William Regal is finding his footing in All Elite Wrestling, and he’s enjoying the ride so far.
The veteran spent two decades with WWE before he was released this past January. He then signed with AEW and debuted at the Revolution pay-per-view in March. Since then, he has been featured alongside Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley; together, the trio is now known as Blackpool Combat Club, a group that recently added Wheeler Yuta into the mix.
During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Regal discussed the opening stretch of his time in AEW. When asked whether he expected to find himself with something as prominent as the BCC, he explained that he initially felt like he needed some time to get back up to speed because he had been confined to a limited on-screen role for the last chapter of his WWE career.
“No, I wasn’t,” said Regal. “When I was asked to come here, it’s like, can you just give me like a month to get my legs underneath me a little bit? My wrestling brain, I’m trying to get it up to, I don’t feel like it’s up to what it needs to be, but it’s getting there. But it’s just figuring, I’m in a new company now. You know, there’s a lot of things, when you come in here, I’ve just been in the job that I’ve been in. You’ve gotta come in here and you’ve gotta go what’s everybody gonna think? Or do they think I’m gonna be a direct hotline back to [WWE], which is not my way, and I think enough people know me to know that. My word’s my word and I come in here, and I work here now.”
“I’m getting used to being, William Regal is an act that has come after all these years. And even before wrestling, because of influences, we’ve all got pit influences. And William Regal is a product of that, and the act grows. But I’ve been in a different role for the last whatever amount of years on TV. I’ve just been out to strictly deliver messages and be a straight act, basically, a general manager thing. So I’m just getting used to that. I’m out there, there’s all this energy going on here, which I love, I love being around young talent that wanna get better at this. I love wrestling, as long as there’s effort. As long as there’s effort, I don’t care. You work for different companies, you do what they want to do. Well I like wrestling, and as long as people put effort in, I love it.”
Regal then emphasized that he’s still getting adjusted and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity he has been given. He also made it clear that he appreciates the freedom he now has as a performer.
“So I’m just trying to get my feet under me, but I get put in, I’m fortunate enough, with these fellas, getting told that was why I was coming in was one thing, but actually oh wow, wow, we’re not giving that away, but I’m just watching what’s going on, and it’s mind-blowing,” said Regal. “I’m like getting giddy over it again. You couldn’t ask for anything better. You’ve got the freedom to just be me again and my little nuances and little tics and twitches and stuff when I’m out there or just talking and oh right, I can just, I go all over the place, no idea where I’m gonna go when I go out there.
“Basically although I’m not a jazz music fan, I like listening to it like, but I was a jazz wrestler. I just used to go out there and go wherever it went. Well now I’ve got that freedom to do that again and to [be in] the greatest thing I could be in one’s in, but not overshadow it, not trying to take away but it’s fantastic, [being] a part of the act.”
The renowned veteran went on to explain that the reality-based story of his partnership with Moxley and Danielson is what makes it so special.
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