10 Insane Things You Missed When You Stopped Watching NXT
6. William Regal Was Scripted To Become An Idiot
One thing NXT nailed is the rotten General Manager trope.
Despite booking the odd silly impromptu match, as is standard procedure, William Regal was a fair authority figure with nothing in the way of self-interest. His words had much gravitas, his presence wasn't suffocating, and his wry sense of humour was a joy that NXT never over-exposed.
Until 2020.
The reason why it is important to plan stories in advance is that, when you make it all up as you go along, you run the risk of characters looking like idiots with no principles or consistency, and when NXT faded, so did Regal's credibility.
Ahead of the Great American Bash, NXT Champion Adam Cole on June 17, 2020 decided that he might have enjoyed being a double champion. Keith Lee agreed. This brought out a promo train that was ultimately interrupted by William Regal. It's important to note that Regal was beaming here. Look at his face. "The passion! The competition!" he said, before setting up a Winner Takes All match.
Keith Lee won it, and then, just over a month later, on July 22, he decided that he didn't fancy holding both titles after all. He didn't want to "limit" the opportunities of others, and so he relinquished the North American Title. William Regal agreed. It's important to note that Regal was beaming here. Look at his face. "I love Keith's idea!" Regal said.
Did you? Because it was the exact opposite of yours five friggin' weeks ago.
NXT was absolutely desperate for ratings, so much so that it made a complete t*t of itself in the process. They even made poor William Regal look like he was off his nut.