Bryan Danielson & William Regal's Relationship, Explained
For nearly a decade, William Regal was Triple H’s top talent scout in NXT. The former King Of The Ring worked across the world, finding, locating, and helping talent from all over find their way in the business - even if their way wasn’t straight to the WWE. But like a lot of members of Triple H’s regime, Regal was released from his contract this past January.Related: 10 William Regal Matches You Forgot AboutWhile it was practically academic that he would end up in either AEW or wherever the heck he wanted to go, leave it to Tony Kahn and AEW to still make his debut compelling. He arrived at this AEW Revolution 2022 during the skirmish following the Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley match. After Mox scored the pinfall, the two continued their brawl, it was Regal who debuted to force them to stop and shake hands. With his debut, Regal and Danielson are once again reunited and for the first time ever on-screen in a major wrestling promotion.
Bryan Danielson & William Regal Are A Wrestler’s Wrestlers
All Bryan Danielson wanted to do when he graduated from high school was become a pro wrestler. His entire plan was to load up his car and drive from Aberdeen, Washington all the way to Dean Malenko’s wrestling school. Unfortunately, The Iceman’s school had shut down. So he instead set a course for the Texas Wrestling Academy to learn from Shawn Michaels instead. Getting broken in by The Heartbreak Kid was enough to get The American Dragon’s foot in the door and a contract with WWE way back in 2000. Training with HBK is what might have gotten Danielson started and imbued him with the desire to always steal the show and put on the best matches possible, but meeting William Regal is what made him a wrestler.
Wrestling The King In Memphis
After working for the company for almost a decade, the former leader of The Ruthless Roundtable began working more and more with up and comers. He was sent to the WWE developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling to do just that. Around the same time is when young Bryan Danielson had signed his first contract with WWE, and he reported to MCW, becoming a student of William Regal’s.
Related: 9 Things You Didn't Know About Bryan Danielson's Career Before WWE & AEW
That mentor/student relationship has lasted for two decades behind the scenes. It also led to some big matches in independent promotions between the two. But their friendship extended beyond the ring. The friends would appear together on the JBL/Cole internet show. Perhaps the most telling part of their friendship was in 2016. When it seemed that Bryan’s career was done, and he was entering the Hall Of Fame, he wanted Regal to be the man to induct him.
The Two Always Spoke Highly Of Each Other
In 2013, WWE did a profile piece on the man from Blackpool. Danielson had spoken highly of him, as he always has:
“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.”
With the exception of Vince McMahon, seemingly every wrestler, agent, booker, and fan knows the importance of William Regal to the industry. When he was released, it pretty much was the final nail in the coffin of NXT as fans knew and loved it. But seeing as how most of his recent charges headed over to AEW, not only was it academic it just made sense.
Related: William Regal's 10 Greatest NXT GM MomentsThe storyline with Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley is just heating up. Seemingly Danielson wants to team up with Moxley and start mentoring some of AEW’s young talent and turn them into wrestlers instead of spot monkeys and clowns. Adding Regal to that mix just made this possible faction all the more interesting. Having the man on your roster in general is a big move, and he’s only a few years older than Jericho. There might be some room to have the man head back into the ring as well. The partnership between him and Danielson has been something known to the fans, but now it’s refreshing to finally see it on screen.
