Is William Regal a Jerk with a Heart of Gold? Check this CMOH page out and judge for yourself.
- Regal and Eugene: Regal was mentoring Eugene, the wrestling savant "nephew" of then-GM of WWE Raw Eric Bischoff, as a condition of getting back on the WWE roster after a year-plus absence due to a Real Life heart defect that had to be cleared up. Eugene is placed in Regal's care in April 2004. Regal's obviously not interested in this at first due to Eugene being troublesome, but he soon grows attached to the young man who's a "special" talent in the ring. (Eugene knew that the first WWE Intercontinental Champion was Pat Patterson in 1979.) This culminates in Triple H trying to take advantage of Eugene in order to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. However, Eugene screws things up for Triple H, who gets mad and beats up Eugene. On the July 26, 2004 edition of WWE Raw, Eugene gets revenge and "accidentally" costs Triple H his shot at the World title against Chris Benoit. Accidentally? On August 2, 2004, Regal comes out and confesses that he let Eugene into the building and then rips Triple H asunder for trying to manipulate Eugene, a "disadvantaged young boy". Triple H and Regal later have a match, but Regal wins by DQ due to Triple H beating him senseless. A bloodied and beaten Regal stands up to try to give Triple H the Power of the Punch during that match but Triple H knocks him down with a sledgehammer. Granted, Regal got his ass kicked in the end, but it felt good to stand up to Triple H regarding Eugene.
- His work with Eugene seemed to really bring out the best in Regal. When they defeated La Resistance for the WWE World Tag Team Titles
and were handed the belts, Regal looked rejuvenated, as if he had just won his first title. His comically serious nature was reinforced in the post-match interview with Maria, with Eugene running over and saying, "We're like the British Bulldogs! We're like the Hart Foundation! We're like the Legion of Doom! Uhhhh, what a rush!", and pouring chocolate milk on Regal and Maria. - This tweet (soon after Umaga's death):@Realkingregal: People ask me a lot why I used to say Umanga the way I did.It was so people would remember it.I'm glad I did.A great man.
- He considers having a hand in Daniel Bryan's training as the highlight of his career, and it's clear his pupil returns that feeling of respect. After all, his Knee + is a reference to a move Regal used to do.
- Also doubles as a Tear Jerker. When Dusty Rhodes passed away, WWE uploaded a special hour long tribute to him on the WWE Network. There was a segment near the end where various super stars and divas talked about what an effect Dusty had on them, and how much they admired and loved him. William's was a bit more personal and he's clearly talking as Darren Matthews and not William Regal (as you can tell by his Black Country accent):William: Twenty two years ago...when I came to this country, Dusty Rhodes was the man who signed his name to my work visa. And uh...every time I used to see him he used to go: "Steven note ...you owe me. You owe me big time."
- Regal's first promo in AEW has him profusely thank Tony Schiavone, seemingly out of character, for helping him with serious matters when he first moved to America. Schiavone also seems genuinely touched, it's very sweet.
