8 Times WWE Rewarded Its UK Audience

4. William Regal Wins The Intercontinental Championship

William Regal Layla
WWE Network

Who doesn’t love William Regal, right? But way before he was on a pedestal as one of the key cogs behind NXT, Regal was just as loved for his technical wizardry and vicious streak during his in-ring days. And nobody loved William Regal as much as his adoring UK fanbase.

Back in 2008, those UK fans were rewarded as they saw the then-King of the Ring defeat Santino Marella to become the new Intercontinental Champion during an episode of Monday Night Raw that emanated from Manchester.

The match itself wasn’t exactly great, but the moment was priceless for British wrestling fans.

Before he’d even come out to the ring, the rabid crowd were already chanting for Regal. In a brief match that saw a knee to the face be enough for the W, the noise was deafening as the Englishman become a two-time IC Champ. Capitalising on that fever pitch reaction, the Blackpool native then cut a post-match promo where he discussed how much of an honour it was to win the title in his home country.

No William, the true honour was for those in attendance on that cold Manchester night.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.