After last week’s revelations concerning William Regal’s storyline firing and real-world substance abuse suspension, I felt compelled to offer my two cents along with the rest of the internet wrestling world. However, after erring on the side of caution, I figured I’d wait until all of the chips fell into place before commenting. William Regal’s poor decisions have undoubtedly derailed a momentum train bound for main event glory. He had become one of the most permanent fixtures on RAW as General Manager and recently added the King of the Ring title to his accolades. In researching his prior drug addiction problems and the circumstances surrounding them, I have no reason to believe that Sir Regal has relapsed (although WWE currently does not have a public release policy on the banned substance its employees test positive for). As Jim Ross pointed out in a recent blog entry, even certain dietary supplements that are safe and legal to use may have traces of substances that are considered to be in violation of WWE’s current drug-testing policy, and the wrestlers should be particularly cautious when shopping around for such.
The question on many people’s minds recently has been “Where do we go from here?” This is likely the question that the WWE officials were asking after Regal’s positive drug test. As was seen on RAW, Regal did lose his position as General Manager… hell, he lost his entire job, kayfabe. That leaves RAW without a General Manager (despite teases of Ted DiBiase and Theodore Long) and it also destroys a gimmick (King of all WWE) that had the potential to run its course over the next year as it did with King Booker. I would have highly favored Regal’s one-man power trip enrolling in the services of a much-talked about heel stable of young up-and-comers to enforce King Regal’s royal proclamations. “The King’s Men” would likely have consisted of Ted DiBiase Jr., Afa, Jr., Cody Rhodes, and DH Smith. Just imagine the exposure those four men would have gotten under the guidance of William Regal.
The show, as they say, will go on without him just as it has for every previous suspension and every remaining suspension. I’m at a loss for what capacity he will be used in when he returns (approximately around July 21). I imagine he will flock over to SmackDown! either by the pursuit of a contract or by the recently announced WWE Draft. I can’t see him being used in an authoritative position again in the near future. In contrast, I can absolutely see him locking horns with some of SmackDown’s heavy hitters and I would like to officially go on record by saying that I would thoroughly LOVE to see a program between Regal and Finlay (without Hornswoggle). Regal’s style of wrestling is something that is rare in today’s world but absolutely worthy of being put on a pedestal for display. He has some of the nastiest suplexes and submission moves of anyone in recent memory exacerbated by an unparalleled dose of aggression. I know he would be a fantastic addition to the wrestling roster. Permanently.
Concluding the thoughts on the Regal situation, it seems that he has not only put the brakes on his own career but perhaps also the careers of four young superstars. One thing is certain, though, Regal’s future is uncertain. Do you take a chance to build him back up to top-tier athlete and risk his third and final substance violation? Or do you keep him at an arm’s length away from major storylines that could be devastated by his potential loss? Additionally, what does William Regal learn from all of this? Perhaps not more than he has learned since his first violation and suspension, but he should definitely opt to be a tad bit more careful in the things that he does and ingests.
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