Post by Stro on Nov 10, 2010 3:31:36 GMT -5
WILLIAM REGAL: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
By Justin Henry of www.WrestlingNewsSource.com
Check out Justin's other columns...
- WWE's OLD SCHOOL SHOULD BE EXPELLED
- ATTITUDE IS DEAD; GET IT?
- Wrestling Campaign Slogans
- Brock Lesner vs. The Undertaker? - Twelve Burning Questions
- The Most Realistic WWE Game
- Stand Up for WWE?
It’s every wrestler’s dream to one day be the biggest star in the biggest promotion, wearing the biggest belt, in front of the biggest crowds, making the biggest paycheck, and having the biggest career a man could possibly have.
Of course, to sustain the value of a World Title, as well as maintain an illusion that the upper echelon of a wrestling promotion is exclusive company, not everyone gets to be the top dog.
In the game of chess, after all, there are eight times more pawns than there are kings.
However, in chess, pieces like bishops, knights, and rooks serve a high purpose. They are there to capture the opposing pieces, to box the enemy king in, and to help secure victory for their army.
In essence, although only one may wear the king’s crown, all members of the army have a chance at superiority.
To do this requires teamwork, efficiency, drive, and longevity.
All qualities that describe William Regal.
Regal just retired from WWE, finishing a ten year run with the company that would have been a twelve year run, if not for a brief release and return to WCW, as he sadly battled addictions.
After having a tremendous match with Chris Benoit at the 2000 Brian Pillman Memorial Show, where he looked his best in years, Regal regained sanctuary with WWE, and he would go on to have quite the unique run.
I use the word ‘unique’ precisely so, because there is no man who can claim to have the same career that Regal has had.
In a business where bathroom humor and running gags are shoved into our faces like a cream pie in the hands of one of the Three Stooges, Regal demonstrated a sense of subtlety that I’ve yet to see a single wrestler duplicate.
Regal served as the Lou Costello to a number of Bud Abbotts over the years, using horrified glances, indignant sneers, ghastly double-takes, and a number of pained gestures in an attempt to sell the Hell out of any potentially humorous situation.
It takes a tremendous amount of talent to be able to play the misfortunate ‘straight man’, as evidenced by the fact that so few in wrestling can do it. Over the years, the likes of Mean Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan have been able to clown around while maintaining a somewhat dignified aura, but Regal?
The man is a cut above the rest.
He’s notable not just because of his knack, but for his selflessness.
As a legitimate tough guy who toured the carnival circuit as a teenager, handing marks some brutal beatings when they dared test him, Regal could have felt that being reduced to comedy was beneath him. After all, Goldberg, during his ill-run WCW feud with Chris Jericho, took exception to Jericho’s use of a midget Goldberg impersonator, telling Jericho “I don’t do the comedy stuff”.
But Regal did.
Regal knows he’s a tough guy. There’s a famed story of him beating the snot out of Van Hammer at a party at Diamond Dallas Page’s house over some petty slight.
And that’s why he did comedy. He KNOWS he’s a tough guy.
Regal went out to the ring with one goal in mind: entertain. People who are blowing their money on tickets to see the stars on their televisions perform are going to want entertainment for their dollar, and it just so happened that Regal was as consummate an entertainer as there was.
The moments are as plentiful as they were humorous. From dancing in Cryme Tyme’s hat at Summerslam 2007, to staring wide-eyed and confused as Grand Masta Sexay once tried communicating with him in “street slang”, to his shuddering expression as he drank urine-laced tea via Chris Jericho, to hosting his own version of the Dating Game, Regal brought the funny in a variety of situations.
But as I gush about Regal’s comedic prowess, I have neglected to mention his other great credential.
Being the team player he is, Regal spent a decade in WWE helping shape the superstars of tomorrow.
Not only did he have a hand in training the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and Brian Kendrick, but Regal selflessly took losses to any kind of up-and-comer, in order to keep the gears of the WWE machine moving.
He also took losses to wrestlers nowhere near his level of talent, because that’s what good wrestlers do. Any wrestler worth his salt can take the man across the ring from him, no matter his skill level, and make him into a mirror image of himself.
Whatever role he was in, he excelled. In the ring, he was so technically proficient that he could provide a credible beating as he could take one. As commissioner, he was a calculating and sadistic villain. Paired with Eugene, he was perfect as the reluctant handler-turned-sympathetic friend who could no longer bear to hate a man who was so fun-loving. In fact, Coming to his senses and attacking Triple H once for attempting to harm Eugene provided a tremendous acting moment for Regal, as he conveyed rage, defensiveness, and aggression better than anyone else could.
With Regal retiring, WWE has lost a truly special talent. Maybe he’ll stay on as a producer, and he’ll continue to give invaluable advice to a new generation of talent that would only become better as a result. But it won’t be the same.
I’m happy to see Regal, a man who nearly let his career by consumed by addiction, and who also nearly died in 2003 from horrible illnesses contracted in India, leave the business at age 42 on his own terms. He never has to work indy shows in front of 100 yokels at an auction barn, and he never has to sell memorabilia on e-bay to pay medical expenses, so long as he remains smart and healthy.
While I’ll miss the wealth of good he brought the business, I’ll remain content with the idea that a man who had everything to offer seems to gotten everything he deserves.
In chess, the knight may capture the king as the endgame, but he doesn’t get to wear the crown.
William Regal, as any great heel, broke the rules. He was 2008 King of the Ring after all, and this loyal knight scooped up the fallen king’s crown, and made it his own.
After everything he’s been through physically, and for everything he gave to the business and the fans, Regal deserves such a crown.
For William Regal, it's good to be the king.
(Justin Henry is a freelance writer whose interests are rooted in NFL, MLB, NBA, wrestling, MMA, and entertainment. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/cynicjrh and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/notoriousjrh so check him out)
Stro's official website
www.thestro.com
By Justin Henry of www.WrestlingNewsSource.com
Check out Justin's other columns...
- WWE's OLD SCHOOL SHOULD BE EXPELLED
- ATTITUDE IS DEAD; GET IT?
- Wrestling Campaign Slogans
- Brock Lesner vs. The Undertaker? - Twelve Burning Questions
- The Most Realistic WWE Game
- Stand Up for WWE?
It’s every wrestler’s dream to one day be the biggest star in the biggest promotion, wearing the biggest belt, in front of the biggest crowds, making the biggest paycheck, and having the biggest career a man could possibly have.
Of course, to sustain the value of a World Title, as well as maintain an illusion that the upper echelon of a wrestling promotion is exclusive company, not everyone gets to be the top dog.
In the game of chess, after all, there are eight times more pawns than there are kings.
However, in chess, pieces like bishops, knights, and rooks serve a high purpose. They are there to capture the opposing pieces, to box the enemy king in, and to help secure victory for their army.
In essence, although only one may wear the king’s crown, all members of the army have a chance at superiority.
To do this requires teamwork, efficiency, drive, and longevity.
All qualities that describe William Regal.
Regal just retired from WWE, finishing a ten year run with the company that would have been a twelve year run, if not for a brief release and return to WCW, as he sadly battled addictions.
After having a tremendous match with Chris Benoit at the 2000 Brian Pillman Memorial Show, where he looked his best in years, Regal regained sanctuary with WWE, and he would go on to have quite the unique run.
I use the word ‘unique’ precisely so, because there is no man who can claim to have the same career that Regal has had.
In a business where bathroom humor and running gags are shoved into our faces like a cream pie in the hands of one of the Three Stooges, Regal demonstrated a sense of subtlety that I’ve yet to see a single wrestler duplicate.
Regal served as the Lou Costello to a number of Bud Abbotts over the years, using horrified glances, indignant sneers, ghastly double-takes, and a number of pained gestures in an attempt to sell the Hell out of any potentially humorous situation.
It takes a tremendous amount of talent to be able to play the misfortunate ‘straight man’, as evidenced by the fact that so few in wrestling can do it. Over the years, the likes of Mean Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan have been able to clown around while maintaining a somewhat dignified aura, but Regal?
The man is a cut above the rest.
He’s notable not just because of his knack, but for his selflessness.
As a legitimate tough guy who toured the carnival circuit as a teenager, handing marks some brutal beatings when they dared test him, Regal could have felt that being reduced to comedy was beneath him. After all, Goldberg, during his ill-run WCW feud with Chris Jericho, took exception to Jericho’s use of a midget Goldberg impersonator, telling Jericho “I don’t do the comedy stuff”.
But Regal did.
Regal knows he’s a tough guy. There’s a famed story of him beating the snot out of Van Hammer at a party at Diamond Dallas Page’s house over some petty slight.
And that’s why he did comedy. He KNOWS he’s a tough guy.
Regal went out to the ring with one goal in mind: entertain. People who are blowing their money on tickets to see the stars on their televisions perform are going to want entertainment for their dollar, and it just so happened that Regal was as consummate an entertainer as there was.
The moments are as plentiful as they were humorous. From dancing in Cryme Tyme’s hat at Summerslam 2007, to staring wide-eyed and confused as Grand Masta Sexay once tried communicating with him in “street slang”, to his shuddering expression as he drank urine-laced tea via Chris Jericho, to hosting his own version of the Dating Game, Regal brought the funny in a variety of situations.
But as I gush about Regal’s comedic prowess, I have neglected to mention his other great credential.
Being the team player he is, Regal spent a decade in WWE helping shape the superstars of tomorrow.
Not only did he have a hand in training the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and Brian Kendrick, but Regal selflessly took losses to any kind of up-and-comer, in order to keep the gears of the WWE machine moving.
He also took losses to wrestlers nowhere near his level of talent, because that’s what good wrestlers do. Any wrestler worth his salt can take the man across the ring from him, no matter his skill level, and make him into a mirror image of himself.
Whatever role he was in, he excelled. In the ring, he was so technically proficient that he could provide a credible beating as he could take one. As commissioner, he was a calculating and sadistic villain. Paired with Eugene, he was perfect as the reluctant handler-turned-sympathetic friend who could no longer bear to hate a man who was so fun-loving. In fact, Coming to his senses and attacking Triple H once for attempting to harm Eugene provided a tremendous acting moment for Regal, as he conveyed rage, defensiveness, and aggression better than anyone else could.
With Regal retiring, WWE has lost a truly special talent. Maybe he’ll stay on as a producer, and he’ll continue to give invaluable advice to a new generation of talent that would only become better as a result. But it won’t be the same.
I’m happy to see Regal, a man who nearly let his career by consumed by addiction, and who also nearly died in 2003 from horrible illnesses contracted in India, leave the business at age 42 on his own terms. He never has to work indy shows in front of 100 yokels at an auction barn, and he never has to sell memorabilia on e-bay to pay medical expenses, so long as he remains smart and healthy.
While I’ll miss the wealth of good he brought the business, I’ll remain content with the idea that a man who had everything to offer seems to gotten everything he deserves.
In chess, the knight may capture the king as the endgame, but he doesn’t get to wear the crown.
William Regal, as any great heel, broke the rules. He was 2008 King of the Ring after all, and this loyal knight scooped up the fallen king’s crown, and made it his own.
After everything he’s been through physically, and for everything he gave to the business and the fans, Regal deserves such a crown.
For William Regal, it's good to be the king.
(Justin Henry is a freelance writer whose interests are rooted in NFL, MLB, NBA, wrestling, MMA, and entertainment. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/cynicjrh and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/notoriousjrh so check him out)
Stro's official website
www.thestro.com