When Vince McMahon decided to sell WWE, he started releasing both on-camera and backstage talent. With Triple H pushed out of NXT in preference of the widely despised "NXT 2.0," McMahon no longer saw a need for Willaim Regal.
As WWE's Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting, he played a pivotal role in recruiting talent to the developmental brand, including names like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Becky Lynch.
Having been fired by WWE, Regal signed with AEW and debuted as the founder and manager of the Blackpool Combat Club. It was a fun role for the iconic pro wrestler but one he only filled for nine months before Triple H brought him back into the fold as WWE Vice President of Global Talent Relations.
Many fans have theorised that Regal used his time in AEW to befriend wrestlers he's now trying to bring into WWE. There have also been some pretty bizarre claims about contract tampering and him using Tony Khan's mother's illness as a way of getting out of his AEW deal.
Now, Regal has responded. "Although it serves some people's agenda, and having a massive amount of people who work in AEW that can only back me up, I went to AEW to help because Bryan Danielson asked me to," he explained. "Please find me one person who can say otherwise."
"I arrived at 10 am until 6.15 pm ( est) to train anyone who wanted to come...I never attended a single production meeting...I needed people to realize I was only there to help. Nor did I ask a single question about anybody that works there's contract status."
Regal added, "I also didn't call Tony when his Mom was ill. He called me and as soon as he told me where he was I ended the phone call and we spoke 2 weeks later. FYI, my deal was up in December '28. That's when I left."
It's worth noting that former AEW coach, producer, and talent QT Marshall later backed Regal up and it appears the internet simply ran away with the idea that the Brit was sent into the rival promotion as some sort of double agent!