A beloved figure made their grand return to WWE TV during tonight’s episode of NXT, but that wasn’t the only surprise WWE had its up sleeve tonight. During tonight’s episode, Ava Raine is seen leaving Shawn Michaels’ office, and she tells the cameraman “What a meeting.” Then you can hear someone talking to Michaels in the office, and the person turns out to be none other than former WWE NXT General Manager William Regal. Regal was synonymous with NXT before he was released as part of a lengthy list of talent cuts. Regal has since returned to WWE after some time with AEW, but he hasn’t been on TV yet. That’s changed now, but he also shared the big news that Raine is now the NXT General Manager.
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After Raine came out of the office, Regal joined her and congratulated her on becoming the new NXT General Manager. Regal said, “Well congratulations Ava, you are officially the youngest general manager in the WWE.” Raine said, “I can’t believe it. It feels unreal.” Regal told her to believe it and then shared some advice, but he also asked for a favor.
“Believe it. But Ava, I need you to look after this brand for me. I was here from Day one in NXT, and it means the absolute world to me,” Regal said. It’s a thankless job. Long hours. Egos to juggle. Lots of split-second and sometimes tough decisions to make, but I know you can do it.”
Raine said, “Thank you. Big shoes to fill but I think I can do it too.” Regal said, “And if you ever need anything, my phone’s on. Take care.”
Raine was previously part of Schism with Joe Gacy, but after the departure of The Dyad (Grizzled Young Veterans), the group disbanded. Gary has been undergoing some changes to his character on TV, but Raine didn’t immediately appear anywhere else. Then she started showing up in segments that had her helping to make matches happen, and now that all makes sense, as she was starting to enter a different role. The General Manager typically has pretty regular screen time during episodes, like Adam Pearce on Raw and Nick Aldis on SmackDown, so we should be seeing a lot more of Ava on TV moving forward.
As for Regal, it’s great seeing him back on TV, as after his time with AEW he returned to WWE in a non-TV role. In an interview with the Distraction Pieces Podcast, Regal spoke of returning to WWE and shared that not much has changed.
“It’s as if nothing’s ever happened and nothing’s changed in the slightest. It’s weird. Anybody listening that’s young — I know you don’t like listening to older people — but make the most of every second you have on this Earth, because … you get to a certain age and you hear it from all old people, time goes so quickly and we waste a lot of it,” Regal said.
Are you excited for Regal’s return to TV? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
