William Regal has revealed how he put his career on the line to get Sasha Banks hired by WWE.
Speaking with Matty Paddock of Daily Star, NXT General Manager and WWE’s Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting opened up about how he “went to bat” for Sasha Banks, as others wouldn’t give the SmackDown Women’s Champion the time of day.
“She was the first person I went to bat for to hire, because the people who were doing the job that I do now wouldn’t even give her the time of day. I’ve known her since she was 19 and she used to be an extra at Boston. The first day, I was in catering and she came and sat and said ‘do you mind if I ask you some questions about wrestling?’ I wasn’t doing this job then but in the afternoon at the shows, I’d always be training outside the ring and she’d be one of the ones who would always come and talk.
Regal went on to say he went as far as saying if signing Sasha Banks didn’t work out, WWE could fire him.
When it came to me getting this job… I went to them [about Sasha] and said ‘look, if this doesn’t work out, you can fire me.’ To see the way she has come through this, and to see what she’s done [is] incredible.”
The NXT General Manager went on to discuss how Banks was in a slump recently, and that he reminded The Boss that she was just that.
“I’m sure she doesn’t mind me telling you this,” he went on to say. “But there are times when this job gets to be a bit of a grind – any job does. I don’t see her as much and we certainly don’t call and text one another, but I saw her a while ago, several years ago and I’d heard she wasn’t so happy. I said to her ‘how are you doing?’ She said ‘Alright’. I said ‘how many times have you been world champion? She said ‘Five…’ I said, ‘And was the cheque in the bank on Monday?’ and she just said ‘That’s all I needed, thank you very much!’ Just to see that she’s come through all this and become the star she has been very fulfilling.”
Sasha Banks defends her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania. You can find out how, when and where to watch here.