All Elite Wrestling

When it comes to pro wrestling legends, few are as universally respected by fans and wrestlers as William Regal.

His career in the industry spans more than 30 years and includes runs with several different promotions, including both WCW and WWE at the height of their powers.

Nowadays, the former King of the Ring is helping others in their quest for greatness by running The Blackpool Combat Club in All Elite Wrestling. With Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta as his proteges, Regal has quickly built one of the most popular factions in all of pro wrestling.

We had a chance to speak to the Englishman about joining AEW, forming the BCC, how he's feeling physically, his approach to performing and much more.

How He is Holding Up

No matter what kind of style you work, spending over 30 years in the wrestling business is going to take its toll on your body.

Regal has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the years, but he is doing well these days as he celebrated turning 54 on Tuesday.

"I feel as good as I can possibly feel as far as from what I've been through, if that makes any sense," he said. "You know, major neck surgeries. I've had a pericardiectomy, which was this very, very rare thing to have. Thirty years as a wrestler, 26 of those full-time.

"So I've just finished doing 200 Hindu squats, and 100 Hindu push-ups and walked a couple of miles. So for being 54 in a few days, I feel as good as I think I'm ever going to. I probably could feel a bit better if I really put my mind to it as far as getting my work done on my body and all that kind of stuff, or doing extra bits of whatever, but I think I feel as good as I possibly can be and for what I've done with my life, so I feel good."

Joining AEW

Regal made his AEW debut at the Revolution pay-per-view on March 6 at the end of Danielson and Moxley's brutal encounter.

As somebody who has had a big impact on the careers of both men, he took it upon himself to break up their post-match fight and put them on the same page.

And the four-time WCW TV champion seems to be having the time of his life with his new role.

"I've enjoyed it immensely," Regal said. "How many weeks am I in? I really don't even know how many weeks, it's just gone by so quickly. And if I actually take a step out of it for a second and look back and think, 'Well, I was fortunate enough to get brought into this company to be in a role. And that role worked out.'

"And we're only in two months, which is nothing really, and we've made a new star. And we haven't even scratched the surface of what we can do with this group. It's just been great."

Forming the Blackpool Combat Club

When Regal confronted Moxley and Danielson at Revolution, he instantly put them in their place with a couple of slaps to the face. Once everybody calmed down, they immediately got on the same page and began forming a plan.

A few weeks later, Yuta was added to the group. He not only proved himself in a brutal encounter against Mox, but he also didn't back down from Regal despite being a bloody mess after the match.

They took the ROH Pure champion under their wing and have been dominating ever since. Regal spoke about bringing the group together and how it all came about.

"So Bryan gave me a call," he said. "It might have been three weeks maybe before I actually debuted, and he said 'Could you talk to Tony [Khan] please? Would you like to come in here? We have this idea.' And I thought, 'That sounds like a lot of fun.' And then I talked to Tony, and it all sounded like a lot of fun to come in as a talent and again just be me and be with Bryan because we've got such a long history together.

"Then I started watching the show because when I was let go by WWE, I checked out of wrestling completely. It might have only been six weeks, but when I say that I checked out, I checked out because all I've ever done is wrestling. And the only times I haven't done it is has been when I've been really, really ill.

"So it wasn't my job anymore. Let me have a complete break from this and not think about it, except for stuff that I liked, which is watching old British wrestling with my son who lives in England. We watched some old British stuff and some old Japanese stuff, and that was it. Then I was checked out.

"So I started watching the show. And then I saw Bryan mentioning there was stuff going on with him and Jon, which looked to me like they were going to be together. And then I spoke to Bryan again. He said, 'Yes, this is the idea.' So I'm saying, 'Thank you. Great.' So I turn up and just do my thing. I didn't know what I was doing until about maybe 15 minutes before we actually did it.

"I got to the building at 7:15 p.m. or something that night. I was in the room. Finally, Jon and Bryan came in and said 'Right, here we go. This is it.' And I'm like "What, this is it?"

"They told me, 'Yep, this is it. We're going out and having a match in a bit, we'll see you then. You just come out and react.' And that's exactly what we did. I just went out and reacted. And, you know, they gave me half an idea of what they wanted and where they wanted to go."

The name of the group is obviously a reference to where Regal grew up and got his start in the business, but he wasn't the one to suggest Blackpool Combat Club as the group's title.

"So the name, the Blackpool Combat Club, it was Jon's idea. I was like, 'You sure you want to call it that?' And Jon said, 'Yeah, it sounds great.'Wheeler's name was mentioned and he came on board. And then we're where we're at, as of this moment. And so that's how it's all worked out.

"We all get on together and just seem to work. Whatever it is, it just seems to click, which is a fantastic thing to have. Something else I've been very fortunate with. I've never been involved with any group or tag team that I haven't clicked with, which is a great thing to have. And I seem to just be clicking with this group, and they get on together. And we all get on together, and it just clicks.

"And that's what's happening at the moment. When you're comfortable being who you are, you can go out and pull anything off really, once you've done this a while. And we just all seem to work as a unit."

Giving Advice to Young Talent

For years, Regal has been passing his wealth of knowledge on to the next generation of pro wrestlers. He worked with many people in NXT, and he is continuing to help the roster in AEW both on and off-screen.

"I love being around a lot of young talents who want to be wrestlers," he said. "I enjoy it because I was very fortunate when I was a teenager to get into this job with the best wrestlers possible in Britain, and then Europe, and then different parts of the world.

"Because they knew I wasn't going anywhere and I worked hard, they gave me all their time and taught me a lot. I've never forced myself on anybody, but anybody wants to come and work on wrestling, that's what I love to do.

"I feel bad that I haven't gotten enough time for the amount of people who are coming up to me. You know, I just want to start working on something with somebody, that's the day gone. I'm really enjoying it."

His Approach to Performing

As a veteran of the business, Regal has done just about everything you could imagine. He has played the hero and the villain, he has worked as both a serious and a comedic character, and he has worked with opponents at every level.

The BCC leader has learned to not only make the most of every situation but also how to enjoy himself while he is doing it.

"I love the fact that I can just go out and be me, which took a bit of getting used to, to be honest," Regal said. "And when I say me, there is no real me. There's whatever William Regal turns into, and that is influenced from all kinds of wrestlers, all kinds of entertainers, a lot of old British stuff.

"It's very similar to when I was Lord Steven Regal in WCW. And nobody's saying don't do that. And really, I didn't have [people saying no] in WWE. I was very fortunate there because Mr. McMahon trusted me with whatever he gave me. And so when I hear these stories about people, you know, having to do these different things. I was given ideas, and it was just 'Go and do it.'

"And I've always had the attitude of 'Let's just make it work.' So I've just gone and done it. This might offend a few people but you hear these things, 'Well, they have all these writers, scripts, all the stuff.' Well, they do that so you know what you're doing.

"As long as you earn the trust first, and they know that you can actually pull off what they need, you take that and make it your own and go and sit in the stands for an hour, and like 'How can I make this into something and use my own words.' As long as you get that trust at the beginning, when you go there, you can go where you want with that stuff."

While being a pro wrestler involved a certain level of acting, Regal doesn't see himself as an actor in the strictest sense. He approaches things from more of a reactionary standpoint.

"There's learning how to react, or there's being an actor," he said. "I'm not an actor, I react to things. And 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 and died on my backside a thousand times trying different things.

"But once I came here, I just learned to react to situations. And so whatever you've got, you can make it into something. I've got that now, where I can just go out and be William Regal, and whatever's on my mind or however the mood takes me.

"I'm even sat there saying stuff and thinking, 'Where's that come from?' It's like something that somebody said 50 years ago and I happen to see on a piece of film 30 years ago, and it just comes out for me. So I'm really enjoying that bit of it.

"So, again, I've been fortunate that I've had a lot of that in my career where I've had some great talent where I could just go out and be amazed. For any younger talent reading this, you have to earn that trust with whatever company you're working for. You have to earn that trust first. I'm having a blast."

The Full Conversation

Regal was generous with his time and we spoke for over an hour on many topics. To hear the full conversation, check out the video above.

Here is a list of some of the other topics he covered:

• Whether he has considered a career in acting.
• What makes Danielson, Moxley and Yuta special.
• Wrestlers like Danhausen getting themselves over in the pandemic era.
• The relationship between comedy and pro wrestling.
• What we can expect from his new podcast.
• Review of a TV series.

All quotes were given directly to the author and edited for clarity. You can follow William Regal on Twitter @RealKingRegal and you can follow Chris Mueller @BR_Doctor.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

Roman Reigns Contract Update

Roman Reigns cut a cryptic promo at a Newark house show in Trenton, New Jersey, over the weekend, sending fans into a frenzy speculating over his future with WWE. 

"I've been here a couple of times in the past 10 years. I'm starting to work into a new phase in my career, and I honestly don't know if I'll be back here again," Reigns said in the promo. "If that's the case, I just wanna say thank you for all these years of support."

Reigns was also cryptic about his future in a video posted to WWE's Twitter account Monday afternoon, saying (2:15 mark) t he wasn't "going anywhere, unless I am, who knows?" 

A message from your Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.☝️ #TheBloodline @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle @WWEUsos

(🎥 romanreigns on Instagram) pic.twitter.com/GabqQcWVYE

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2022

The good news? It seems Reigns' WWE career isn't stopping anytime soon.

The bad news? Fans may be seeing a whole lot less of him on the road.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said Reigns recently signed a new contract that calls for him to work "far less dates." Meltzer did not know how many house shows Reigns would be doing in the future, but his new deal will allow him more freedom to pick and choose when to work.

Even as WWE's live touring schedule remains a big part of the company's brand, their television deals are the backbone of their revenue. Reigns eschewing house shows is probably in his and WWE's long-term interest. Their biggest star takes fewer bumps, which keeps him healthy longer and available to extend his run as the Head of the Table potentially well into his 40s.

Reigns is 36 and has a family. The overwhelming odds are he'll want to be cutting down his travel and work larger house shows and television dates.

Charlotte Written Off WWE TV

One star we won't be seeing much of for a little bit? Charlotte Flair. The former SmackDown women's champion was given a storyline injury after her loss to Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania Backlash, with WWE saying she suffered a "fractured radius."

.@RondaRousey has a message for @MsCharlotteWWE after winning the #SmackDown Women’s Title. #WMBacklash pic.twitter.com/kayv7vhdYd

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2022

Fightful Select confirmed the injury was designed to write Flair off television as she prepares to take a break from the company. Meltzer further confirmed the storyline injury was put in place so Flair could take time off for her wedding.

"If you do a broken arm injury, you're going to have to be out of action for at least a couple months," Meltzer said. "Or else it's kind of a stupid injury to do, because it would be so fake if you say you broke your arm and you're back in four weeks."

Flair recently revealed to Ariel Helwani of BT Sport that she plans to marry Andrade El Idolo this summer. 

“We have a [wedding] date. It’s this summer in Mexico, I have my dress,” Flair said. “I think Manny (Andrade) would be a little angry if I walked down the aisle with my title. He was like, ‘Mami, for the wedding, I do not want your hair to look like Charlotte.’ I was like, ‘what does that mean?’ Just less makeup, he likes the fresh face.”

It's unclear when the actual date for the wedding is, but we shouldn't expect to see Charlotte on television anytime soon as she celebrates with her new husband. 

Don't be surprised if that also means a break for Andrade from AEW programming as well.

Trish Stratus Could Return in GM Role, Wants to Be a Heel

It does not appear we've seen the last of Trish Stratus in WWE. The Hall of Famer has been increasingly open about a potential return and recently spoke at a For the Love of Wrestling panel about her desire to play an on-screen authority figure.

"I would gladly accept that role. I always think—like I said, to go back, it has to be something challenging, something different, something different for you guys," Stratus said. "You know, you just don’t wanna see me being a babyface, kicking butt, winning championships, boring, right? I always say if I go back, the one thing I’m missing is a heel run, so that would be kind of fun, you know?"

Stratus has not wrestled a match since losing to Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam in 2019. Based on her comments, if she were to return, she does not want it to be a one-off retirement match, either.

If Stratus were to become a regular part of WWE programming, it would be a fun little wrinkle that could give her a way to write her own exit. Edge is two years older than Status and is currently deep in the midst of a heel run; he doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Of course, WWE already has a heelish authority figure running things right now in Sonya Deville. 

A little fantasy booking idea: Have a returning babyface Stratus replace Deville, then have Stratus turn heel once the nostalgia pop starts to wear off. That would allow Deville to move back to a full-time role in the ring and makes sense in kayfabe given she's been reprimanded for abusing her power several times in recent weeks.

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

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Reigns Reportedly Wasn't Injured at WrestleMania

Despite speculation to the contrary, Roman Reigns reportedly didn't suffer an injury during his WrestleMania 38 main event match against Brock Lesnar.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer said on the Sunday Night's Main Event podcast (h/t WrestlingInc's Marc Middleton), Reigns did not get injured at WrestleMania, and his match against Lesnar went off as planned.

There had been speculation that Reigns suffered a shoulder injury, thus forcing him and Lesnar to end the match sooner than intended, but that reportedly wasn't the case.

Reigns needed about 12 minutes to beat Lesnar with a spear, retaining the Universal Championship and winning the WWE Championship in the process.

Reigns is now the unified world champion, meaning he can appear on both SmackDown and Raw moving forward, which is something he has already done since WrestleMania.

On last week's SmackDown, Reigns was confronted by Shinsuke Nakamura, who appears to be The Head of the Table's first challenger coming out of WrestleMania.

A match has yet to be announced, but it seems likely that Nakamura will challenge Reigns for the titles at WrestleMania Backlash next month.

Meanwhile, Lesnar hasn't been seen since WrestleMania, and it is unclear when he will be brought back to WWE programming.

Regardless of Lesnar's status, there is little doubt that Reigns is the face of WWE currently, and he will continue to be presented as the top star in the weeks and months to come.

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Rey Mysterio Missed Raw for Medical Reasons

WWE originally advertised Rey Mysterio to face Veer Mahaan on Monday's episode of Raw, but Rey did not appear on the show.

According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Mysterio was unavailable due to a "medical issue," which resulted in WWE changing up its plans.

Instead of Rey, his son Dominik Mysterio was Veer's opponent. Veer won the match in dominant fashion, which led to Dominik being taken backstage on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance.

After months of teases, Veer finally appeared on last week's post-WrestleMania edition of Raw. He made his presence felt in a major way by attacking and decimating both Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

That attack occurred after Rey and Dominik suffered a defeat at the hands of The Miz and Logan Paul at WrestleMania.

At 47 years of age, Rey has essentially been relegated to helping his son develop, while also putting over other Superstars on the roster.

Rey almost certainly would have put over Veer on Monday, but with their match getting postponed, it seems likely that it will still occur at a later date with the same result.

Depending on how long Rey is out, a match between him and Veer at WrestleMania Backlash is a possibility.

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Jericho Understands Rhodes' Decision to Leave AEW for WWE

AEW star Chris Jericho gave a diplomatic response when asked Monday about Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE.

Appearing on SiriusXM's Busted Open (h/t WrestlingInc's Danny Wolstanholme), Jericho said the following about Cody's departure:

I was honestly disappointed that he left. But, I get it. I've done it many times myself. You know this, we've discussed the reinvention of Jericho many times. I mean, I left WWE in 2017 for basically the same reason why Cody left AEW, from what I understand. He just didn't think he was getting the—I don't know if it's the spotlight or the respect or whatever the word being, but you could kind of see the writing on the walls.

Obviously now, Cody is as bigger than he's ever been just by changing companies. And obviously, they did a great job in putting him over at WrestleMania, bringing him in at the highest of levels, and now it's up to Cody to do the dirty work shall we say and continue that momentum and get that job done. And can he do it? Absolutely. He's a very smart guy. He's a great performer.

Cody shocked the wrestling world in February when he announced he was leaving AEW despite being an executive vice president and one of the people chiefly responsible for creating the company.

Fans eagerly anticipated a return to WWE, and they got precisely that at WrestleMania when Rhodes arrived as Seth Rollins' mystery opponent and picked up a victory.

Remarkably, Rhodes had the same presentation in WWE as he did in AEW in terms of his gear, theme music, nickname and more.

Cody received a massive reaction from the fans at WrestleMania, and that has continued over the past two episodes of Raw, firmly establishing him as one of the top babyfaces in WWE.

In AEW, it seemed as though fans had grown tired of Cody, as evidenced by them routinely booing him despite him being a face.

Rhodes had essentially done all he could do in AEW, feuding with many of the top stars and holding the TNT Championship on multiple occasions. As a result, he felt it was the right time to go back to where it all started for him.

Cody has made it clear that his goal is to do what his father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, never did, and that is winning the WWE Championship.

Based on how over he is with the WWE fanbase, it seems like it is a matter of when rather than if he wins the title.

Newly signed AEW star Jeff Hardy explained Friday why he turned down a WWE Hall of Fame induction after WWE released him in December.

Appearing on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy (h/t Wrestling Inc.'s Marco Rovere) with his brother, Matt Hardy, Jeff discussed the offer and why he didn't take it:

"It just felt completely wrong, it just didn't feel like the time at all. I almost felt offended, I was very emotional, but almost felt offended, like what? After my 90 days are up, the Hall of Fame is in April and I do go to AEW, how's that going to work? What are y'all trying to hit me with as far as if I sign with AEW when I'm free and me going into the Hall of Fame and how would that even work? My mind and my emotion went crazy and I was in tears man, like this is my career. I know I had been a very influential person to a lot of young misunderstood individuals but yeah, it just felt so wrong. Like how dare you?"

Jeff further expanded on his thought process, noting that he feels he and Matt should go into the WWE Hall of Fame together as The Hardy Boyz at some point:

"I know that sounds crazy because I guess when people get offered the Hall of Fame it's like 'Oh, I'm a Hall of Famer,' but it's never really meant that much to me. It's not time for that, that's why it was a hard no. Especially, it feels like something Matt and I should go in together as The Hardy Boyz when the time is right. It was just weird man, I still don't know how I feel about that overall. It just felt so wrong."

Matt confirmed in February that WWE had offered Jeff a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2022, just two months after releasing Jeff from the company.

Jeff's release has been a point of controversy since it occurred, as it came after he walked out during a six-man tag team match at a WWE live event in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Matt later confirmed that Jeff was let go after he turned down WWE's request for him to go to rehab. Matt also said Jeff was asked to take a drug test at the time, which later came back negative.

WWE's suspicion stemmed from Jeff's history of drug and alcohol misuse, but Jeff has made it clear since his release that drugs and alcohol had nothing to do with his actions at the live event.

Jeff told Matt on his podcast that he "didn't feel valued" in WWE and said he no longer knew what his purpose was within the company.

Once Jeff's 90-day non-compete clause with WWE expired he was free and clear to join his brother in AEW, and he did precisely that by coming to Matt's aid on the March 9 episode of Dynamite.

Jeff is seemingly happy to be enjoying another Hardy Boyz run in AEW, and the 44-year-old hasn't given any indication that he is ready to retire in the near future.

When the time does come for him to retire, however, one can only assume he and Matt will eventually take their rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame provided all parties involved can mend fences.