At this point, William Regal is one of the most respected figures in wrestling, comparable to men like The Undertaker, Terry Funk, and Harley Race. His career has been defined by not only his contributions in the ring but the advice and guidance he has given to younger talents.
Regal first began working for WWE in late 1998 and was with the company off and on until he was released in 2022. He spent much of his time in WWE as an on-air authority figure, but he also won many titles as an in-ring competitor. While he didn't have as many title reigns as some other legends, Regal was a part of some memorable rivalries during his time with the company.
9 Raven
Like many excerpts on this list, William Regal's rivalry with Raven was characterized by its brevity. It was during the build to the polarizing 2001 PPV, Invasion, that Raven and Regal would be paired off against one another. Regal was defending the livelihood of the Alliance, and Raven would be representing the recently defunct ECW. In many ways, these two men match up well, and in other ways, rather awkwardly. The match was solid enough but felt like just another match on the card at the end of the night. The mic work and intensity of these two were as strong as one would expect, giving this short rivalry a place on this list.
8 RVD
Like Raven, RVD and Regal engaged in a short rivalry, but a relatively significant one, especially for Van Dam. The two only had a few matches with the most significant being at WrestleMania 18, where RVD would capture the Intercontinental Title from Regal. It was described by play-by-play man, Jim Ross, as a clash of styles, and it certainly was. Van Dam and Regal are consummate pros and they made their matches work, making their brief rivalry memorable enough to place on this list. Chances are, fans still recall the feud between William Regal and Rob Van Dam.
7 Spike Dudley
Even as a wrestler, Regal was often selfless and allowed himself to be booked differently than many other stars would have agreed to be. In 2002, the diminutive underdog, Spike Dudley, would defeat Regal for the European Championship in three seconds on Monday Night Raw. The fluke fashion in which Dudley defeated Regal for his title would of course enrage and humiliate the Englishman, leading to a series of matches over the next few weeks. The win over Regal would benefit Spike, who at the time was viewed as an undersized afterthought from ECW. This rivalry was both entertaining and effective in getting an emerging talent over.
6 Paul London/Brian Kendrick
In late 2006, Regal would reunite with his longtime rival/partner, "Squire" Dave Taylor, and the two would form a short-lived team in WWE. At the time, the young team of Brian Kendrick and Paul London were the WWE Tag Team Champions on the SmackDown brand. Regal and Taylor were put with London and Kendrick because management knew that the two teams would have unique and intriguing matches and that the former's experience would benefit the champions.
Regal isn't often credited for being equally adept at singles and tag competition, but he and Taylor added another layer to London and Kendrick, lending them some extra credibility in the process. Of course, this feud would lead to one of the most infamous ladder matches in WWE history, but the road there was one of Regal's most memorable WWE rivalries.
5 CM Punk
CM Punk was someone who salivated at the opportunity to work with William Regal, and he got just that in 2008. It was in the returning King Of The Ring event on Raw in 2008 that Punk and Regal would meet in the finals. Regal would get the win after a stiff match, as he was tailor-made for the "King" gimmick in WWE.
The two would work together for the next few weeks, and once again the fledgling young Punk would benefit tremendously from working with Regal. This rivalry produced some great matches and it was another great in-ring run for William Regal.
4 Finlay
The bulk of the rivalry and arguably the best moments of it came in WCW, but Regal and the Irishman, Finlay, have been inextricably linked for most of their careers. Their feud in WWE was more or less just a carryover from WCW, but it was equally stiff and entertaining. Finlay and Regal's most memorable bout in WWE would ironically take place at the Great American Bash show in 2006. Because Regal and Finlay were such natural rivals, picking up where things left off in WCW was a no-brainer. These two always brought out the best in each other and their interactions in WWE were no exception.
3 Christian
It may come as a surprise to some, but the rivalry between Christian and William Regal was actually over the ECW Title. Regal was surrounded by a faction comprised of two stars that WWE was high on; Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson. The deck was stacked against Christian, who ended up defeating Regal at SummerSlam '09 in seconds after Regal struggled to get his ring jacket off. The two would continue to feud over the title in the ensuing weeks, having quality matches to no one's surprise. While Kozlov's and Jackson's association with Regal didn't quite garner the results that WWE had hoped for, the feud with Christian did result in some memorable and entertaining television.
2 Chris Jericho
From a personality standpoint, the rivalry between Chris Jericho and William Regal ended up being much more organically successful than most may have assumed. This one started when Regal was still acting as the WWE Commissioner in late 2000/2001. Regal had been particularly biased towards Jericho, who took exception and made it his mission to be as disruptive and insubordinate to Regal as possible.
Then there was of course the infamous skit in which Jericho would urinate in Regal's tea, producing one of the more cringey but memorable moments of the latter part of the Attitude Era. Regal would capture the Intercontinental Championship on the road to WrestleMania 17 and would drop it to Jericho in the opening match on that show. All things considered; this rivalry was as crucial to Jericho as it was to Regal.
1 Edge
Of all the young talents that Regal worked with in the twilight of their careers, the one who may have benefited the most would be Edge. It was clear that the WWE had big plans for the future Rated-R Superstar, but Edge wasn't fully clicking with the fans as a singles wrestler in early 2002.
Management would smartly pair him with William Regal in a feud for the Intercontinental Championship and the two would produce solid back-to-back PPV matches at Royal Rumble and No Way Out. Regal would do a masterful job at showcasing Edge's strengths and was effective enough as an antagonist to ensure that Edge would be supported by the audience. Looking back, this was William Regal's best run of in-ring work and overall rivalry of his WWE career.