William Regal Details His 2008 WWE Suspension
His Lordship was handed a 60-day suspension shortly after winning the 2008 King of the Ring.
Speaking on his Gentleman Villain podcast, William Regal has detailed his May 2008 suspension.
If you remember, Regal won the King of the Ring tournament a month prior to that suspension, with that coming on the back of a heated rivalry with Triple H. All in all, it looked as if his Lordship was on the brink of a genuine main event run and with a World Title possibly in his future. Then, any such plans were brought to a halt when Regal was suspended for 60 days after failing a drug test.
Via Wrestling Inc., the Brit explained how he's confused to this day about why he failed said test.
"I still don't know what it was about. Something showed up on my drug test, and again, there's been things said about me, 'Oh, he's relapsed'. No, that's not true at all."
Continuing on, Regal added:
"Nobody printed anything about what happened to me at that time because nobody knew. It was a fraction of a slight something showed up on my drug test. First of all, if you knew the amount of drugs I used to take, I don't take a fraction of anything."
Comparing this "slight something" to his previous years of drug abuse, Regal openly admitted that it would be like "throwing a sausage up a tunnel. I'm either going proper off or I'm not going in there". The two-time Intercontinental Champion concluded by detailing how this all took place not "too long after a certain major incident" - referencing the Benoit Family Tragedy - and how WWE were looking to crack down on implementing the company's Wellness Policy.
Regal would initially feud with Jamie Noble upon returning from his suspension, and while he would win the IC Title later that year, any hopes of a run at one of the promotion's World Titles were dashed when the hugely talented star was drafted to the ECW brand in 2009.