10 Times WWE Asked You To Blindly Hate Foreigners
8. William Regal
It's no surprise that William Regal is today one of the most important figures in WWE's treasured developmental system. Despite his European in-ring style occasional clashing with the more dynamic North American variant, he carved out a sensational career as one of the most gifted comedic orators the industry has ever produced.
His grasp of performance minutiae within professional wrestling may be the tightest of any to ever lace the boots, and he applied his advanced skill-set to humanise the stereotype he was cast in with incredible aplomb
Upon his 2000 repackaging as 'William' Regal, the ex-WCW star tweaked his aristocratic 'Lord Steven' persona to that of an English gentleman. That is, Vince McMahon's vision of one.
Far from the quaint postcard Middle England villages of Burbage, Aston Flamville or Spixworth, Regal was a product of a working class family in Blackpool, but amiably played up to the narrow-minded cliché of a 'tea-sucking Brit', particularly during the early iteration of the character.
Once hit with a Stone Cold Stunner merely for reciting Shakespeare to a Monday Night Raw audience, he would regularly greet crowds with the saccharine 'Hello to all my friends in (placename)' before taking backhanded swipes at their locale.
Ultimately, his performances were so warmly received, he became lovably hated, rounding the edges of the gimmick into an old-fashioned villain in place of the thickly-layered pantomime snob.