10 Things Learned From William Regal On talkSPORT

3. Blames Himself For Failed 'Real Man's Man' Gimmick

Going through some tough times personally, Regal was eventually fired by WCW in 1998, with the main reason being that company officials were furious that he had apparently defied orders on a squash match loss to Goldberg, instead having a competitive bout with the rookie. Denying this, the English grappler states that he carried the encounter through as planned, but admits he wasn't in a good place at the time. Noting that there were a lot of people who didn't fully realise the gravity of his drug and alcohol problems, Regal signed on to the WWF to play 'Real Man's Man', Steven Regal. The gimmick bombed, but the wrestler attributes this more to himself than the creative team - it was Vince Russo who put together the character, and it did fit into the madcap cannon of the early years of the Attitude Era. Being taken off television in early-1999, it was then that management realised Regal was in no fit state to perform, and couldn't really be depended upon to produce quality matches. It's refreshingly honest to hear someone who doesn't need to rightly criticise themselves and not WWE.