The news of William Regal leaving AEW and pretty much returning to WWE has been the biggest topic of discussion in wrestling. There are several points worth talking about this; from Paul Levesque’s insistence of signing previously fired wrestlers/personalities to the possibility of contract tampering and a possible lawsuit.
It’s no secret that ever since Paul Levesque took control of creative on the main roster one of his biggest decisions, and the only one, has been the returns of previously fired wrestlers from WWE and with a big portion of them already returning and probably more to come. It was just a matter of time until Levesque would approach the talent that ended signing with AEW and other companies.
Several reports have indicated that Paul Levesque has approached several people in AEW about a potential return, with different results; Swerve is a well-known case and with him rejecting the proposal, and others like Andrade who wanted his release and started a fight with Sammy Guevara to get fired or the most recent case with William Regal.
It also known that AEW’s legal chief officer contacted WWE about contract tampering earlier this year and leaving a warning about this. With Regal as the latest case about this, AEW could have a strong case if they decided for a lawsuit on contract tampering. As of this writing, there’s no indications of AEW pursuing any legal action against WWE.
AEW is no in a position that needs to be careful regarding signing former WWE talent and the precedent it leaves regarding AEW contracts. AEW shouldn’t close the door to any WWE talent, especially if someone as Sasha Banks is available to join the promotion, but being cautious with their signing is not the worst idea. AEW should just focus on US indie and international talents for their roster. This doesn’t affect AEW much in terms of creative, the only question that leaves open is what will happen with Blackpool Combat Club but that is an answer for another time.
Back to William Regal, it’s most likely that he’ll have the same role he had before his release as NXT GM and his backstage rol as scout and teacher. This is a good signing for WWE and NXT to develop talent, especially with WWE recruiting college athletes with the NIL program and having someone that knows how to teach pro-wrestling is a good idea.
