They’ve either trained with him or been trained by him, tagged with him or torn up the ring with him. But these Superstars all have one thing in common … respect for a true Master Villain of wrestling. 

They’ve either trained with him or been trained by him, tagged with him or torn up the ring with him. But these Superstars all have one thing in common … respect for a true Master Villain of wrestling. 

Watch William Regal's best matches |  See exclusive photos from his incredible career

Triple H

“I think William Regal’s passion for this business has allowed him to not only succeed but to change with the times. If you look at the things he’s done during his career, from contesting serious matches to making people laugh, that passion has allowed him to fill whatever role needed to be filled. Not a lot of people can do that. That’s a rare quality, to be able to do both.

“For me, WWE NXT is my environment and what I deal with on a daily basis — William Regal is a huge component of that. He’s got a remarkable eye for talent. The rare thing with him is that most guys see new talent in the mold that they are, and that’s what they are interested in. He has a unique ability to look at everything. It can be someone who works in the complete opposite style that he does, but he can still see value. To me, that’s where he plays a huge role — spotting and understanding talent, who can make it.

“As for his jokes, I never hear him, because he’s such a soft talker. We were on the road together for years, and I spent the majority of my time saying, ‘What?’ He has that English sense of humor; you know, in which the joke is so rotten it’s actually funny. It’s not that I’m laughing at the joke, but more at how bad the joke is.”

Daniel Bryan

“One of the things that’s cool to me about William Regal is that he’s a gentleman. He is professional in every aspect of the word. He shows up to the building, and he’s wearing a suit and looks presentable. Also, he’s got that quiet toughness. Some guys are very brash and want to wear their Affliction shirts, but he’s not that guy. You know he’s tough, but he never has to say anything about it. He’s somebody who came up in a different era.

“I was with WWE when I was 18 and then got let go in 2001, but he was responsible for getting me booked in the UK. And I spent six months there in 2003 and another four months in 2005 and another three months in 2008, and that’s all because of him.

“It’s hard to get feedback from good people when you’re on the independent circuit. A lot of those shows I was on, I was main-eventing and people were asking me for advice, but then who do I go to for advice? Regal was always there. Anytime I asked him to watch a match, he’d watch it. And then he’d give me feedback and constructive criticism. When I first got to WWE, he really helped me navigate the waters, as far as, what you should do and don’t need to do here and what’s important.”

Robby Brookside

“He’s almost like a big brother and I’m two years older than him. He’s always told me if you want something you have to go out and get it; you can’t rely on other people. He was serious about wrestling but not in an arrogant way but in an ambitious way. I came in about 1980 and the only thing you could find out about anything across the Atlantic was getting a hold of Ring magazine. When he was starting out, he was actually more of an Americanized kind of wrestler from Great Britain. I come from the more technical side.

“As a tag team, The Golden Boys, that’s when the fireworks really started for us. He was the big lad, and I was the sort of wiry character, and we really complemented each other. He’s the same person in every aspect really, from his musical tastes to his pets.

“He came in a couple of years after me and from the word go he wanted to go to America. Recently when WWE was in the UK we spent about four days together and we went up to Blackpool to reminisce. Every time I see him, it’s as if it’s Monday and six years later it’s Tuesday. I had a lot of heroes growing up in this business, but to me he’s my hero.”

Antonio Cesaro

“He helped me get here. I had only met him a couple of times, but when I decided to come here, he helped me out and he looked out for me … and still does. I think the great thing about him is that he cares about wrestling and he cares about young guys who try and learn it the hard way. He appreciates that.

“Every week you see him talk to some young up and coming guys that come here and try to try out for WWE. He takes hours and hours out of his day to talk to them, just to try to make them better and try to help them. If he just feels that one out of those hundred guys he can help, he’ll do it. That’s what you need, in my opinion. I think he’d like to be remembered as a tremendous teacher, and he’s helped so many people.

“Yes, you know, we have a similar sense of humor since we’re obviously from Europe. All the European guys kind of bond together. So we always have a laugh, and it’s great because you know it’s a different generation, but it’s all a love for wrestling and for this business. We’ve only contested one match … and I whooped his @$$. Yeah, we wrestled on the last European tour for the first time, and it was quite great because it was in my hometown, and I beat him, too.”

Wade Barrett

“To be honest, I think there are two sides to my relationship with William Regal. On the one side, I was always a fan watching him, before I even became a wrestler. William Regal is from Blackpool, which is very close to Preston, where I’m from. So that was definitely an inspiration for me. And then the other side of it is that he’s always been very supportive of me. He’s given me advice, been a close friend. I definitely have that kind of connection with him.

“I mean if you look at the kind of things that myself and Regal are interested in, all the music, we’re into the same kind of bands. We both like the same comedy shows. He’s definitely somebody I’ve turned to for help in my career. He’s been very forthcoming with that from day one.

“The best piece of advice he’s ever given me I remember when I was competing on WWE NXT. I asked him a question about how he was able to go from wearing the dress one week to a week later being the meanest, baddest guy on the show. And he said, ‘You just have to take things one day at a time. Whatever you’re getting from WWE, you just have to make it work.’ And that’s what he’s always done.”

Fit Finlay

“Well, you know, there’s always that English/Irish disconnection, if you want to put it that way. We might usually disagree on who the better one is. I do have a few more years on him. He does have a couple of badges that were handed out to him. He’s got scars, and he still has a cauliflower ear that I presented him with a long time ago.

“You often get a lot of people who have come through the business and they’ve done all the miles on the road and been looked after and trained by others, but some of them get sour and walk away and they don’t give back. Regal is still here. He still gets in the ring, still trains guys. He tries to help them all out and give them advice. To give back is just the right thing to do and he’s doing well. Everybody will benefit by having Regal around. There’s not many of him left. He’s well-schooled and he’s passing it on, which is a great admirable thing.

“He’s correct in saying wrestling doesn’t owe any of us anything. But it has afforded us a lot of luxuries as well as a lot of heartaches. It’s been a life journey, and a life isn’t always a bed of roses. That is something that has to be said for anybody that has spent that length of time, and then wants to pass it on to others.”