William Regal Singles Out Top AEW Star For Unique Degree Of Praise
William Regal has been all over the news lately, with not just his departure from AEW for WWE, but also the end of his podcast. He did grant an interview to Inside The Ropes and the latest release from that interview has him praising former WWE Champion and current AEW star Bryan Danielson, saying Danielson is the wrestler Regal aspired to be.
"[It's] because he's got no bad habits," Regal began. "There's been times where he's had problems, injury-wise, and he's been out, but he's overcome it all...but I was never as good as him. When I first met him, in 2000, he was 19 or 20. [The] first night I watched him, I'm like 'Wow, he's in a different league to where I was.' I wanted to be a wrestler as good as him, but I wasn't built for it. I wanted to be a junior heavyweight, like [Mark] "Rollerball" Rocco and Fit Finlay, or a mid-heavyweight, but I grew to 6'3" and I didn't have the athletic ability, so I went the traditional British heavyweight route, and that changed over time with different things, but I had to grow into that. Bryan has no...whatever I have going on and things that set me off the wrong path...and Bryan has, since I've met him, has stayed polite, kind, helpful; done everything right, and he has the same kind of set of standards as me...he's better at this than I ever was. He's got a better brain for this. I've got a really good brain for this, but he's better, and I've said this before: There's a lot of people better at putting match structures together, or knowing when to do the right thing at the right time, I just go out and do my thing; it either worked or it didn't."
Regal and Danielson met in 2000 when they reported to then-WWE developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling as, respectively, a wrestler/trainer and a developmental wrestler. They developed a tight bond, with Regal even gifting Danielson what would become his signature maroon trunks and boots. After Danielson was cut by WWE in 2001, he quickly built up a name for himself on the independent scene, becoming one of the original anchors of Ring of Honor.