William Regal Recalls First Meeting With Sasha Banks
William Regal spent over two decades in WWE as a performer and backstage employee prior to his departure. During his time there, he met many up-and-coming talents and has now revealed what his first encounter with "The Legit Boss" Sasha Banks was like.
"When I first met her, she was either 18 or 19 and it was in Boston," Regal reminisced on his podcast, "Gentleman Villain". "I was in catering and she was an extra. She asked to come and sit with me and ask questions more than once. I'd help anybody, so I just answered whatever questions she had, and whenever I saw her, same thing."
Banks began her stint with WWE in the summer of 2012. She became "NXT" Women's Champion in February of 2015 at TakeOver: Rival. She made her first appearance on the main roster as part of Team B.A.D. in July of 2015 and went on to become a five-time "Raw" Women's Champion, a one-time "SmackDown" Women's Champion, and a three-time Women's Tag Team Champion.
While Banks had a successful WWE career prior to walking out of the company earlier this year, it took a while to convince certain people that she had star potential.
"Long story short, there came a time when she had a tryout and there were certain people in certain positions who didn't see anything in her, "Regal added. "I just knew that there was something special, but I knew it was going to take a few years...I actually said 'If this doesn't work out, then you can take my job away from me.' ...I just knew she'd be an incredible, good, talented professional and it worked out, I think."