Tony Khan Backs AEW Stars After William Regal Warning
Tony Khan has offered his support to AEW stars following a stark warning from William Regal after Worlds End.
After AEW Worlds End took place, former AEW star turned WWE staffer William Regal took a rare foray out into social media to plead with wrestlers everywhere to stop landing on their heads and necks, as it will cause them serious long-term damage:
I stay off here but was alerted to something to day that has alarmed me. I don’t read any comments so don’t waste your time trying to argue or justify your very wrong opinions on this. I broke my neck twice,9/93 in ring and a car wreck in ‘97 and stupidly never told anyone. And I was taught properly how to bridge and not land on the top of my head. It’s a skill that maybe 99.9 % of people don’t know or will ever learn anymore.
I kept going somehow but knew all the tricks that again people don’t learn now and watch film and just copy. After Misawa San passed from his neck problems I thought it would stop this nonsense but it’s got worse and whenever I talk to people about them doing it it’s “well it doesn’t hurt….” Believe me it will . I have people close to me now, Bryan being one, who is suffering daily like myself from his neck.
It’s a daily misery and sleep and every other aspect of your life is more than hard. Although people use the term tough about me you’ll never hear me say that as I’m not and don’t think I am or have ever been. Money and whatever nonsense fame is supposed to be is not worth the pain or supposed two evening glory you get from these ridiculous moves dropping yourself on your head.
The vast majority of fans don’t know the difference between a vertical suplex and a brainbuster and that’s a far tamer move than many I see now. I’m 57 and become less relevant every day but fame has never been my thing so most of you doing this STUPID stuff are not going to listen to me but hopefully a few do.
Stop it now if you want a decent quality of life after Wrestling because that part of your life will be over before you know it and wrestling done right is hard enough but broken necks or death are not something you should think is tough or cool. It’s idiotic thinking.
Many fans assumed Regal was talking about the moment during Worlds End when Kyle Fletcher took a nasty landing on his head. This brought out the usual and unnecessary tribal comments from fans of both AEW and WWE. And Tony Khan recognises that trying to keep talent safe is not just limited to his company or pro wrestling.
Tony Khan Has Stepped In To Make AEW Changes
Appearing on the Mark Hoke Show Pro Wrestling Radio Show, Tony Khan was asked about Regal’s remarks. He thinks wrestlers are trying to do their best, and there have been times when he’s stepped in to make a change:
Pro wrestlers are always taking hard-hitting and high-risk chances. That’s one of the things that makes pro wrestling so exciting. In AEW, we’ve been able to have all of these great events, and we’ve never had a career-ending injury like that from our wrestling.
I don’t think that AEW is any different than any other wrestling promotion in the world. The wrestlers want to do their very best, and sometimes a promotion will step in. AEW and I have at times stepped in and said, ‘I can’t do that. I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ I don’t want to do that every day or every match, but there are times where it comes up, and that’s okay.
Everything you talk about, these are things you constantly balance in sports. Not just AEW, but all sports. Taking care of your athletes and doing things to protect the health and safety of the athletes to make the sport work.
The first WWE Raw of 2026 saw several frightening moments with Bron Breakker landing directly on his head after a failed attempt at a Frankensteiner during his match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Breakker’s opponent, CM Punk, also suffered a nasty landing during that bout after a mistimed dive to the outside.