In the wake of reports that William Regal is officially leaving AEW and heading back to WWE, one source claims that they have intimate knowledge of how Regal felt after he signed with the AEW in the first place. Needless to say, Regal was apparently quite unhappy and it seemed evident early on that he would use the out-clause in his contract to move on if given the opportunity to return to WWE or land another gig. According to what he claims is a verbatim account of words spoken by Regal himself, former WWE star and current independent wrestler EC3 said Regal was unhappy right after signing with AEW. During an interview with Sportskeeda, EC3 said, "He’s too valuable to not be in a developmental system. I know we could say ‘oh he’s there mentoring the people in AEW.’ The thing is they’re not listening, the talent doesn’t listen to the veterans for the most part.” EC3 added, “When he went over to AEW, the word was, he said, ‘I immediately regret this decision, there’s very much a maturity issue here within management.’”
While it's not clear if this is truly how Regal felt/feels, it should be noted that there have been issues backstage with talent, specifically EVPs in the company. Accounts of their immaturity are all over the Internet. If any of this was evident backstage, Regal probably didn't have much of a taste for it and it would have been frustrating to someone who probably doesn't have patience for inmates running the asylum. He is known to be the consummate professional and the epitome of respecting the business and those that are there to teach and offer guidance.
Take EC3's Words With A Grain Of Salt
It should be said that these are merely the words of EC3 and not Regal himself. It is unlikely Regal will ever say a negative word about AEW publicly, even if this is how he felt. Regal has a huge amount of respect for the business and is likely just going back to a place he loves and is familiar with in WWE. It's a place that has a large amount of respect for him too and the fit makes perfect sense.
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