History Wrestling / WilliamRegal

* EvilBrit: Arguably the biggest example in pro-wrestling. The trope (at least the wrestling version) could be renamed in favor of him.

William Regal (born Darren Kenneth Matthews on May 10, 1968 in Codsall Wood, Staffordshire, England) is a retired English professional wrestler best known for working for {{Wrestling/WWE}} as the general manager of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]'', and is arguably the biggest British wrestling star since the heyday of Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith. With a career spanning three decades all over the world, he gained the most fame and success in Wrestling/{{WCW}} in the mid-1990s as Lord Steven Regal and later WWE, which he joined in the final year of the famed Wrestling/AttitudeEra and has remained since: first (and briefly) as Steven Regal the "Real Man's Man", and later (and since then) William Regal. He is currently the most senior member of the full-time talent roster going by ring experience, having been in the business longer than several prominent WWE Superstars (such as Wrestling/CodyRhodes) have been ''alive''.

William Regal (born Darren Kenneth Matthews on May 10, 1968 in Codsall Wood, Staffordshire, England) is a retired English professional wrestler working for {{Wrestling/WWE}} as the general manager of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]'', and is arguably the biggest British wrestling star since the heyday of Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith. With a career spanning three decades all over the world, he gained the most fame and success in Wrestling/{{WCW}} in the mid-1990s as Lord Steven Regal and later WWE, which he joined in the final year of the famed Wrestling/AttitudeEra and has remained since: first (and briefly) as Steven Regal the "Real Man's Man", and later (and since then) William Regal. He is currently the most senior member of the full-time talent roster going by ring experience, having been in the business longer than several prominent WWE Superstars (such as Wrestling/CodyRhodes) have been ''alive''.

While William Regal was never a world champion, he has extensively trained several future world champions currently employed by WWE. [[Wrestling/TripleH You might]] [[Wrestling/CMPunk have heard]] [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson of them]]. Regal's final match came in 2013 against Wrestling/AntonioCesaro on NXT, after which he became the General Manager of the black and gold brand.

%% GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2020. If you're reading this in the future, please check the trope description to make sure your example matches the current criteria.

* CardCarryingVillain: He's completely shameless about his evil reputation, calling himself every low name under the sun on numerous occasions—and even as a face, it's the opposite, being complimented as a ''good person'', that offends him. It's not strange to hear him, as an announcer on NXT, make such claims as "I've never had a drop of integrity, what did it hurt me?" as part of his defense for both faces and heels being questioned for doing what they've gotta do within minutes of each other. (To wit, when Tyler Reks defeated Curt Hawkins in a "Loser Gets Fired" match orchestrated by Regal to get ThoseTwoBadGuys off his back, Regal offered to shake hands with Reks and put their differences aside--only for Reks to say "you're not bad after all." Regal promptly fired him too.)

* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[EvilBrit In Regal's case]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcb8RoxQPD0 this stands out]]: During the time Regal [[MentorOccupationalHazard was mentoring Eugene]], Wrestling/TripleH took advantage of Eugene's "special" nature to try and regain the World Title, and left him beaten and bloodied when it backfired. A week after Eugene comes back and costs Triple H the belt in a Iron Man match, Regal confronts him, revealing (or reminding us) that he mentored Triple H in Wrestling/{{WCW}} and said that if it had been anyone else he manipulated, Regal would've been proud. Eugene, [[MoralityPet however?]] That was something that pissed Regal off enough to sneak Eugene into the building and cost Triple H the World Title. It also served for a rare HeelFaceTurn.

* CardCarryingVillain: He's completely shameless about his evil reputation, calling himself every low name under the sun on numerous occasions—and even as a face, it's the opposite, being complimented as a ''good person'', that offends him. (To wit, when Tyler Reks defeated Curt Hawkins in a "Loser Gets Fired" match orchestrated by Regal to get ThoseTwoBadGuys off his back, Regal offered to shake hands and put their differences aside--only for Reks to say "you're not bad after all." Regal promptly fired him too.) It's not strange to hear him, as an announcer on NXT, make such claims as "I've never had a drop of integrity, what did it hurt me?" as part of his defense for both faces and heels being questioned for doing what they've gotta do within minutes of each other.

* CardCarryingVillain: He's completely shameless about his evil reputation, calling himself every low name under the sun on numerous occasions—and even as a face, it's the opposite, being complimented as a ''good person'', that offends him. It's not strange to hear him, as an announcer on NXT, make such claims as "I've never had a drop of integrity, what did it hurt me?" as part of his defense for both faces and heels being questioned for doing what they've gotta do within minutes of each other.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[EvilBrit In Regal's case]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcb8RoxQPD0 this stands out]]: During the time Regal [[MentorOccupationalHazard was mentoring Eugene]], Wrestling/TripleH took advantage of Eugene's "special" nature to try and regain the World Title, and left him beaten and bloodied when it backfired. A week after Eugene comes back and costs Triple H the belt in a Iron Man match, Regal confronts him, revealing (or reminding us) that he mentored Triple H in Wrestling/{{WCW}} and said that if it had been anyone else he manipulated, Regal would've been proud. [[TheRainman Eugene]], [[MoralityPet however?]] That was something that pissed Regal off enough to sneak Eugene into the building and cost Triple H the World Title. It also served for a rare HeelFaceTurn.

%% GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2020. If you're reading this in the future, please check the trope description to make sure your example matches the current criteria.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The name of Regal's finisher, the Knee Trembler- it's British slang for WallBangHer.

* DoingItForTheArt: He allowed Wrestling/AntonionInoki to shoot choke him unconscious rather than submit as was planned, because he believed it would make for a better finish.

* TheSouthpaw: A rare but prominent left-handed pro-wrestler on a roster of right-handed ones.

William Regal (born Darren Kenneth Matthews on May 10, 1968 in Codsall Wood, Staffordshire, England) is an English professional wrestler working for {{Wrestling/WWE}} as the general manager of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]'', and is arguably the biggest British wrestling star since the heyday of Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith. With a career spanning three decades all over the world, he gained the most fame and success in Wrestling/{{WCW}} in the mid-1990s as Lord Steven Regal and later WWE, which he joined in the final year of the famed Wrestling/AttitudeEra and has remained since: first (and briefly) as Steven Regal the "Real Man's Man", and later (and since then) William Regal. He is currently the most senior member of the full-time talent roster going by ring experience, having been in the business longer than several prominent WWE Superstars (such as Wrestling/CodyRhodes) have been ''alive''.

While William Regal has never been a world champion (saying "has never been" but not "never was" because pro-wrestling's [[GarbageWrestler hardcore legend]] Wrestling/TerryFunk proved [[TenMinuteRetirement there's no such thing as actual, long-term, permanent retirement]]), he has extensively trained several future world champions currently employed by WWE. [[Wrestling/TripleH You might]] [[Wrestling/CMPunk have heard]] [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson of them]].

Regal has seen quite possibly everything there is to see about the wrestling business, being one of the few wrestlers active today to have started his career as a ''legitimate'' submission wrestler on the British carnival circuit. He's one of the best in the ring, best on the mic, and knows how to tell a story in the ring. However, he's also seen the darker aspects of the business, particularly an almost crippling drug addiction that's unfortunately common in the wrestling business. He has since cleaned up and is arguably the greatest success story of WWE's Wellness Policy. Due to these facts, he's a favorite of diehard fans and [[SmartMark smarks]].

William Regal (born Darren Kenneth Matthews on May 10, 1968 in Codsall Wood, Staffordshire, England) is an English professional wrestler working for WWE as the general manager of [=NXT=], and is arguably the biggest British wrestling star since the heyday of Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith. With a career spanning three decades all over the world, he gained the most fame and success initially in Wrestling/{{WCW}} in the mid-1990s as Lord Steven Regal and later Wrestling/{{WWE}}, which he had joined in the last year of the famed Wrestling/AttitudeEra and has been there since, first (and briefly) as Steven Regal the "Real Man's Man", and later (and since then) William Regal. He is currently the most senior member of the full-time talent roster, going by ring experience, having been in the business longer than several prominent WWE Superstars (such as Wrestling/CodyRhodes) have been ''alive''.

** InUniverse, he tried to get Christopher Nowinski to focus on wrestling instead of wanting to devirginize Wrestling/MollyHolly.[[note]]In WWE's developmental league Memphis Championship Wrestling in 2000, Molly, billed as Lady Ophelia, was Regal's valet.[[/note]]