William Regal has lifted the lid on a remarkable incident from his time in WCW where a police officer held a gun to his head.
After reaching out to WCW Executive Vice President Bill Watts in late 1992, William Regal made his debut with the company in January the following year.
Although initially appearing as a fan favourite it wasn’t long before the star dropped into a role as a British villain under the name Lord Steven Regal as he claimed to be descended from William the Conqueror.
During this run Regal extoled his supposed British virtues while criticising the United States to preserve his heel character. However, speaking on a recent episode of his Gentleman Villain podcast Regal revealed that he also paid the ultimate price for trying to keep kayfabe alive.
Regal recalled an incident where he attempted to pull down and American flag only to be stopped by a police officer who was holding a gun to his head.
“As I looked to the left, I just felt a tap on my forehead. From the side of the stage, there was a Jacksonville police officer stood and as I turned my head, there was a gun in my forehead and he said, ‘I suggest you don’t do that sir’ and I went, ‘I think you’re right officer’ and I just walked off the other side and completely went out of character. I was just like, boom, with a gun pointed to my forehead,”
Continuing on, the veteran explained that the incident left him shaken as he found a quiet spot backstage to try and gather himself.
“People think I’m a tough guy, and people have seen me do things at certain times and we can tell stories about that. I went down the stairs, found a quiet spot and I was shaking because I’ve seen a lot of things in my time but I’d never – Revolver stuck right in me head and a cocked Revolver,”
William Regal remained with WCW until mid-1998 when he made the jump to the WWF. Following a short spell with Vince McMahon’s promotion and a stint in rehab, Regal made a brief return to Atlanta in 1999, before again signing with the WWF a year later.
Regal can currently be found in AEW where he serves as the head of the Blackpool Combat Club.
H/t to Cultaholic for the transcription.