8 Signings That DESTROYED Wrestling Promotions
2. William Regal
It's ironic - per multiple reports after the fact and a few whispers during the time, one of the most prominent dissenting voices over the signing of William Regal to All Elite Wrestling in 2022 was none other than CM Punk, sensing that he might not necessarily have the best intentions for the company after such a lengthy personal and professional bond with Triple H that came to an abrupt halt when the Brit was surprisingly released weeks earlier.
Was there smoke to the fire? Many would argue that Punk suits this list (and those accusations) more himself, even if most of the company's biggest ever television, box office and merchandise peaks objectively suggest otherwise. Nothing Regal said was an incendiary as the comments that led to "Brawl Out". Nothing Regal did stood to put a mammoth show at such risk as was the case with "Brawl In". That these events themselves have shorthand titles speak to how seismic they were, but some of his influence then was far from ideal, and even more of it lingered long after he'd departed.
Ignoring the turned heel/no he didn't twist that gifted the AEW World Championship to MJF at Full Gear 2022 and saw Regal face no retribution other than a clock in the back of the head from 'The Salt Of the Earth' himself, the very concept of the Blackpool Combat Club was Regal-pilled to the point of making Jon Moxley in particular look the most like a slavering lapdog he ever had. Then, the stable hung around far longer than was necessary before being rebadged as the even worse Deathriders in late-2024. A grabby hard lads vibe that started with Regal breaking up a fight between Moxley and Bryan Danielson at Revolution 2022 was still ongoing three years later - the three years AEW fell into a commercial and creative decline its only just started to recover from.
He's since shut down slightly wilder accusations that he was there for mole-adjacent reasons until the door swung back open for him to return to the market leader. And fair enough, he would and should. But WWE were aided as much by what definitely happened on screen as what might have done off.