William Regal was recently interviewed by Bleacher Reportās Chris Miller, during which he discussed his run in WWE and his release. Check out the highlights below:
āI was very fortunate there because Mr. McMahon trusted me with whatever he gave me. When I hear these stories about people about having to do these different things, I was given ideas and it was just āgo and do it.ā And I always had the attitude of āletās just make it work.ā So Iāve just got at it and done it, and I had, you hear these things, it might offend a few people, you hear these things of āwell they have all these writers, and the script all their stuff out.ā Well, they do that so you know what youāre doing. But you can take that, as long as you have the trust and they know you can pull off what they need. But if you take that and make it your own and go sit in the stands for an hour and go āhow can I make this into something and use my own words?ā As long as you get that trust in the beginning, when you go there, you can go where you want with that stuff. Thereās learning how to react or thereās being an actor. Iām not an actor, I react to things.
āAnd it takes a long time to get to that, but fortunately, I had a lot of experience before I came here and failed miserably. That was before I came to America even. I spent a lot of time on my backside and died a thousand times trying different things. But once I came here, I just learned to react to situations. So whatever youāve got, you can make it into something. Iāve got that now where I can just go out and be William Regal. And whateverās on my mind or however the mood takes me, I just go out and Iāve even sat there saying stuff like āwhereās that come from?ā Something someone said 50 years ago and I happened to see it on a piece of film 30 years ago. It just happens to come out. So Iām enjoying that bit of it. So again, Iāve been fortunate because Iāve had a lot of that in my career, where I can just go out and be me. There was never any real-time where I wasnāt. But you do, for any younger talent reading this, you have to earn that trust with whatever company youāre working for. You have to earn that trust first.ā
Ā āIāve got nothing to knock. People ask me āwell you just been let go from WWE.ā Well yeah. I had a job there for 21 years. What have I got to say thatās bad about WWE? And any of these horror stories people hear about, I didnāt have any of them. I had an incredible run on the main roster with the understanding that I walked in, you know I donāt count the first time I was there because I canāt remember it, and thatās on me. Anything in this job that hasnāt gone right for me, itās my fault. If you look at it like āIām doing a job I want to do.ā Anything that hasnāt worked out for me has been my fault, or part of the job, which is getting injured. If you donāt think youāre going to get injured, I used to have this talk with people all the time, all the extras, anyone who has come in as an extra, anyone who has come into NXT, theyāll tell you Iāve taught them this.
āIf you think youāre going to know what youāre getting into because once youāre a pro wrestler, itās a lifestyle. Itās not a job. And I used to tell people, thereās nothing wrong with you. What you should do is use wrestling, donāt let it use you. Thereās nothing wrong with wrestling weekends on your local shows if you want to just enjoy wrestling. Because when you start this, you know youāre going to be traveling. If you donāt like traveling, donāt do it. If flying on a plane is too hard for you, donāt do it. If driving is too hard, donāt do it. If you think youāre going to be wrapped up in cotton balls, if you think youāre going to get eight hours of sleep a night, this is the wrong job for you. All these things, know what youāre getting yourself into. Because I hear all these people whining and moaning and complaining about the job. Then donāt do it. Go do something else. Let somebody who wants to do it, do it. I have a different outlook on this job. I have had a charmed life. This job has done has given me a charmed life. Iāve lived a charmed life. So what have I got to knock?ā