wrestling
match on the July 16 episode of WWE Velocity
. Having applied the Regal Stretch which Benoit managed to escape from, Regal eventually submitted to the Crippler Crossface.
On August 4, 2005, Regal was scheduled to go one on one with Scotty 2 Hotty, but the Mexicools came in and attacked both men. Two weeks later, they teamed up on SmackDown! against Psicosis and Super Crazy
with Juventud
in their corner. Halfway through the match, Regal betrayed Scotty by refusing to tag him and walked out of the ring with a smirk on his face, allowing the Mexicools to pick up the win. Two days later, Regal cut a promo telling the crowd that he had returned to his former self, referring to himself as a "scoundrel" and a "rogue". The promo ended when Scotty ran to the ring and attacked Regal. The following week, a match between the two was cut short when another Englishman, the debuting Paul Burchill
, interfered to aid his countryman. Regal went on to take Burchill under his wing and tag with him on the hunt for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but the teams biggest exposure was a loss in a handicap match against Bobby Lashley at Armageddon
.
On the February 3 edition of SmackDown!, Regal and Burchill told the "network representative" Palmer Canon
that they no longer wanted to be a tag team so they could go their separate ways. During this discussion, Burchill informed Canon that his family heritage traced back to the pirate Blackbeard
, and that he wanted to turn this into a pirate gimmick. Burchill, with this heroic persona, started a rivalry with former team mate Regal, who would try to convince Burchill to return to his ruthless ways. Regal faced Burchill, his first match as a pirate, and was defeated following Birchill's Walking the Plank move. Burchill once again defeated Regal in a match with the stipulation that Regal would have to dress like a "buxom wench" if he lost the match. Lady Regal, as SmackDown! announcers jokingly referred to him, had no choice but to dress up like this until Burchill lost a match. This stipulation ended after Burchill abandoned Regal during a match that saw Regal and Burchill defeated by the Gymini
tag team.
, JBL
in a losing effort while in England. Soon after Booker T became King Booker after becoming King of the Ring
and Regal joined King Booker's Court, playing the role of a town crier
. As a member of the Court, Regal helped Booker in his feud against Bobby Lashley, occasionally teaming up with fellow Court member Finlay
in tag team matches. However, during this time, Regal also feuded with Finlay for the WWE United States Championship
. Regal was knighted by King Booker and changed his ring name to Sir William Regal. At No Mercy
, Regal lost to a returning Chris Benoit in a match, turning his back on the King's Court afterwards by knocking down King Booker with a left hand to the face after Booker slapped him and called him useless. During the broadcast, Regal was involved in a backstage segment with Vito
in which he accidentally exposed his penis
for a brief second. WWE.com issued an apology for the incident the next day.
Twelve days after No Mercy, Regal stated that while he had once been one of the world's greatest wrestlers, he had since become a doormat for other SmackDown superstars. He referred to being dressed as a buxom wench for a pirate, the aforementioned locker room incident with Vito, and being knighted by a false king as examples. After announcing he was finished being a whipping boy, he introduced his old tag team partner Dave Taylor, and the two went on to easily defeat the team of Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki
. Though the pair reformed their previous tag team, they did not reuse the Blue Bloods gimmick, instead portraying themselves as sadistic fighters. However, the team was quickly put into jeopardy in their second match together when Taylor suffered a torn meniscus
in his left knee leaving him injured. Taylor took a more relaxed role for a couple of weeks as a corner man for Regal and only wrestled in a few short house show
matches. Taylor quickly healed from his injury and the pair feuded with WWE Tag Team Champions
Paul London and Brian Kendrick
. After defeating London and Kendrick on several occasions, at Armageddon
, they took part in a 4-way ladder match
alongside Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury
and The Hardys
. London and Kendrick coming out on top after Joey Mercury
suffered a serious facial injury. On the May 25 edition of SmackDown!, Regal and Taylor competed in a number 1 contenders match for the WWE Tag Team Championship against London and Kendrick, which they lost after Deuce 'n Domino
interfered, making both teams the number one contenders. This interference led to a triple threat match the next week on SmackDown!, in which Deuce 'n Domino retained the title.
On June 17, Regal was drafted back to the Raw
brand
during the Supplemental Draft, ending his tag team with Dave Taylor. On July 2, Regal served as Interim General Manager of Raw, filling in for Jonathan Coachman
. While General Manager, Regal introduced the Beat the Clock Sprint to Raw, which was used to determine who would challenge John Cena
for the WWE Championship
at the 2007 Great American Bash
.
On the August 6 edition of Raw, Regal became the new General Manager after winning an over the top rope battle royal
featuring other participants from the Raw roster. He began incorporating game shows into Raw while general manager. On the September 3 episode of Raw, Regal was attacked by WWE Champion John Cena in retaliation for rewarding Randy Orton with a WWE title shot after Orton had kicked John Cena's father in the head the previous week. Regal was missing from Raw programming for one month due to this attack, making his return by siding with Vince McMahon
. On New Year's Eve
, Triple H
was scheduled to face Ric Flair
, in which Flair's win or retire ultimatum was still active. Regal announced that if Triple H lost the match in any way, he would not participate in the Royal Rumble match at the 2008 Royal Rumble
. This was to give Triple H a reason to want to win the match rather than avoid ending the career of his best friend and idol. Regal was scheduled to compete against Hornswoggle that night with Mr. McMahon at ringside. McMahon tossed Regal some brass knuckles
during the match and encouraged him to use them on Hornswoggle, but he let Hornswoggle go and left the ring. During the Flair versus Triple H match, Triple H performed the Pedigree on Flair and appeared to be going for the pin when Regal suddenly punched Flair in the face with the brass knuckles. This gave Flair the win by disqualification, ensuring that he could continue to wrestle and that Triple H would not be part of the Royal Rumble. As a result of Regal's actions towards Triple H, the following week on Raw Roulette, Regal lost a First Blood match to Triple H after several right hands to Regal's forehead. A few weeks later, he made the Raw Elimination Chamber
match for No Way Out
. He later turned face for one night only while on a European tour, by facing Randy Orton in a match to try to teach him some respect.
The following week, Regal won the 2008 King of the Ring Tournament
, on a special three hour edition of Raw, where he defeated Hornswoggle, Finlay
and CM Punk
all by submission. Regal's coronation ceremony the next week was interrupted by the returning Mr. Kennedy. A few weeks later Regal lost a Loser Gets Fired match to Mr. Kennedy, after which, Regal was kayfabe
forced to leave WWE. In reality, Regal was suspended on May 20, 2008, for sixty days for his second violation of the company’s Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy. On July 28, 2008, Regal returned from his suspension as a "free agent
" during an episode of Raw, where he was defeated by then World Heavyweight Champion
CM Punk.
Regal began a mini-feud with Jamie Noble
after he took an interest in Noble's romantic interest Layla
, prompting him to attack Regal. Both men picked up victories in consecutive weeks, before Regal won their third match, departing with Layla at his side. Regal's feud with Noble escalated the subsequent week when Layla declared that Noble was a loser and that she found a man worthy of her in Regal. However, the feud was short lived.
On the November 3, 2008 episode of Raw, Regal won an over-the-top battle royal to face Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Title, and the next week in Manchester
, England
, Regal defeated Marella in a 40 second squash match to win his second Intercontinental Title. Later, he entered into a feud for the title with number one contender CM Punk
. On the January 5 edition of Raw, Regal lost to Punk via disqualification after he grabbed the referee's shirt. Due to this, Stephanie McMahon awarded Punk a rematch the following week, with the stipulation that if Regal was disqualified, Regal would lose the Intercontinental title, but this time Punk was disqualified. McMahon awarded Punk another rematch, this time a No Disqualification match on January 19 episode of Raw, Punk won the match and the title. Regal got a rematch but lost the match when Punk hit the Go To Sleep.
Following the Draft
, Regal was left alone on the Raw brand as his on-screen manager Layla was drafted to the SmackDown brand. At Extreme Rules, Regal unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston
for the WWE United States Championship
along with Montel Vontavious Porter and Matt Hardy
, Kofi Kingston retained the United States Championship by pinning Regal.
and Christian.
On the August 11 edition of ECW on SyFy, Regal defeated Tommy Dreamer to become number one contender for the ECW Championship
. A week later, Regal teamed with Vladimir Kozlov to face Christian and Ezekiel Jackson, with the end of the match involving Jackson turning on Christian, allowing Regal to pin Christian for the victory. The end result of a new stable, referred to as "The Ruthless Roundtable". At SummerSlam 2009
, Regal challenged Christian for the ECW Championship, but was unsuccessful after losing to Christian in just 8 seconds. Regal then challenged Christian to a rematch for the title at WWE Breaking Point
, but was once again unsuccessful. Regal received another shot for the ECW Championship on the November 10 edition of ECW on SyFy in Sheffield, England, but was once again unsuccessful. Regal and Jackson eventually turned on Kozlov for being the 'weak link'. ECW was cancelled on February 16, 2010, and Regal returned to the Raw brand.
Regal was the WWE Pro to NXT Rookie Skip Sheffield on the first season of WWE NXT
. Regal made his debut on the March 2 edition of NXT, teaming with Sheffield in a losing effort against Matt Hardy
and Justin Gabriel. On the April 13 edition of NXT, Regal won his first match on the show, defeating former pupil Daniel Bryan
. On the May 10 edition of NXT, Sheffield was eliminated from the competition.
Regal would be mostly involved in lower card feuds after returning to "Raw", while also appearing on WWE Superstars
. After a losing streak that lasted five months, Regal gained his first victory since April by defeating Goldust on the August 26 edition of Superstars. On the September 13 edition of Raw, Regal was defeated by Goldust in a Trading Places Match where Regal had to wear Goldust's attire and Goldust had to wear Regal's. Goldust defeated Regal again on the September 23 edition of Superstars. Regal would face Darren Young in three matches on Superstars in October and November, defeating Young at every turn. On the December 20 episode of Raw, Regal went against former pupil Daniel Bryan
in a losing effort. After the match, Regal showed respect to Bryan before leaving the ring.
, Regal would replace Josh Mathews as the color commentator for the fifth season. On April 26, Regal was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2011 WWE Supplemental Draft. Regal began a feud with rookie Jacob Novak
and his pro JTG during his time as commentator, with Novak challenging Regal to a match. On the May 3 edition of WWE NXT, Regal was set to face Novak, but instead faced JTG, who he defeated by disqualification after Jacob Novak attacked him as he was set to pick up the victory by pinfall. On the following week's edition of WWE NXT, which would be Regal's 43rd birthday, Regal would face Novak, defeating him by submission. The week after, Novak was eliminated from NXT, thus ending the feud.
On the August 19 edition of SmackDown, Regal competed in a 20-man over-the-top-rope battle royal
to determine the No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship
, which was won by Mark Henry
. On the August 23 edition of NXT, Regal would come to the aid of NXT host, Matt Striker, saving him from an assault by Darren Young. On the September 6 edition of NXT, Regal defeated Young after Striker helped him by stopping JTG from interfering in the match. On September 13 edition of NXT, Regal teamed with Striker against JTG and Darren Young in a losing effort.
On November 10 from his home nation of England, Regal competed in the main event of WWE Superstars against Daniel Bryan, in which a part of his previous theme song, "Real Man's Man", was played. Despite a well fought contest Bryan managed to secure a victory with the LeBell Lock. Regal raised Bryan's hand in a show of respect after the match.
) is very different from the one he uses on television; one closer to Received pronunciation
. He has a tattoo on his left leg which says "Made In England" and a rose with his wife's name on his left arm. Matthews participated in an episode of The Weakest Link
, winning two of the first three rounds and eventually finishing third. In the final three he was up against husband and wife Triple H
and Stephanie McMahon. His pet
s include two snake
s, eight lizard
s, a tortoise
, three cat
s, and two dog
s. He claims the reason he owns so many pets is because "Humans disgust me. Vile creatures".
In 2003, Darren was misdiagnosed with what was in actual fact a heart defect which meant the right side of his heart was beating out of sequence with the left. This allowed large volumes of fluid to build in his body. After undergoing specialist treatment which involved stopping his heart and months of anti-blood clot treatments, he returned to wrestling in April 2004. During his illness and recovery he put on, and then lost, 40 pounds in weight.
While in WCW, he was arrested during a flight from Japan
back to the United States
when he got drunk and urinated
on a stewardess. By Matthews' account in his book, he claims that he was so drunk that he could not remember the incident and woke up in a cell in Anchorage, Alaska
. On August 30, 2007, Sports Illustrated
named Matthews, along with nine other superstars, found to be given illegal steroids not in compliance with the WWE Talent Wellness program. Matthews received stanozolol
, somatropin, genotropin, and anastrozole
between November 2004 and November 2006.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
under the ring name Steven Regal. Having started his career wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
on the carnival circuit in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Matthews moved on to wrestle around the world in countries such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, before being called up to World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
in 1993. In 2000, after leaving WCW, Matthews joined the World Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Entertainment and now just WWE), where he became commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
. More recently he has been General Manager of Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and also the 2008 King of the Ring
King of the Ring (2008)
King of the Ring was a special edition of World Wrestling Entertainment's television program, Raw. The episode was held on April 21, 2008 at BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The episode featured the eighteenth King of the Ring tournament, which was won by William Regal...
.
While he has never been a world champion, Matthews has, nonetheless, achieved considerable championship success in professional wrestling. Throughout his career, he has won more than 60 titles worldwide, including four in WCW and 15 in WWE. He has overcome multiple drug problems as well as a major heart defect during his career, and he has written an autobiography, Walking a Golden Mile.
Early years (1983–1992)
Matthews was born in Codsall WoodCodsall
Codsall is a large village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated north west of the city of Wolverhampton.-History:...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, before moving with his family to London. Matthews made his ring debut wrestling in carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
s and on the North Pier of Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
at the age of fifteen. He wrestled professionally all over England, where he regularly teamed with Robbie Brookside
Robbie Brookside
Robert Edward Brooks , better known by his ring name Robbie Brookside, is a British professional wrestler. He has toured all over the world during his career including such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, and Mexico...
, before going to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1992. He wrestled his first few matches under the name Roy Regal before settling on the name Steve Regal, a name he saw in an American wrestling magazine (in use by "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal
Steve Regal
Steve Regal is a former professional wrestler, better known as "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal, who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the early 1970s and 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:Born in Ft...
). Both Regal and Brookside appeared on World of Sport
World of Sport (UK TV series)
World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme which ran on ITV between 2 January 1965 to 28 September 1985 in response to competition from BBC's Grandstand...
in several matches that were televised.
World Championship Wrestling (1992–1998)
Matthews started in World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) as Steve Regal, beginning as a face character
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
. He became the villain
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
Lord Steven Regal in 1993, claiming descent from William the Conqueror. At times arrogantly charming in this persona, one of his memorable statements to a post-match interviewer was, "Do you know what my New Year's resolution is going to be? To wake up a half an hour earlier so I can hate you more."
Bill Dundee
Bill Dundee
William "Bill" Cruickshanks is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton....
served as his manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
under the name Sir William, and he won the World Television Championship
WCW World Television Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
four times. He teamed up with fellow aristocrat Jean-Paul Levesque
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, but after Levesque left WCW, he was replaced by Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
-born Bobby Eaton
Bobby Eaton
Robert Lee "Bobby" Eaton is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag teams, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis...
. Regal formed the team The Blue Bloods and was involved in humorous vignettes where he tried to teach Eaton the finer points of dining and the proper usage of the Queen's English
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
. He renamed him "Earl" Robert Eaton and soon added "Squire" David Taylor
David Taylor (wrestler)
David Taylor is an English professional wrestler best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
to the team. They came close to winning the WCW Tag Team Titles
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
, but never did.
During his stint in WCW, Regal faced Antonio Inoki
Antonio Inoki
is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes...
at Clash of the Champions on August 28, 1994. Regal also had a match with Shinya Hashimoto
Shinya Hashimoto
, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On February 9, 1998, Regal had a match with Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
on Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
, in which he appeared more aggressive and stiff than expected with the then-rising star. It was later revealed that most of Regal's moves on Goldberg were shoot-style moves
Shoot (professional wrestling)
A shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. Contrary to popular belief, the name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown, as in amateur wrestling - rather it is a carny term shortened from...
, which caught Goldberg off-guard at the time. It was rumored that WCW management was upset with Regal because, even though he did job
Job (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
to Goldberg as expected, he was supposed to lose to Goldberg in a squash, like most of Goldberg's other competitors at the time, as opposed to actually keeping the match competitive. However, in his autobiography, Regal disputes this.
World Wrestling Federation (1998–1999)
Regal's initial appearance in the World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
was on the June 29, 1998 edition of Raw Is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, in which he defeated Droz
Darren Drozdov
Darren Drozdov, is an essayist, former NFL player and retired professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation in 1998 and 1999 under the ring names Puke and Droz....
via submission with the Regal Stretch. After featuring in one more match against Tiger Ali Singh at Penn State in Pennsylvania, Regal was sent to a training camp run by Dory Funk Jr. in order to get into shape. On his last day, in a match against Rhyno, Regal twisted his ankle, upon returning home he aggravated this injury falling in his bathroom, breaking his ankle and leg. During this time Regal was suffering from an addiction to Renutrient, pain medication and valium and was not seen on WWF television until he returned that fall with a "Real Man's Man" builder/lumberjack style looking gimmick created by Vince Russo
Vince Russo
Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
that was based on the image of The Brawny Man. Vignettes for the character showed him doing "manly" things like chopping wood, shaving with a plain razor, and squeezing his own orange juice
Orange juice
Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
. After he made his full-time debut in October 1998, he faced X-Pac
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
in the opening round of the tournament for the vacant WWF World Championship at the Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1998)
Survivor Series was the twelfth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on November 15, 1998 at the Kiel Center in St...
, ending in a double countout and thus eliminating both men from the tournament. Regal then began a feud with The Godfather
Charles Wright (wrestler)
Charles Wright is an American businessman and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather .After leaving the wrestling...
, but was taken off television soon after before subsequently checking into rehab in January 1999 and was released from the WWF in April.
Return to World Championship Wrestling (1999–2000)
After checking out of rehab, Matthews was invited back into the wrestling world, making a somewhat brief return to WCW as Lord Steven Regal. His official pay-per-view return took place during Bash at the Beach in 1999 where he was one of many participants in the first ever Hardcore InvitationalHardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
. On Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
the following night, Regal, accompanied by both Fit Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
and Dave Taylor, fought Billy Kidman. The fans reacted as if Regal had never left and straight after the bell began chanting "USA! USA!". Despite outside help from Finlay and Taylor, Regal was unable to pick up the win. Two weeks later he faced Mikey Whipwreck
Mikey Whipwreck
John Watson , better known by his ring name Mikey Whipwreck, is a retired American professional wrestler best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling where he became the third ECW Triple Crown Champion....
. Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
's First Family
The First Family (professional wrestling)
The First Family was the name of two professional wrestling stables led by Jimmy Hart, first in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association, then in the late 1990s in World Championship Wrestling.-CWA stable:...
came out to challenge The Blue Bloods at Road Wild for the Hardcore Trophy, causing Regal to lose the match. Nothing came of this challenge as neither the First Family or the Blue Bloods were featured on the Road Wild card. Similar to his previous run, much of Regal's performances took place in tag team bouts. He continued his role as a rule breaking villain and had small feuds with teams such as the Filthy Animals
Filthy Animals
The Filthy Animals was a professional wrestling faction in World Championship Wrestling from 1999 until 2001.-Concept:The Filthy Animals was a group conceived after Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara were hired by WCW. The plan for the stable was to be WCW's version of the World Wrestling Federation's...
. In late February 2000, Regal faced off in a Career vs. Career match against "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
on Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
for the Television Title. Regal lost the match and was again released.
Commissioner (2000–2001)
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...
for a short time. After a match with Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
at the Third Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show
Brian Pillman Memorial Show
The Brian Pillman Memorial Show was an annual professional wrestling event held between 1998 and 2001 benefiting the children of Brian Pillman and featuring talent from World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling, as well as local and indy...
, he was brought up to the main roster and re-debuted on the September 18 episode of Raw is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
. His new character was Steven William Regal (soon shortened to William Regal), a stereotypical
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
English snob
Snob
A snob is someone who believes that some people are inherently inferior to him or her for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or supposed intellect, wealth, education, ancestry, taste, beauty, nationality, et cetera. Often, the form of snobbery reflects the snob's personal attributes...
, hearkening back to his WCW character. As a villain, Regal had much more success, winning the European Championship
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
. He later became the on-screen commissioner and self-proclaimed "Goodwill Ambassador" of the WWF and was given a comedy sidekick in Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
. During the WCW/ECW Alliance storyline, Regal became a villain by costing Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
and joining The Alliance. He was fired as commissioner by Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahon is an American professional wrestling magnate and politician. She is notable for her career developing WWE with her husband Vince McMahon. She was in the company from 1980 to 2009. During this time, WWE grew from a small regional business in New York to a large multinational...
, but Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
, who was the owner of WCW, hired him as the Alliance Commissioner. After the Alliance was defeated at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2001)
Survivor Series was the fifteenth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
in November 2001, Regal was forced to become the first member of Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
's "Kiss My Ass" club by kissing the left cheek of McMahon's ass so he could keep his job.
Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion (2002–2005)
In 2002, after an absence due to surgery on his nose, Regal returned and feuded with Edge. He won the Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
from Edge at the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2002)
Royal Rumble was the fifteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 20, 2002 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia...
in January, where he began using a set of brass knuckles
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
in order to win matches. Regal defended the title against Edge again at No Way Out
No Way Out (2002)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation . The event took place on February 17, 2002 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
in a brass knuckles on a pole match before losing the title to Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
at WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name...
. Soon after, he beat fellow WCW alum Diamond Dallas Page
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...
for the European Championship
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
on an April 2002 edition of SmackDown! In mid-2002, the World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, and the roster was divided into two separate "brands
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
". During this time he was drafted to the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand by owner Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
. He was defeated by Spike Dudley
Matt Hyson
Matthew "Matt" Hyson is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his performances in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Spike Dudley and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brother Runt.In ECW, he was a two-time...
in a match for the European Title, but won it back two weeks later to become a four-time champion. He later lost the title to Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
and later held the Hardcore Championship
WWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
five times. He formed an alliance with Molly Holly
Nora Greenwald
Nora Kristina Greenwald , better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. Greenwald is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .Greenwald began her professional wrestling career in WCW, where she...
before joining The Un-Americans
The Un-Americans
The Un-Americans were a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment who were active throughout mid-2002...
, an anti-American villainous alliance consisting of Canadian wrestlers Lance Storm
Lance Storm
Lance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
, Christian and Test. On the September 30, 2002 episode of Raw, every member of The Un-Americans lost their matches, causing the group to separate later in the night and break away into separate groups. Regal began teaming with Lance Storm, Christian formed a tag-team with Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, and Test branched off into single competition. Storm and Regal won the World Tag Team Championship from Booker T and Goldust thanks to Regal's brass knuckles. They lost the titles to The Dudleys
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Bubba Ray and D-Von) at the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2003)
Royal Rumble was the sixteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . The event took place on January 19, 2003 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts...
, but regained the titles twenty four hours later, thanks to an impromptu match set up by Chief Morley
Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment...
after Regal and Storm had put Bubba through a table. Regal would later have to give up his title due to a heart condition (initially thought to be a stomach virus contracted on a recent WWE tour of India).
Eugene
Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
, the "mentally challenged" nephew of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, was placed in the care of Regal during his return to WWE. Initially dismayed at having to babysit Eugene, Regal eventually grew very fond of him and they became friends, becoming a fan favorite in the process. Regal was ordered by Bischoff to make Eugene lose so that he would leave WWE, but his friendship with Eugene caused him to try only half-heartedly to cost Eugene his match with Robert Conway. Despite this, Bischoff put Regal back on the active roster. Regal would later team with Eugene and win the World Tag Team Championship from La Résistance on the November 15, 2004 edition of Raw. Eugene legitimately injured himself at New Year's Revolution
New Year's Revolution (2005)
New Year's Revolution was the first annual New Year's Revolution pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. It took place on January 9, 2005 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This event was the first pay-per-view event produced by WWE to be held in Puerto...
after botching
Botch (professional wrestling)
To botch in professional wrestling means to attempt a scripted move that does not come out as it was originally planned due to a mistake, miscalculation, or a slip-up. Most botches are harmless but embarrassing, such as a wrestler simply flubbing a line or missing a cue, or falling before his...
a dropkick
Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
. This ultimately cost them the World Tag Team Championship, as Regal unsuccessfully attempted to defend the titles with announcer Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
as Eugene's stand in. The pair wrestled and lost a match against La Résistance at a house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
, crowning them with their third reign. On February 4, 2005, Regal and old ally Tajiri defeated La Résistance to win the World Tag Team Championship on an episode of Raw, broadcast live from Tajiri's home country Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. La Résistance entered in a feud with the champions, and repeatedly missed out on the titles during matches, mainly on Sunday Night Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
. During their last shot for the titles, La Résistance thought they had won back the titles, only to have the decision reversed by referee Mike Chioda
Mike Chioda
Michael Joseph "Mike" Chioda, is a senior referee who is currently signed to WWE. While not refereeing, Chioda, as well as the other referees in WWE, help set up the arena before shows, constructing the ring and stage areas.-WWF:...
due to the legal man not being pinned. After winning this match, an open challenge to any tag team was issued by Regal to try to win their belts. On the following episode of Raw, Regal and Tajiri successfully defended the belts against the debuting Romeo
Romeo Roselli
Giovanni Roselli best known as Romeo Roselli is a professional wrestler and actor best known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand as one half of the "Heart Throbs" and is not to be confused with another wrestler by the name of Kid Romeo.-Career:Roselli began wrestling...
and Antonio, known collectively as "The Heart Throbs
The Heart Throbs
The Heart Throbs is the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli, currently wrestling on the independent circuit. Thomas and Roselli are billed as being popular "with the ladies", and typically approach the ring while performing pelvic thrusts to the...
." At Backlash
Backlash (2005)
Backlash was the seventh annual Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on May 1, 2005 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. The show's six matches showcased prominent WWE wrestlers, who acted out...
in May, Regal and Tajiri participated in a Tag Team Turmoil match in which four teams competed for the World tag team titles. Regal and Tajiri were eliminated by La Résistance who, in turn, were eliminated by Hurricane and Rosey, who became the new champions. Shortly before the 2005 ECW One Night Stand
ECW One Night Stand (2005)
ECW One Night Stand was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It was held on June 12, 2005 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York. The main event was a tag team match between The Dudley Boyz and the team of Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman...
, Regal announced that he was joining Eric Bischoff's anti-ECW faction to invade the pay-per-view, and told Tajiri he had to make a choice, either to join with Regal or join with ECW
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
. Tajiri responded by chanting, "EC-Dub! EC-Dub!" (the traditional ECW
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
chant). Regal did indeed invade the ECW pay-per-view, along with many other WWE performers. This would turn him heel again as a result.
SmackDown! and various feuds (2005–2006)
2005 WWE Draft Lottery
The 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place over a three week period in June. There were ten draft picks and an eleven-person trade conducted between the promotion's two brands: Raw and SmackDown!, where twenty-two superstars were drafted and traded overall...
. His first match on SmackDown! was on July 7 against Matt Morgan, in what was to be Morgan's final WWE match. It was interrupted before Regal was even able to enter the ring by The Mexicools
The Mexicools
The Mexicools were a professional wrestling stable and tag team, that were signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. The team consisted of three well-known Mexican wrestlers of the late 1990s: Super Crazy, Psicosis and Juventud...
. His first full match as part of the roster was a loss to Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
in a catch wrestling
Catch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...
match on the July 16 episode of WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
. Having applied the Regal Stretch which Benoit managed to escape from, Regal eventually submitted to the Crippler Crossface.
On August 4, 2005, Regal was scheduled to go one on one with Scotty 2 Hotty, but the Mexicools came in and attacked both men. Two weeks later, they teamed up on SmackDown! against Psicosis and Super Crazy
Super Crazy
Francisco Islas Rueda is a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador, best known by his ring name Super Crazy. Islas is most known for his three year run in the original ECW...
with Juventud
Juventud Guerrera
Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández , better known as Juventud Guerrera, is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known for his work in many wrestling promotions worldwide, including all the major American wrestling promotions, such as World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship...
in their corner. Halfway through the match, Regal betrayed Scotty by refusing to tag him and walked out of the ring with a smirk on his face, allowing the Mexicools to pick up the win. Two days later, Regal cut a promo telling the crowd that he had returned to his former self, referring to himself as a "scoundrel" and a "rogue". The promo ended when Scotty ran to the ring and attacked Regal. The following week, a match between the two was cut short when another Englishman, the debuting Paul Burchill
Paul Burchill
Paul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
, interfered to aid his countryman. Regal went on to take Burchill under his wing and tag with him on the hunt for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but the teams biggest exposure was a loss in a handicap match against Bobby Lashley at Armageddon
Armageddon (2005)
Armageddon was the sixth Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on December 18, 2005 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island and was a SmackDown! brand-exclusive event.The main event was a Hell in a Cell...
.
On the February 3 edition of SmackDown!, Regal and Burchill told the "network representative" Palmer Canon
Brian Mailhot
Brian Mailhot is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, better known for his short stint in World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand under the ring name of Palmer Canon.-Early career:...
that they no longer wanted to be a tag team so they could go their separate ways. During this discussion, Burchill informed Canon that his family heritage traced back to the pirate Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, and that he wanted to turn this into a pirate gimmick. Burchill, with this heroic persona, started a rivalry with former team mate Regal, who would try to convince Burchill to return to his ruthless ways. Regal faced Burchill, his first match as a pirate, and was defeated following Birchill's Walking the Plank move. Burchill once again defeated Regal in a match with the stipulation that Regal would have to dress like a "buxom wench" if he lost the match. Lady Regal, as SmackDown! announcers jokingly referred to him, had no choice but to dress up like this until Burchill lost a match. This stipulation ended after Burchill abandoned Regal during a match that saw Regal and Burchill defeated by the Gymini
Shane Twins
The Shane Twins are a professional wrestling tag team that consist of twin brothers Mike and Todd Shane. They were best known for their appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment as Gymini.-History:The Shane Twins debuted in the Florida based Independent Pro Wrestling promotion in 1998...
tag team.
King Booker's Court (2006–2007)
Regal continued to wrestle in a lower mid-card status, the highlight of which saw Regal turn face for one night only as he faced the then-reigning United States ChampionWWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
, JBL
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
in a losing effort while in England. Soon after Booker T became King Booker after becoming King of the Ring
King of the Ring (2006)
King of the Ring was the seventeenth King of the Ring tournament produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . The tournament was held between April 14 and May 21, 2006. It was the second King of the Ring tournament to take place after WWE's brand extension...
and Regal joined King Booker's Court, playing the role of a town crier
Town crier
A town crier, or bellman, is an officer of the court who makes public pronouncements as required by the court . The crier can also be used to make public announcements in the streets...
. As a member of the Court, Regal helped Booker in his feud against Bobby Lashley, occasionally teaming up with fellow Court member Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
in tag team matches. However, during this time, Regal also feuded with Finlay for the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
. Regal was knighted by King Booker and changed his ring name to Sir William Regal. At No Mercy
No Mercy (2006)
No Mercy was the eighth annual No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 8, 2006 from the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina and was a SmackDown! brand-exclusive event.The main event was a Fatal Four-Way match for...
, Regal lost to a returning Chris Benoit in a match, turning his back on the King's Court afterwards by knocking down King Booker with a left hand to the face after Booker slapped him and called him useless. During the broadcast, Regal was involved in a backstage segment with Vito
Vito LoGrasso
Vito Joseph LoGrasso is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their "developmental territories" Ohio Valley Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling as...
in which he accidentally exposed his penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
for a brief second. WWE.com issued an apology for the incident the next day.
Twelve days after No Mercy, Regal stated that while he had once been one of the world's greatest wrestlers, he had since become a doormat for other SmackDown superstars. He referred to being dressed as a buxom wench for a pirate, the aforementioned locker room incident with Vito, and being knighted by a false king as examples. After announcing he was finished being a whipping boy, he introduced his old tag team partner Dave Taylor, and the two went on to easily defeat the team of Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki
Shoichi Funaki
is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.-Early years :...
. Though the pair reformed their previous tag team, they did not reuse the Blue Bloods gimmick, instead portraying themselves as sadistic fighters. However, the team was quickly put into jeopardy in their second match together when Taylor suffered a torn meniscus
Meniscus (anatomy)
In anatomy, a meniscus is a crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that, in contrast to articular disks, only partly divides a joint cavity. In humans it is present in the knee, acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular, and temporomandibular joints; in other organisms they may be present in other...
in his left knee leaving him injured. Taylor took a more relaxed role for a couple of weeks as a corner man for Regal and only wrestled in a few short house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
matches. Taylor quickly healed from his injury and the pair feuded with WWE Tag Team Champions
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Paul London and Brian Kendrick are a professional wrestling tag team best known for their time together in World Wrestling Entertainment . The team never had an official team name, but were just referred to as "the tag team of London and Kendrick." In 2006 London and Kendrick put the tag team name...
. After defeating London and Kendrick on several occasions, at Armageddon
Armageddon (2006)
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 17, 2006 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The event starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand.The main event was a tag team match, in which the team...
, they took part in a 4-way ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
alongside Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury
MNM
MNM was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Joey Mercury , Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez....
and The Hardys
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
. London and Kendrick coming out on top after Joey Mercury
Adam Birch
Adam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury...
suffered a serious facial injury. On the May 25 edition of SmackDown!, Regal and Taylor competed in a number 1 contenders match for the WWE Tag Team Championship against London and Kendrick, which they lost after Deuce 'n Domino
Deuce 'n Domino
Deuce 'n Domino was the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Deuce Shade and Dice Domino, who were managed for the majority of their run by Cherry Pie and briefly by Maryse. The pair teamed together in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling from 2006 through 2008...
interfered, making both teams the number one contenders. This interference led to a triple threat match the next week on SmackDown!, in which Deuce 'n Domino retained the title.
General Manager of Raw and 2008 King of the Ring (2007–2009)
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
during the Supplemental Draft, ending his tag team with Dave Taylor. On July 2, Regal served as Interim General Manager of Raw, filling in for Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
. While General Manager, Regal introduced the Beat the Clock Sprint to Raw, which was used to determine who would challenge John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
at the 2007 Great American Bash
The Great American Bash (2007)
The Great American Bash was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
.
On the August 6 edition of Raw, Regal became the new General Manager after winning an over the top rope battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
featuring other participants from the Raw roster. He began incorporating game shows into Raw while general manager. On the September 3 episode of Raw, Regal was attacked by WWE Champion John Cena in retaliation for rewarding Randy Orton with a WWE title shot after Orton had kicked John Cena's father in the head the previous week. Regal was missing from Raw programming for one month due to this attack, making his return by siding with Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
. On New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
was scheduled to face Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
, in which Flair's win or retire ultimatum was still active. Regal announced that if Triple H lost the match in any way, he would not participate in the Royal Rumble match at the 2008 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2008)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-first annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 27, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands. The event was...
. This was to give Triple H a reason to want to win the match rather than avoid ending the career of his best friend and idol. Regal was scheduled to compete against Hornswoggle that night with Mr. McMahon at ringside. McMahon tossed Regal some brass knuckles
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
during the match and encouraged him to use them on Hornswoggle, but he let Hornswoggle go and left the ring. During the Flair versus Triple H match, Triple H performed the Pedigree on Flair and appeared to be going for the pin when Regal suddenly punched Flair in the face with the brass knuckles. This gave Flair the win by disqualification, ensuring that he could continue to wrestle and that Triple H would not be part of the Royal Rumble. As a result of Regal's actions towards Triple H, the following week on Raw Roulette, Regal lost a First Blood match to Triple H after several right hands to Regal's forehead. A few weeks later, he made the Raw Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring. The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within...
match for No Way Out
No Way Out (2008)
No Way Out was the ninth annual No Way Out professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on February 17, 2008 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada...
. He later turned face for one night only while on a European tour, by facing Randy Orton in a match to try to teach him some respect.
The following week, Regal won the 2008 King of the Ring Tournament
King of the Ring (2008)
King of the Ring was a special edition of World Wrestling Entertainment's television program, Raw. The episode was held on April 21, 2008 at BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The episode featured the eighteenth King of the Ring tournament, which was won by William Regal...
, on a special three hour edition of Raw, where he defeated Hornswoggle, Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
and CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
all by submission. Regal's coronation ceremony the next week was interrupted by the returning Mr. Kennedy. A few weeks later Regal lost a Loser Gets Fired match to Mr. Kennedy, after which, Regal was kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
forced to leave WWE. In reality, Regal was suspended on May 20, 2008, for sixty days for his second violation of the company’s Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy. On July 28, 2008, Regal returned from his suspension as a "free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
" during an episode of Raw, where he was defeated by then World Heavyweight Champion
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
CM Punk.
Regal began a mini-feud with Jamie Noble
Jamie Noble
James Howard Gibson better known by his WWE ring name Jamie Noble, is an American former professional wrestler currently working for WWE as a trainer. He is best known for his work from 2002 to 2009 when a severe back injury forced him to retire from competition...
after he took an interest in Noble's romantic interest Layla
Layla El
Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
, prompting him to attack Regal. Both men picked up victories in consecutive weeks, before Regal won their third match, departing with Layla at his side. Regal's feud with Noble escalated the subsequent week when Layla declared that Noble was a loser and that she found a man worthy of her in Regal. However, the feud was short lived.
On the November 3, 2008 episode of Raw, Regal won an over-the-top battle royal to face Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Title, and the next week in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Regal defeated Marella in a 40 second squash match to win his second Intercontinental Title. Later, he entered into a feud for the title with number one contender CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
. On the January 5 edition of Raw, Regal lost to Punk via disqualification after he grabbed the referee's shirt. Due to this, Stephanie McMahon awarded Punk a rematch the following week, with the stipulation that if Regal was disqualified, Regal would lose the Intercontinental title, but this time Punk was disqualified. McMahon awarded Punk another rematch, this time a No Disqualification match on January 19 episode of Raw, Punk won the match and the title. Regal got a rematch but lost the match when Punk hit the Go To Sleep.
Following the Draft
2009 WWE Draft
The 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the seventh Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 13; the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 15...
, Regal was left alone on the Raw brand as his on-screen manager Layla was drafted to the SmackDown brand. At Extreme Rules, Regal unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
for the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
along with Montel Vontavious Porter and Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, Kofi Kingston retained the United States Championship by pinning Regal.
Brand switches (2009–2011)
William Regal was traded to the ECW brand on June 29, 2009. In his first match on ECW on SyFy on June 30, 2009, he teamed with Vladimir Kozlov to defeat Tommy DreamerTommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
and Christian.
On the August 11 edition of ECW on SyFy, Regal defeated Tommy Dreamer to become number one contender for the ECW Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
. A week later, Regal teamed with Vladimir Kozlov to face Christian and Ezekiel Jackson, with the end of the match involving Jackson turning on Christian, allowing Regal to pin Christian for the victory. The end result of a new stable, referred to as "The Ruthless Roundtable". At SummerSlam 2009
SummerSlam (2009)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on August 23, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It was the 22nd annual SummerSlam event and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands...
, Regal challenged Christian for the ECW Championship, but was unsuccessful after losing to Christian in just 8 seconds. Regal then challenged Christian to a rematch for the title at WWE Breaking Point
WWE Breaking Point
Breaking Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on September 13, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The name of the event was voted by fans via...
, but was once again unsuccessful. Regal received another shot for the ECW Championship on the November 10 edition of ECW on SyFy in Sheffield, England, but was once again unsuccessful. Regal and Jackson eventually turned on Kozlov for being the 'weak link'. ECW was cancelled on February 16, 2010, and Regal returned to the Raw brand.
Regal was the WWE Pro to NXT Rookie Skip Sheffield on the first season of WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
. Regal made his debut on the March 2 edition of NXT, teaming with Sheffield in a losing effort against Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Justin Gabriel. On the April 13 edition of NXT, Regal won his first match on the show, defeating former pupil Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
. On the May 10 edition of NXT, Sheffield was eliminated from the competition.
Regal would be mostly involved in lower card feuds after returning to "Raw", while also appearing on WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
. After a losing streak that lasted five months, Regal gained his first victory since April by defeating Goldust on the August 26 edition of Superstars. On the September 13 edition of Raw, Regal was defeated by Goldust in a Trading Places Match where Regal had to wear Goldust's attire and Goldust had to wear Regal's. Goldust defeated Regal again on the September 23 edition of Superstars. Regal would face Darren Young in three matches on Superstars in October and November, defeating Young at every turn. On the December 20 episode of Raw, Regal went against former pupil Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
in a losing effort. After the match, Regal showed respect to Bryan before leaving the ring.
NXT and SmackDown (2011)
On the March 8, 2011 edition of WWE NXTWWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, Regal would replace Josh Mathews as the color commentator for the fifth season. On April 26, Regal was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2011 WWE Supplemental Draft. Regal began a feud with rookie Jacob Novak
Jacob Novak
Drew Molzhon, better known by his stage name Jacob Novak is a Polish American professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE, wrestling in their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, and appearing on the fourth and fifth seasons of WWE NXT.-Florida Championship Wrestling :In...
and his pro JTG during his time as commentator, with Novak challenging Regal to a match. On the May 3 edition of WWE NXT, Regal was set to face Novak, but instead faced JTG, who he defeated by disqualification after Jacob Novak attacked him as he was set to pick up the victory by pinfall. On the following week's edition of WWE NXT, which would be Regal's 43rd birthday, Regal would face Novak, defeating him by submission. The week after, Novak was eliminated from NXT, thus ending the feud.
On the August 19 edition of SmackDown, Regal competed in a 20-man over-the-top-rope battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
to determine the No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, which was won by Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
. On the August 23 edition of NXT, Regal would come to the aid of NXT host, Matt Striker, saving him from an assault by Darren Young. On the September 6 edition of NXT, Regal defeated Young after Striker helped him by stopping JTG from interfering in the match. On September 13 edition of NXT, Regal teamed with Striker against JTG and Darren Young in a losing effort.
On November 10 from his home nation of England, Regal competed in the main event of WWE Superstars against Daniel Bryan, in which a part of his previous theme song, "Real Man's Man", was played. Despite a well fought contest Bryan managed to secure a victory with the LeBell Lock. Regal raised Bryan's hand in a show of respect after the match.
Personal life
He has been married to Christina Beddoes since November 1986. They have three sons: Daniel, Dane Cliffdon, and Bailey. His actual accent (BlackpoolLancashire dialect and accent
Lancashire dialect and accent refers to the vernacular speech in Lancashire, one of the counties of England. Simon Elmes' book Talking for Britain said that Lancashire dialect is now much less common than it once was, but it is not yet extinct...
) is very different from the one he uses on television; one closer to Received pronunciation
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
. He has a tattoo on his left leg which says "Made In England" and a rose with his wife's name on his left arm. Matthews participated in an episode of The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
, winning two of the first three rounds and eventually finishing third. In the final three he was up against husband and wife Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Stephanie McMahon. His pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
s include two snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, eight lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, a tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
, three cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s, and two dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. He claims the reason he owns so many pets is because "Humans disgust me. Vile creatures".
In 2003, Darren was misdiagnosed with what was in actual fact a heart defect which meant the right side of his heart was beating out of sequence with the left. This allowed large volumes of fluid to build in his body. After undergoing specialist treatment which involved stopping his heart and months of anti-blood clot treatments, he returned to wrestling in April 2004. During his illness and recovery he put on, and then lost, 40 pounds in weight.
While in WCW, he was arrested during a flight from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he got drunk and urinated
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
on a stewardess. By Matthews' account in his book, he claims that he was so drunk that he could not remember the incident and woke up in a cell in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. On August 30, 2007, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
named Matthews, along with nine other superstars, found to be given illegal steroids not in compliance with the WWE Talent Wellness program. Matthews received stanozolol
Stanozolol
Stanozolol, commonly sold under the name Winstrol , Tenabol and Winstrol Depot , was developed by Winthrop Laboratories in 1962...
, somatropin, genotropin, and anastrozole
Anastrozole
Anastrozole is an aromatase-inhibiting drug approved for treatment of breast cancer after surgery, as well as for metastasis in both pre and post-menopausal women. The severity of breast cancer is increased by estrogen, as sex hormones cause hyperplasia, and differentiation at estrogen receptor...
between November 2004 and November 2006.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
-
- Knee Trembler (Running high knee to the side of a kneeling or bent over opponent's head)
- Power of the Punch (Left-handed knockout punch with brass knucklesBrass knucklesBrass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
) - Regal Stretch (Arm trap cross-legged STF)
- Signature moves
-
- Bow and arrow hold
- Choking an opponent while pleading with the referee
- Crossface chickenwing
- Double knee lift
- European uppercut
- Half Boston crab with the knee to the head
- Indian deathlock
- Inverted / Full / Half nelson hold
- Knee drop
- Multiple suplexSuplexA suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
variations- Double underhook, sometimes from the top rope
- Dragon
- Exploder
- German
- Half nelson
- Regal-Plex (Bridging leg hook belly to back)
- Three-quarter nelson - 1991-2003
- NeckbreakerNeckbreakerIn professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
- Regal Bomb (Double underhook powerbomb) - 1991-2007
- Regal Roll (Rolling fireman's carry slam)
- Regal Cutter (Cutthroat neckbreaker) - 1991-2006 - innovated
- Surfboard, sometimes with a dragon sleeper
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Sir WilliamBill DundeeWilliam "Bill" Cruickshanks is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton....
- Jeeves
- Lady OpheliaNora GreenwaldNora Kristina Greenwald , better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. Greenwald is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .Greenwald began her professional wrestling career in WCW, where she...
- LaylaLayla ElLayla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
- Sir William
- Wrestlers managed
- Triple HTriple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
- EugeneNick DinsmoreNicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
- Paul BurchillPaul BurchillPaul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
- Vladimir Kozlov
- Ezekiel Jackson
- Skip Sheffield
- Triple H
- Nicknames
- "Lord" Steven Regal (WCW)
- "The Man's Man" (WWF)
- "Sir" William Regal (WWE)
- "The Ringleader of the Tormentors"
- "The 2008King of the Ring (2008)King of the Ring was a special edition of World Wrestling Entertainment's television program, Raw. The episode was held on April 21, 2008 at BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The episode featured the eighteenth King of the Ring tournament, which was won by William Regal...
King of the RingKing of the RingKing of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event....
" - The British Brawler
- The Gentleman Vllain
- Nature Boy (World Of Sport)
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- WWF/E
- As Stephen Regal
- "Real Man's Man" by Jim JohnstonJim Johnston (composer)James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(1998)
- "Real Man's Man" by Jim Johnston
- As William Regal
- "Regality" by Jim Johnston (2008–present)
- "Real Man's Man" by Jim Johnston (November 10, 2011; used as an interruption to "Regality")
- As Stephen Regal
- WWF/E
Wrestlers trained
- Triple HTriple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
- CM PunkCM PunkPhillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
- Daniel BryanBryan DanielsonBryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
- Brian KendrickBrian KendrickBrian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under his real name. Before joining TNA he spent several years wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled under his name, as Spanky, and finally as "The" Brian Kendrick...
- Chris HeroChris HeroChris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
- SkyeVicky SwainVictoria Swain , better known by her ring name Vicky Skye often shortened to Skye, is a retired British professional wrestler. Four years into her career, she was voted in the top twenty women wrestlers in the United Kingdom...
- BobcatCynthia LynchCynthia Lynch is an American professional wrestler. She is perhaps best known for her time in the World Wrestling Federation as one of the The Godfather's many "hos"...
- Samoa JoeSamoa JoeNuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
- Matt Striker
- EugeneNick DinsmoreNicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
- Paul BurchillPaul BurchillPaul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
- Wade BarrettWade BarrettWade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
- Vladimir Kozlov
- Ezekiel Jackson
- Skip Sheffield
Championships and accomplishments
- Memphis Championship WrestlingMemphis Championship WrestlingMemphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...
- MCW Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipAWA Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship is a major professional wrestling title in the Memphis Wrestling promotion. The title is part of a long lineage that is best known while the title was named the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship for Continental Wrestling Association during...
(1 time)
- MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #18 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994
- World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
- WCW World Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(4 times)
- WCW World Television Championship
- World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
- World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Lance StormLance StormLance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
(2), EugeneNick DinsmoreNicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
(1) and TajiriYoshihiro Tajiri, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
(1) - WWF Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
(3 times) - WWF/E European ChampionshipWWE European ChampionshipThe WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
(4 times) - WWF/E Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(2 times) - King of the RingKing of the RingKing of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event....
(2008King of the Ring (2008)King of the Ring was a special edition of World Wrestling Entertainment's television program, Raw. The episode was held on April 21, 2008 at BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The episode featured the eighteenth King of the Ring tournament, which was won by William Regal...
)
- World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Lance Storm
Books
- Matthews, Darren and Chandler, Neil (2005) Walking a Golden Mile, Pocket Books (ISBN 0-7434-7634-4)