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William Regal is currently managing one of the hottest factions in AEW. However, before his stint with the Jacksonville-based promotion, the legend was a key figure in WWE's NXT. He recently shared his initial reaction to the show's rebranding into NXT 2.0.
Similar to AEW, NXT is still in its early years. Despite being helmed by WWE, the brand still has quite a long way to go. William Regal acted as the former Black-and-Gold brand's general manager for six years before departing the company in January 2022.
During his recent appearance on The Sessions, the former Intercontinental Champion shared his initial reaction to Vince McMahon pitching the idea of NXT 2.0 to him.
"When I heard last summer that we wanted to revamp, I was like, ‘Great!’ When I actually heard what Mr. McMahon wanted, I was all for that… I don’t know if anybody knew that I was open to the fact that I wanted to be a big part of that because I was," Regal said.
Continuing in the same podcast, the veteran revealed that he was hands-on with NXT 2.0 and closed his statement off by praising the Stamford-based promotion.
I was very hands-on with The Creed Brothers and very hands-on with Bron Breakker. I had an incredible run on the main roster and the absolute greatest run possible in NXT. If nothing else, the time came when it was time to go now so it didn’t become something I didn’t like. That’s the way I look at it.” (H/T: WrestlingInc)
While many WWE fans undoubtedly miss William Regal as the General Manager of NXT, the veteran seems happy with All Elite Wrestling.
Need to catch up with AEW Rampage results? Check them out via this link.
William Regal expected his release from WWE
Speaking on the same podcast, the now-AEW star detailed the brief events that he believes signaled when the promotion would cut him off.
“I was expecting it, to be honest,” Regal said. “It makes perfect business sense, as well. You can’t have somebody else come in when everybody there is still coming up to me and asking me what should they be doing … It was the perfect storm, and then [Triple H] got ill.” (H/T: Wrestling Inc.)
The 54-year-old captured a few titles in WWE. But now that he's with AEW, he has the opportunity to cultivate a future star in Wheeler Yuta. Additionally, William Regal gets to manage both Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. Fans will have to keep watching to see where the Blackpool Combat Club heads next.
