AEW Airs Apparent Parting Words From William Regal On Dynamite

With AEW President Tony Khan all but confirming the reports of William Regal departing for WWE, viewers watching the 12/7 "AEW Dynamite" were taken aback when The Gentleman Villain showed up in a backstage segment.

For Regal, the interview with Tony Schiavone — his friend of 30 years — was a way for him to impart final words of wisdom to his former Blackpool Combat Club stablemates and to seemingly bid goodbye to AEW audiences. Regal would also justify his reasoning for turning on Jon Moxley and aligning himself with MJF at the Full Gear pay-per-view last month.

"I realized several months ago that the main members of Blackpool Combat Club didn't need me around anymore," Regal said. "I'm surplus to requirements, as they say, but I knew they wouldn't let me go. But I needed to show them why they didn't need me, and why they can teach Wheeler [Yuta] to be the best professional wrestler in the world, because they've all got that [mentoring] capability. But you have to lead by example — and hopefully, Jon Moxley, who is a very calculating man, will understand this. 

"The reason I did what I did was to teach you the final thing I could ever teach you — always stay one step ahead and make sure you keep your eyes on the back of your head. I'm Blackpool Combat Club to the day I die. Fellas, it's been emotional."

The cameras then cut to the ring, where Moxley delivered an impassioned speech with Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta standing beside him.

"The three men in this ring live and breathe for the sport of professional wrestling," Moxley stressed while hinting at a possible name change to their stable.

The segment ended with Moxley declaring that BCC would end its "war" with the Jericho Appreciation Society at ROH's Final Battle pay-per-view, where Castagnoli and Yuta challenge Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia for the ROH World Championship and ROH Pure Championship, respectively.