Professional
wrestler for the
WWF,
WCW and various Japanese, independent and British promotions.
Darren Matthews was born in
Blackpool,
Lancashire,
England on May 10, 1968. Contrary to the assurances of
Jim Ross during Matthews' spell in the WWF as 'The Real Man's Man'
Steven Regal, he did not get into wrestling at county fairs in his homeland, but enrolled as a student at
Marty Jones' wrestling school in
Wigan. After impressing with his solid mat-wrestling skills, he got his big break as one of the
jobber tag-partners in a
Big Daddy/
Giant Haystacks match. Wrestling for £5 a night, Matthews quickly grew tired of the drudgery of the moribund British scene and, following colleague
David 'Fit' Finlay, he went to the US to seek his fortune.
After brief stint in the
NWA and various regional promotions,
Lord Steven Regal made his debut in WCW in 1993, beating a certain
Marcus Bagwell. He had four runs with the
WCW TV Title between 1993 and 1997(feuding with
Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat,
Larry Zbyszko,
Ultimo Dragon and
Lex Luger along the way), and was a solid
midcard star throughout, before injury paved the way for one of
Eric Bischoff's '
so long and thanks for all the fish' sackings.
Regal resurfaced in the WWF in 1998 with an awful 'Real Man's Man' gimmick, feuding with the then-
super-over X-Pac over the
WWF European Title. However, as his
angle bombed, Regal's state of mind and body did likewise, and he checked himself into
drugs rehab in February 1999. A month later the Federation released him.
After conquering his demons, Regal trained at the WCW
Power Plant before making his return to WCW TV as part of a 'British' stable made up of Regal, 'Fit' Finlay, 'Gentleman'
Chris Adams and
David Taylor. However, the group were stuck in
WCW Worldwide and
Saturday Night tapings and it was no surprise that the company cut Regal yet again as it spiralled into debt.
Realising his potential,
Vince McMahon again hired Regal, but he was made to pay his dues down in
Memphis. This Regal tackled with aplomb, and following his ***** match with
Chris Benoit at the
Brian Pillman Memorial Show 2000, it was no surprise when he returned as 'The United Kingdom's Good Will
Ambassador' William Regal to WWF TV in late 2000, defeating
Al Snow for the
European Title and holding onto the belt on and off for the next few months, before dropping the strap in order to take on the prestigious role of
WWF Commissioner.
As 'The Physical Commissioner', Regal finally got over as a much-hated
heel, the
sycophantic servant of Evil
Vinnie Mac. He embarked on a successful feud with
Chris Jericho before becoming the mentor of former
ECW star
Yoshihiro Tajiri. The pair remained over going into the Invasion PPV of July 2001, with Regal in the unusual position of being one of the top
babyfaces in the company.
Regal's finishing maneuveur is the Regal Stretch, a modified
STF. He also uses the
European Uppercut as one of his trademark moves. His style is fairly
old-school mat grappling, which has always hindered his ability to get over with the
Attitude generation, but for us purists, Regal is a joy to watch. He is also best friends with
Steve Austin off-camera.
Facts correct as of July 24th 2001