The AEW signing of William Regal has him appearing on Turner Broadcasting for the first time in 22 years. Regal spent quite some time in WCW trying to cultivate an image in wrestling and earning respect the hard way. WCW witnessed Regal delivering matches and character work differently from anyone else on the roster.RELATED: 10 Backstage Stories About William Regal We Can’t BelieveWWE ended up having more memories with Regal to the average viewer today since he spent so much time there. Regal however deserves more credit for his WCW run as quite a few interesting things fly under the radar. The following tidbits will provide a deeper glance at some overlooked memories from Regal’s WCW tenure.
10 Embarrassing Goldberg
Enough time has passed that William Regal breaking character to embarrass Goldberg is a memory of the past. Few fans remember this, let alone know the story that went behind a rare moment of Regal breaking character.
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Goldberg’s undefeated streak was a huge success, but he alienated wrestlers by legitimately hurting them in the ring and refusing to sell for their moves. Regal wanted to send a message by forcing Goldberg into submissions and showing what he could do to Goldberg if he wished. WCW responded by firing Regal since Goldberg was their new golden goose.
9 Teaming With Triple H
The early start of Triple H’s career took place in WCW and saw him working closely with someone who became a long-time friend. William Regal and Triple H had their run together as arrogant heel aristocrat characters.
WCW wanted to have them move forward in the tag division, but Triple H opted to leave for WWE when his contract expired. WWE was Triple H’s dream, and it worked out for the best. Regal ended up rekindling his friendship with Triple H in WWE and becoming one of his closest friends.
8 Coming Back For Second Run After WWE Firing
Few fans remember William Regal returning to WWE in 1999 after his failed WWE run with the Man’s Man gimmick. Regal’s drug issues led to WWE firing him for the substance abuse problems impacting his job.
WCW brought Regal back for a similar heel character like his previous run, but it only lasted a few months. Regal rarely had noteworthy storylines and WCW television lost viewers shortly before to make it less impactful.
7 Winning TV Title From Ricky Steamboat
The TV Championship in WCW was an accolade that William Regal not only won, but he helped add to the credibility of the belt. Regal held the title on four occasions as his only championship won in the company during his entire run.
The first title reign came when defeating Ricky Steamboat to make it even sweeter. Steamboat was a former WCW main eventer and an all-time great in-ring worker. Regal scoring his first title win over such a name gave him some momentum and legitimacy moving forward.
6 Winning TV Title From Lex Luger
The third TV Championship reign for William Regal featured one of his most unlikely victories. WCW drastically changed when the New World Order arrived, as both faces and heels worked together to combat them.
William Regal proved to be a true heel even without having any association with the nWo. Lex Luger dropped the TV Championship to Regal when the nWo members interfered to attack him. Regal took advantage of Luger’s battles with the nWo to steal the win and hold the gold again.
5 PPV Feud With Sting
The biggest name to have an actual program with William Regal in WCW was Sting. Regal targeted Sting in the early summer portion of 1996 and earned a match with the top name at the Great American Bash event.
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The New World Order was in the early stages of starting, and it led to more eyes on the product. Regal did his best going toe to toe with Sting and coming off well. WCW doing little with him after he lost to Sting is why few fans remember this feud.
4 Parking Lot Brawl With Fit Finlay
Fit Finlay was similar to William Regal as an international hard-hitting star who moved to the United States to get a big break in WCW. The company wisely placed them in a feud based on disdain and violence in the mid-card picture.
A memorable match on Nitro featured them having a Parking Lot Brawl surrounded by other wrestlers and cars. Regal scored the win in the brutal fight to build him up shortly before that aforementioned feud with Sting in the summer of 1996.
3 Losing Retirement Match To Jim Duggan
The second stint of William Regal in WCW was forgotten for reasons already discussed, but it also ended so quickly that it was easy to not take it in. Regal spent about half a year in WCW getting lower mid-card work before once again wanting out.
WWE was willing to give Regal another chance after attending rehab and proving he could return to the road. The booking team decided to book a retirement match between Regal and Jim Duggan to write him off. Regal lost a retirement match, but he was back on WWE TV within a few months.
2 Replaced Brian Pillman To Defend Tag Titles With Steve Austin
One of the strangest moments of William Regal’s WCW career came when he lost a title that wasn’t even his. WCW witnessed plans needing to change on the fly after Brian Pillman got injured as one-half of The Hollywood Blondes with Steve Austin.
The plan was to have fellow heel Regal align with Austin as a replacement partner for a title defense against Arn Anderson and Paul Roma. WCW realized they needed to change the titles, so Regal just joined to help Austin drop it without vacating them.
1 Best Of Five Series With Ric Flair
The best of five series between William Regal and Ric Flair rarely getting talked about shows just how few fans remember it. Any scenario with these two talents in a series of matches would be enticing on paper, especially watching back now that they are legends.
WCW was struggling to get attention at the time as a distant second to WWE. Regal and Flair worked hard in their best of five series, but the Marquess of Queensberry Rules took away from it. Two of the matches were draws. Flair won two matches of the remaining three matches to win the overall series.
