10 WWE Angles Everybody Gets Wrong
4. 'Real Man's Man' Steven Regal
What people think: Serious pro wrestler and all-round smashing gent Steven Regal was plucked from WCW and given a Village People gimmick. He became the 'Real Man's Man', and busied himself chopping down trees, working construction and generally being a proper bloke. It all seemed like one giant rib at his expense.
How it really was: Personally, Regal's life was in an absolute state between 1998-99. Suffering from addictions that were killing his career, the Englishman was in no shape to show his best when he worked the 'Real Man's Man' gimmick. Still, as horrendous as it was creatively, it was an attempt to give Regal some direction.
That has to count for something.
It was also very much tongue-in-cheek. Regal couldn't work the matches he had in WCW before when he arrived in the WWF, and Bruce Prichard later admitted on his podcast that his friend passed out during meetings before signing with the company. For better or worse, they were trying to help by giving him a low-pressure spot on shows.