William Regal's WWE Return Confirmed, Gets a New Position
William Regal's return to WWE has been made official, according to a new report from PWInsider's Mike Johnson. The report states Regal will have a Vice President position upon his return in the first week of January, though it's unclear what it will be as of now. Prior to his release from WWE in January of this year, he served as both the Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting while portraying the onscreen role of NXT's general manager. He arrived in AEW two months after his WWE departure and worked primarily on-screen as the manager for the Blackpool Combat Club, but requested his release late in the year over the desire to work alongside his son, Charlie Dempsey, back in WWE.
AEW President Tony Khan confirmed last week that he agreed to Regal's request for a release after dealing with his own family issues. Per the agreement, Regal will not have an onscreen role with WWE throughout 2023, so fans hoping to see him resume his NXT GM role will have to wait.
William Regal on Vince McMahon Approving His AEW Debut
Regal explained in a recent interview with Inside The Ropes that McMahon approved him going to AEW to take on a new opportunity. He also revealed that he was technically getting paid by both companies at the time of his arrival at AEW Revolution thanks to an overlap in his WWE contract.
"Mr. McMahon was very good to me, to the point of, I will say this because whatever he's going through, he was excellent to me. I had a talent contract, as well as an employee contract and it didn't run out until the end of April because I played William Regal. I started for AEW on the seventh of March. I didn't call anybody else, I sent a message straight to the boss, 'Hey Boss, I've got this thing with Bryan,' and he loves Bryan as well. 'Absolutely, you go' and still paid me until the end of my talent contract. I was the only person who ever got paid by both companies at the same time," Regal said.
How Was William Regal Written Off AEW?
Regal popped up on last week's Dynamite via a pre-taped interview, in which he explained his recent actions of betraying Jon Moxley at Full Gear to help MJF win the AEW World Championship. He stated that he felt he needed to give his faction one final lesson, but also knew they'd never let him leave if they asked. His last live appearance in front of an AEW crowd saw Friedman betray him by punching him in the back of the head with brass knuckles.