Gordon Ramsay and Simon Cowell have been hilariously accused by the man himself of copying William Regal’s heel persona in WCW and WWE – the stereotypical British bad guy.
William Regal played the role of Lord Steven Regal in World Championship Wrestling, a prime 1990s heel, to utter perfection. Billed from Blackpool, England, Regal claimed to be a descendant of William The Conqueror, playing up the lord character and surrounding himself with The Blue Bloods, a stable of like-minded colleagues.
Discussing his days as a heel on his Gentleman Villain podcast, though, William Regal claims to have had his character stolen – by, of all people, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and record executive Simon Cowell:
“Another thing, British [people] you know, usually quiet and humble and whatever on this, but there’s a lot of people from Britain, showbiz people, anybody, sports people, they all want to break America. Bands, it’s just normal, right? Well, before Gordon Ramsay or Simon Cowell came over there being the British bad guy, who broke TV? Me. So I’ve topped them all.
And basically if you look at them, that they just copied my act. I mean, they have no idea about that. They just did their thing. I’m just me trying to talk a lot of nonsense. But also, I’m wearing my Fred Perry shirt today, which is nice and buttoned up how it should be and it’s about time they gave me a bit of recognition because I’ve been wearing, brand loyal to them since I was 12.”
William Regal even went as far as to say it should be his face being put on the stamps in lieu of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s tragic passing last Thursday because, as he said, “my ears will fit”:
“So that’s the start of the day. Yeah, I mean, let’s face facts. I’m just a journeyman wrestler, but I’m a British icon, they need to put me on the stamps because my ears will fit.”
For those unaware, this is a jab at King Charles III, who William Regal believes has unusually large ears.
Regal portrayed the Lord Steven Regal for the majority of his WCW tenure, adding the likes of Earl Robert Eaton, Squire Dave Taylor, and even Jean-Paul Levesque to his Blue Bloods stable. Outside of a shows for the Memphis Championship Wrestling organisation, though, the character died when William Regal departed for the World Wrestling Federation.