William Regal done with AEW
PWInsider.com is reporting that William Regal is finalizing a new deal with WWE which will see him return to the company in the new year.
Regal’s role will be in a backstage capacity although it was not revealed what his exact job will be. Prior to leaving WWE, Regal occupied both an executive position and an on-screen role in NXT.
Fightful Wrestling is also adding that Regal is effectively done with AEW with his last appearance coming last week on Dynamite.
Regal joined AEW in March of this year and showed up as a surprise at the Revolution pay-per-view, breaking up a fight between Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson, later forming the Blackpool Combat Club.
While it is believed that Regal signed a three-year deal with AEW, he is walking out of the door after just nine months. Some insiders believe he had a release clause in his contract which allowed him to give notice and leave.
“What a toxic baby! I’m glad he’s gone, and I hope he never goes anywhere else. Everyone hates him, and he’s done nothing for this business!” … Is that pretty close to the copy/paste AEW shill response whenever someone leaves the company? Or is that only reserved for when CM Punk left after he put those idiot EVP’s in their place?
Tony didn’t know how to use him anyway. But, why write up a 3 year contract if yer gonna let the talent give notice whenever they want?
If AEW can fire someone for any reason despite the length of the contract, it stands to reason that the contracted talent can also provide notice at any time. In that case, the length of the contract becomes less meaningful except as a way to define when the terms (including compensation) can be re-negotiated. It’s not standard practice in wrestling, but while it’s easier to keep an up and coming talent locked in (hence the continual references to “the bidding war of ’24” instead of it just starting now), for someone with the experience and standing of Regal it’s a sign of respect to give him a little more flexibility.
@What?–Makes sense. I guess I’m so used to WWE not letting someone out of their contracts that this just seemed odd.
No, you’re right, it’s not normal even for AEW. It’s just a sign of the regard in which Regal is held, and to some extent the less rigid contract structure of AEW compared to WWE, which also makes some sense. Leadership differences play a role, but after only 3-4 years AEW is still in some ways basically a startup, so things will naturally be a little more fluid, whereas WWE is an established worldwide brand and therefore more set in how they do things.