Tony Khan Discusses William Regal’s Shock AEW Debut
AEW President Tony Khan has spoken about the surprise debut of the legendary William Regal at Revolution.
To the shock of many, WWE released William Regal from his contract in early January 2022 as the company continued its restructuring behind the scenes of NXT.
The former NXT General Manager revealed that he was now All Elite at AEW Revolution after the brutal bout between Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley. The end of the match came when Moxley reversed a submission attempt by Danielson into a quick pin. Enraged by the loss, ‘The American Dragon’ confronted Moxley again and a brawl broke out between the pair.
As officials ran to the ring to break things up, William Regal made his way to the ring. Regal got the men apart before slapping Moxley. He followed it up with a slap to Danielson for good measure. With both men in shock, regal had them shake hands.
Speaking at the post- Revolution media scrum Tony Khan discussed his surprise at William Regal having been let go by WWE and said he has a lot of respect for the veteran. He also explained that he sees Regal as having a lot to contribute to AEW both on and offscreen.
“I was very surprised to see that he had been released and he was gonna be available. I’ve tons of respect for his mind and I think he’s gonna be a very valuable person here in AEW. Obviously, I think people who have followed his career closely know he has a very long-established connection with Bryan Danielson. And was instrumental in shaping the pro wrestler Bryan Danielson has become as one of the best pro wrestlers today and one of the best pro wrestlers of all time.
“I think Lord Regal had a big contribution to that so when he was released, I was first of all very surprised but also eager to bring him here. I think he can contribute on-screen in a major way to both Bryan Danielson and he has a history with Jon Moxley. I think some of the last matches we saw Lord Regal wrestle were against Jon Moxley and they had a great rivalry also.
“So he’s very familiar with both men and they both have a lot of respect for him and I think we saw that after the violence and the way they bled together tonight they’ve built a lot of mutual respect for each other, I think that’s very exciting.
“Also behind the scenes, I’m really excited to have him here. I think Lord Regal can teach everyone here a lot and it’s gonna be great having here. I’m very excited on-screen and off-screen. It came together very recently but he fits very well, I think, with what we’re doing here in AEW all around.”
During the scrum, Khan also talked about his acquisition of Ring Of Honor, revealing that he intends to be the creative decision-maker for that company as well as AEW.
H/T to Inside The Ropes for the above transcription.