10 Wrestlers Who Were Drunk On The Job

7. William Regal

Applying scathing assessment to his darkest days in his outstanding autobiography 'Walking a Golden Mile', William Regal spoke with candour and regret about a maiden WWE run in 1998 savaged by his drink and drug addictions.

Losing the battle against dependencies that had developed over several years of hard graft with WCW and during rehabilitation from a painful leg and ankle break earlier in the year, Regal was almost always able to mask the worst of his struggles bell-to-bell until his limp 'Real Man's Man' gimmick called for promos to augment his television tussles.

A particular Monday Night Raw bout with Goldust in November 1998 presented a rather damning case against the former 'Lord'. A stumble on the way to the ring was easily missed thanks to the distracting overture of his absurd entrance theme, but there was no hiding place when he took the microphone. Slurring through the entire speech, Regal sounded ready to call it a night before the bell, but his heaviest session was still to come - the pair went six stuttering minutes before Kane emerged full of all his typical rage to bring the bout to a climax as unsatisfying as the match itself.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett