Athena/Ember Moon said on Chris Van Vliet's podcast that she turned down a position to coach at the WWEPC because she felt the developmental talent didn't have a passion for the business and were there to just collect a paycheck. It's interesting to now hear William Regal make the same observations.

@krotma

Жыл бұрын

That might be because they're not signing young wrestlers now but rather sportspeople, influencers, bodybuilders, actors, musicians and so on. People who have no interest in or experience of wrestling and who probably havent seen a match before in their lives.

@187crows

Жыл бұрын

@@krotma agreed not even signing wardlow or powerhouse hobbs is crazy

I had a feeling things were off when William Regal didn't shout "WAR GAMES!" during the broadcast.

@jgeorge2693

2 жыл бұрын

Breakker and Io did it instead.

So interesting to hear William Regal agree that NXT needed the change and he takes responsibility for it. Him and Triple H had a great partnership in making NXT what it was. Great clip from a great interview. 👍

William has been one of my favorites for almost 30 years now. All of the demons and miracles of a Jake or Scott without the antifame. All of the kayfabe of an Undertaker without a radically different Mark underneath. The mind of a Flair paired with the class of a, well I honestly couldn't come up with anyone that was as professional as Regal in 5 minutes. The cliche would be to talk about his place on the "best to never win the big one" list but I think he's a perfect example of great worker not needing a belt to get over. Just a good set of knucks ;).

I could listen to Regal tell stories for hours. Great content as always, Renee!

NXT was awesome before the pandemic. Crowds were hot, *especially* at Takeovers. NXT Portland was the show of the year. You take away that crowd, a huge part of NXT's identity was gone. Imagine NXT Takeovers in 2020 with their usual crowds. Nothing would have needed to change

@hiphopdagame

2 жыл бұрын

NXT was awesome Pre-Covid and Pre-AEW... man.. i'm proud to say, i've watched the NXT Black & Gold since day 1 of it's 1st revampment and seeing it grow onto THE Black & Gold that we knew and loved, man, gonna miss THAT Brand man...

@thecastleofenlightenment2604

2 жыл бұрын

Honestly I preferred wrestling without the crowds. Forces the wrestlers to talk more which is fun

@SirJoelsuf1

2 жыл бұрын

@@thecastleofenlightenment2604 So did I. No cringey hijack-y chants, no fans rushing the ring, you HAD to watch attentively. And the "screen" fans weren't too bad. tbh the way AEW coordinated things was perfect. Only let a couple hundred fans in, reminded me a LOT of when wrestling was just territories.

@pablofabela9004

2 жыл бұрын

Well the thing with the black and gold. Triple H was signing a whole bunch of guys from the indys. Black and gold was mostly about work rate matches really. So they're doomed as soon as they go to the main rooster. Even though I love Triple h. It was a mistake to try and make NXT a third brand when the purpose of the brand was for developing. Also a lot of these guys on 2.0. When they get called up. They have a higher percent chance of succeeded because those are the guys that Vince wanted.

@thecastleofenlightenment2604

2 жыл бұрын

@@pablofabela9004 many of them had charisma too like cole and Gargano but they didn't have the size that Vince wants. Vince will make exceptions for a few guys but once he has his small guys he wont push anymore. ricochet is a guy that got lucky that Vince was looking for another small guy. it was a mistake in a development standpoint but from a fan stand point it was fantastic. i enjoyed watching nxt the super indie promotion lol it also helped make nxt become a major thing. although i dont even watch the new one. Dexter was the last guy that left that i actually cared about

That last bit Regal was talking about, wrestlers doing their promos on promo day and training for 5 minutes then going home...if you watch NXT, you can tell the ones who he's referring to. There's a big difference between a Carmelo Hayes and Lash Legend promo and wrestling skill wise. And that's just one example.

@olaakande5581

2 жыл бұрын

That last bit he was talking about with ppl who sit on their phones & only do promo on promo day……those are the exact type of guys Vince wants to hire in every aspect of the company lol so many ex writers have said if u were a wrestling fan u wouldn’t get hired. For years they wanted nothing to do with Indy guys tho they killed OVW (ran by Jim cornette) & never made a star the cena, Brock, orton class. The few Indy guys they hired, they looked down on them the entire time. They didn’t embrace the indies until hhh made NXT his own Indy federation lol now the powers that be wanna hire guys again that have zero passion for wrestling. It’s sad

@markfroman738

2 жыл бұрын

Lash is hot but she’s gotta put in the work. Not sure she gets that.

@Fettclone1

2 жыл бұрын

@@olaakande5581 You're right, most of those guys have gone to AEW, Impact or NJPW at this point. I hope the situation at least creates some diversity among the talent as it was becoming a bit homogenized in terms of style.

@stxrmking

2 жыл бұрын

Lash Legend has had some of the top weight room records in the PC. She puts in the work. And her In-ring has improved from her trash ass first match. Her promo skills need work but only with flow and delivery, she’s saying all the right shit

@cryptozoomauler5505

Жыл бұрын

@@olaakande5581 OVW is still going. Al Snow is running it and they have investors. They just had to move the Al Snow Wrestling Academy to a new building. They have done a LOT of shows in Louisville, Kentucky recently, but they are still travelling to other locations when they can.

William Regal is one of the most credible and real people in wrestling, love hearing him being candid. The disconnect between NXT and the main roster during even it’s best times was always disheartening and you can see from a business sense why the higher ups wanted to make it purely developmental. From the 2019 WM weekend to NXT 2.0 run of the main title, Balor is the only champion left with the company (Gargano, Cole, Lee, Kross, Joe). Yes the easy answer is just do a better job of pushing those coming up from NXT, but it’s clear Vince/Nick wanted more of young blank slates that fit the ideal mold. I like Bronn and others there still, but it definitely doesn’t feel like the show where you could randomly watch Cesaro and Sami Zayn or Asuka and Ember Moon just throw down amazing matches every week.

@hiddensword9387

2 жыл бұрын

it began as developmental.

@kyleh1127

Жыл бұрын

I always said as a developmental that NXT was actually a failure. They were a fantastic product to watch and had some amazing names and talents move through there and were one of the premiere promotions to watch actual good wrestling, but a big part of their draw was cashing in on wrestlers who made big names of themselves elsewhere before signing with wwe, which is why I say developmentally they were a failure, because most of those indy stars were not trained properly to fit in with the main roster style, however people may be critical of that style and say 'x was the BEST WRESTLER EVER', NXT did not train them in how to adapt their style to the expectations that wwe placed on their roster talent to get 'pushed' or 'over' or whatever words you want to use. The NXT homegrowns that got called up rarely made it past novelty opener status, and the premade indy stars almost all hit the midcard glass ceiling. most of the successful examples that people give like reigns and wyatt predate nxt so that's a bust too. NXT was an amazing super indy to watch and enjoy as a promotion on its own, but as a developmental it essentially failed in its primary task.

I will miss the golden years of NXT black and gold. It provided us with some of the best wrestling matches in the world. Great rivalries and great moments. I'll have to rewatch those years from time to time.

Regal is a class act he truely is a treasure and we don’t deserve him

@eagleonetaskforce3572

2 жыл бұрын

Are you saying he should die

@crookedrain771

2 жыл бұрын

👌 totally.

I had a different issue with NXT. I would watch and get invested in the young talent, then watch it sent up to the main roster and be squandered. Between the main shows wasting the young talent and breaking up tag teams that were over repeatedly, it just became frustrating to repeat the cycle over and over again.

I prefer NXT Black & Gold over NXT 2.0. NXT 2.0 is too colorful. Brown Breakker is good. But I'm not really a fan of most of the new guys they brought in. I was even looking forward to Harland vs. whoever he was going to fight. Those two brothers in Diamond Mine are also some of the best young talent I've ever seen. Hope WWE doesn't release them.

@thecastleofenlightenment2604

2 жыл бұрын

Original nxt became a third brand with a different style and was entertaining af. NXT 2.0 is a true developmental territory which is kind of boring but is probably better in the long run for WWE.

@rc8657

2 жыл бұрын

NXT black and gold's ratings are in the garbage. Now they're treating it like a real developmental territory

@thecastleofenlightenment2604

2 жыл бұрын

@@rc8657 well ratings are down across the board. NXT ratings where great considering it was just a third brand that was on just the wwe Network for most of its existence lol Now ratings are even lower. As i said yeah its developmental now and probably better for wwe in the long run but man is it boring now.

@stingersplash

2 жыл бұрын

@@thecastleofenlightenment2604 I don't find it boring at all. Especially the womens division.

William is so level headed and he knows what's good vs what's great.

Regal makes a point The talent needs to put in the work and commit which is the problem nowadays This business is not a gig, it is a commitment

before AEW, NXT Black and Gold was the hottest thing in wrestling

@starbreaker269

2 жыл бұрын

New japan

@billbradley4878

2 жыл бұрын

@@starbreaker269 Sure, a card full of 8 man tags because everyone is factioned up is awesome...oh wait not it isnt, it is terrible.

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

@@billbradley4878 you obviously dont know anything about njpw kid

@trurobertson

2 жыл бұрын

How is AEW the hottest thing in wrestling?

@ViejoSabroso-rj9cc

2 жыл бұрын

@@trurobertson Every week, every year... WWE BTFO 😎

Lord Regal is one of the greatest wrestling minds ever

2016-2018 NXT was at it's absolute best. After that it went on a downhill slide imo. The talent pool during this time was superb, the Takeover events were the best PPV's short of NJPW Wrestlekingdom. 2019 and on, NXT seemed majorly lacking. Trying to run head to head with AEW was a disaster. And now the new NXT 2.0 is literally unwatchable. It's a shame really.

@rodycaz8984

2 жыл бұрын

It's actually watchable now. Black & Gold was garbage.

@stingersplash

2 жыл бұрын

It's literally watchable. One of my ultimate pet peeves is people saying literally and then saying something stupid. NXT 2.0 is still really good. For me I prefer it to Smackdown. It's exactly what it's supposed to be! Black & Gold got too big.

@rleonardgreen78

2 жыл бұрын

Nxt 2.0 is a better booked show than AEW by miles.

@pinkribbonskies5731

2 жыл бұрын

Sure, it's watchable if you literally like to watch lame shit. The show is horrible and the sinking ratings show that. I guess fanboys gonna fanboy, amiright?

It's a shame how a great guy and mind and his stories are amazing and it's ashame that he's gone now he will be missed as a wrestler and GM so long William Regal you will be missed WWE made a BIG mistake letting this guy go

@zakrowe1301

2 жыл бұрын

So long? The guys in dynamite every week

Like it or not NXT needed to change. Maybe not from the fans point of view but from the business side absolutely.

@juniordelgado9611

2 жыл бұрын

That’s what I’m saying literally nxt just wasn’t what it was anymore heck I couldn’t even watch the recent nxt takeovers before the transition just because it didn’t have that “feeling” anymore do I watch the current product now? Well not really mainly because I got school but I definitely keep up with it on my phone but for the most part change was desperately needed and it still could take longer than expected for fans to accept what nxt is now

@NickABQQm

2 жыл бұрын

There's always a market for "super indy" NXT 1.0 and AEW prove that. But Vince didn't know how to use them was the problem. They can keep "super indy" NXT1.0 and use that new NXT levelup to feed up main roaster big tall guy who barely wrestle that Vince want.

@Ahmed-og2jm

2 жыл бұрын

NXT could've changed without losing everything that made it NXT...and it's not like it was only indy guy's

@morgandavis6788

2 жыл бұрын

@@Ahmed-og2jm it was only indie guys though.

@Ahmed-og2jm

2 жыл бұрын

@@morgandavis6788 Baron Corbin, Moss, Sabiteli, Mandy Rose Alexa bliss, Sonya deville all came from black and gold and they had no wrestling background... what are you talking about?

Regal rocked it on his promo on Dynamite this week.

NXT October 2019-September 2020 had the best presentation to a TV show I’ve seen in a while. It was good for the guys who went through the system. Should go back to it tbh and also keep 2.0

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely not, nxt was all downfall since they got on TV, it was better on the network

@rail9677

2 жыл бұрын

October 2018 - September 2019**

@al5306

2 жыл бұрын

They can't go back to that though. As fun as that was to watch, the old NXT was brutal for the talent. If you're a developmental group, you can't have the talent WWE is investing in getting DDT'd on the floor or jumping off cages all the time. You're not going to be of much use to WWE when you get called up if you've had multiple surgeries already in developmental. You're there to learn, not get put into a meat grinder. That said, I get why WWE changed things. I still love the old NXT, but I can enjoy the new one too. They're apples and oranges.

As with everything else in life, after a certain point things get stale and they either have to change or they end. The problem is there is no guarantee the thing they change will be as good as the original thing.

It can't be emphasized enough how pandemic closures ripped through the pro wrestling industry. And it now seems like ancient history -- at least for the companies/promotions large and small that could get off the mat and get back rolling.

Our man likes to ramble, but the point of the Run of 36 Takeovers that were so exciting and taken for granted is very true

@markfroman738

2 жыл бұрын

He’s really bad about rambling. His interviews are hard to follow.

@actualr4t793

2 жыл бұрын

Dudes old and British gotta let him off with it

This man is a legend. Won't be another like him. I'm a Scotsman but proud of Steve/William regal as one of our own. He's so humble, knows psychology as well as anyone, great wrestler and entertainer. Glad to hear he's overcoming his health issues.

We need more of this!

With all the respect in the world to William Regal, and I truly think he is a great wrestling mind, you also have to take into account, that when NXT was at its peak they had arguably had the best in ring wrestlers on the planet in that company. Devitt, Samoa Joe, the Undisputed Era, DIY, I mean the talent they had in that company is pretty much unequaled from an worker stand point, even to this day. I'm just happy that a majority of those wrestlers ended up in AEW where you can at least get a similar version of it.

@al5306

2 жыл бұрын

It's nothing like it was in NXT. Those guys went to AEW and lost their edge. It's not the same.

NXT needed to embrace the incoming wave of young talent, while transitioning their veterans into supporting roles, to accentuate said young talent. It didn't need to be revamped completely. It just needed to be shuffled and shaken up a bit, keeping the fundamental ingredients responsible for its success and appeal. The very last episode of black and gold NXT did this, somewhat.

Fantastic work, Renee, such a wonderful insight.

WWE has dropped the ball with SO many talent. William Regal can give any wrestling show at least 1 good/great segment per week on camera and he can mentor young talent behind the scenes. Sounds like the powers that be in WWE didn't like that he wasn't a "Yes!" man. Their loss and AEW's gain.

@azizulhakimtimin4871

2 жыл бұрын

Regal work for WWE for 20+ years and hes main roster run in the company is basically vince stooges and he do everything vince want, he is a yes man

@thomasbeall9069

2 жыл бұрын

Odd seeing he lost his job to squashing my Goldtird in WCW. What changed when he went over? Maybe some people just simply get along.

Listening to him talk for 20 minutes it's easy to see why everybody loves this guy.

Regal is one of those guys I didn't appreciate until he got older. I never saw his value when he was still a wrestler.

@AceGoodheart

2 жыл бұрын

Same. I didn't care for him at all as a wrestler. I thought he was boring. But Regal today is a different story. He's good at making wrestling worth watching. I loved NXT when it was HHH and Regal's product.

Is that the screen from his angles with Tajiri?

Sir regal is a true wrestling legend.

William regal should have his own podcast and call it, “The Commissioner’s Office”

They mentioned Robby Brookside, Fun fact : i actually live opposite his daughter who wrestled for NXT UK.

how Will is so polite, class act mans!

Regal is great person and talent in front ring and behind it dont use wrestling politics get in the way take jabs wish more was like him

Hope to see him in the hall of fame some day

All this talk about NXT needing to evolve. WWE and the main brand hasn't evolved for well over a decadent. NXT black and gold was an attempt to evolve. A good one. But it was denied from ever touching the main brand and eventually totally discarded to devolve into 2.0.

@billbradley4878

2 жыл бұрын

Finn Balor has flat out said the black and gold was no longer actually getting people ready for the main roster when asked about his time there and the transition to 2.0. NXT was no longer developmental which some people liked but its purpose was to be developmental. I'll trust his take on it.

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly, nxt was modern wrestling, nxt 2.0 is a bad wrestling show from the 80's with green people who doesnt know how to wrestle and it's all written by 75 years old white guys 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

@@billbradley4878 he was wrong, it's otherwise, the main roster management is so bad they're unable to showcase people who are ready Keith Lee and Aleister Black are perfect examples

@andy2069

2 жыл бұрын

@@billbradley4878 all he said was that WWE wasn't choosing to use what was being prepared tho

While disappointing to learn that the WWEPC trainees weren't interested to do more during their time there, was the system set up to even incentivize them to take up extra sessions under Regal and Co.? Relying too much on the Undisputed Era and other indy vets masked a lot of issues that Helmsley probably hid from his father-in-law.

@thomasreagor1706

2 жыл бұрын

Why would folks learning to wrestle need incentives to learn/become better at their craft? Most of these guys were athletes so the work ethic should have been there. If they had the passion to become a wrestler, then they should've been killing themselves to get in more reps to run the ropes/practice cutting promos. Especially considering the fact that every few months WWE was always announcing some big name athlete was signed to a developmental deal.

@atx4fun

2 жыл бұрын

@@thomasreagor1706 Sadly this is true in any industry. You will see people in any field who have immense natural talent and are lazy and underperform. There is not enough money or time to make people like that care and its a huge waste.

Much respect to Regal.. remember match in wcw with Goldberg.. Goldberg thought he was going have a easy match with regal ..regal maded him work for it .. but much respect to Regal

@shaun64vet

2 жыл бұрын

Goldberg must have been told one thing about wrestling when he started and then Regal showed him the reality.

This man is a genius.

I thought it was Oral Sessions?

Regal is a gem

The change itself is fine it was the execution that pissed me and a lot of people off. They should’ve slowly transitioned into this NXT 2.0 but instead it felt like they instantly took a good thing away making the new thing bad

@jamesmiller5331

2 жыл бұрын

That's a thought. And I've sat here thinking about that for a couple of minutes and I guess my response is I guess it all depends on what ends up happening in the next 5 years with it. I think one of the biggest problems with the company is that they are locked into a bubble producing so many hours of TV that they don't realize how jarring it is when I make a big change like that. Fundamentally they do not understand what people expect from a show that they are watching from week to week to week over the course of several years. They really need to hire multiple Consultants to watch from the outside and none of these Consultants need to watch the same show, they need to be walked on to a single show be It Raw, SmackDown, or NXT. I think I would have changed the name of NXT as well instead of going with 2.0. 2.0 kind of says that it's going to be a better version of what previously was. Obviously that was not going to be the case from the jump. They are extremely lucky that wrestling fans seem to have such patience. They might bitch online a lot but they will never turn wrestling off completely.

@jordanlassiter5311

2 жыл бұрын

@@jamesmiller5331 true

I understand shaking things up, getting back to basics, going for younger talent. What I don't understand is torching a great TV show with simplistic storylines and world class talent and replacing it with a show with too many colors, where nobody can wrestle and EVERYBODY is ALWAYS horny. Regal made a great point: NXT was great for so many years because they plucked a bunch of guys from the Indies and gave them a national platform. Some worked out, some didn't (*sobs in Chris Hero*) but all of them toiled away in armories and gyms for years, and the hunger for opportunity was reflected in the product. To paraphrase Kevin Nash on how he got into the wrestling business: "I can do this on one and a half legs and still get paid?" That's what WWE is investing in: guys who are looking to extend their athletic career past college and collect a check. No hunger, no passion, just going through the motions and doing what they're told. If the state of NXT is as Regal claims, they'll find a diamond in the rough, but it will results in an eventual dearth of talent, and they'll have to go back to raiding other companies again just to fill the slots.

@TheMarslMcFly

2 жыл бұрын

I've stopped watching 2.0 with their New Years PPV and haven't kept up with it since, what's it about "everybody always being horny"? 😂

@samortega8586

2 жыл бұрын

the “everybody is always horny” line got me🤣🤣

And this is why we Love Regal

Man had a literal heart of stone. What a heel. Glad he’s okay. Always a man’s man.

@xymoriintus

2 жыл бұрын

A real man's man

I wish regal would start a promotion with hunter and cornette, that would be great

Like most things, change does need to happen to freshen up the Product. I don’t believe moving away from wrestlers to NIL is good for the long term life. WWE may get a few outstanding performers but most are going to fail. Not having seasoned wrestlers on the roster to teach these non wrestlers is bad. The matches are bad. This was not the change that NXT needed.

@ryancorrigan4149

2 жыл бұрын

They're really just content providers at this point. They couldn't squirt two sharts over "match quality" really. And they've been clear that going forward, they're not interested in hiring "professional wrestlers". Some will still make it in but only big deals, not to work as wrestlers but Superstars. As far as Vince and his yesmen are concerned, anyone (though preferably with some athletic background so they're in shape and can move, or celebs on any level outside of WWE to bring exposure) can be invited to the Performance Centre and/or NXT to train and become successful WWE Superstars. Previous experience as a wrestler is not a requirement or even a suggestion at this point. Literally, from their mouth. I think someone in an NXT meeting around the time of the reboot said clearly something to the effect of "We're not looking for pro wrestlers". "PPVs" (premium live events... ugh) are already pre-paid for through Peacock or Network subscriptions, TV deals already paid out tons, people tune in regardless of the quality of the product so the tv deals will stay lucrative, they keep cutting people while in the midst of record profits (cuz y'know, they could be MORE record...), and they still got them big Saudi bucks coming - all they need to do is churn out big-budget content - match quality clearly hasn't meant a thing for a long time. Or good writing. Or much of anything - just a few stars in their content. As such, you and I may have thought NXT v1 was superior, but it really made no sense as in no way was it serving their purpose - 4 to 5 star wrestling matches do not in any way prepare you for the main roster. If anything it prepared guys for AEW. They don't want great wrestlers, they want characters. That's what they're trying to do with 2.0. It sucks, but so does the main roster shows - it breeds characters for that.

@Speedyreedy1218

2 жыл бұрын

NIL is basically sounding like 2007-2010 WWE. A bunch of dudes with good bodies without psychology, charisma, and commitment to the craft.

11:25 Mr.regal, we met each other at PWG in Reseda back when you were scouting Kevin Owens (Steen). I bought you the bottle of water at the time. The only promotion that could do 36 straight events that are universally loved besides NXT would be PWG. That's why you were there to scout and signed as much talent as you did after that night. Don't forget that list of that roster that was signed to NXT after that night.

I think NXT had to change because it was putting on better shows than RAW or Smackdown, so by making NXT worse it made the others look better, or to much credit was given to HHH and William Regal and that made people jealous.

Regal and the BCC are amazing in AEW

The idea of NXT 2.0 is fine but the younger guys that they want to build to be the future main roster stars need more experienced wrestlers to work with and help get them to a better level and achieve their full potential.

@cancerkex8076

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe that's why they are having main roster people come perform at NXT, to help younger talent :O

Am I tripping but wasn't this show called oral sessions?

I could sit on the floor cross legged and listen to his Lordship talk wrestling for hours

William Regal did a great job in NXT

I could listen to Regal talk for hours.

I don't know why people were mad about nxt changing. WWE is known for changing its shows often. Next year smackdown, raw and nxt will be different. Rather that be new set, a new logo design or shit even new people coming in. WWE hates to stay the same for too long. They got to change shit up periodically.

@blade5883

2 жыл бұрын

Do you watch garbage wwe?

I personally think cost cutting on the advice of Nick Khan led to William regal and other talent being released

Towards the end, it made me think about how main roster people are in NXT, is it just to help the young talent that didn't train enough and they need vets to help them?!?!?!?!?!?!

Steve Regal is one of the best.

So glad we still have Regal with us. Crazy what he survived. NXT Black & Gold was the last captivating wrestling WWE had.

@rc8657

2 жыл бұрын

Man I love the next tea too but if it was so captivating why were only 400 to 500,000 viewers watching? And if the network that is paying you for the show comes and says the ratings are garbage change it do you listen to them or keep it for the same audience that watches it every week and never grows?

I always thought William sounded familiar. How did I never recognise his Birmingham accent before?

SiR ReGaL👑👑👑

Always liked Regal 👏 Does make better business sense. They didn’t beat AEW…Ratings are just as good now.

I don't mind the direction NXT is going. The thing I hate about it currently though, is that they build these up stars to get more popularity, and then they go and change their character completely as soon as they land on the Main Roster. People were already getting used to them in NXT why not just keep them as is. One prime example of this is LA Knight (a name owned by WWE and not even a real name), gets renamed to Max Dupri. There wasn't any need for the character rename.

@EdgeOfEntropy17

2 жыл бұрын

I haven't watched in a while, so that is a new one on me, but isn't his name part of his gimmick catchphrase.

Twenty minutes of Regal saying, “When they asked me to… you’ve got to understand that it was a time when… now I was… that… It… So, when they… I did know, but then, I always told them that they… that they… so that’s what… At the end of the day.” :D

@justicegf

2 жыл бұрын

Underrated comment my friend

It was such a polarizing change, it probably fueled WWE vs AEW arguments since many NXT fans were turned off so much by the new direction they just stopped watching and gravitated more to AEW.

@coded3604

2 жыл бұрын

I love AEW but bro lucky they get a million views. Lucky. WWE gets a million on the low end and that's the high end for AEW! Its impossible to compare the to seeing WWE had a BIG ASS headstart!

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

@@coded3604 what's the point there ? You're talking about ratings for no reason

@coded3604

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kr4ShSkeL My point is WWE got a huge head start and way more eyes. But I'm a big AEW fan? I Just hate when they label all of us AEW fans like that. No I totally understand WWE a mil is low and AEW a mil is high but ones new amd ones been on tv forever! AEW is going places mark my words (Sorry for ranting bud)

@blade5883

2 жыл бұрын

@@coded3604 AEW is going places I 100% agree about that

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

@@coded3604 ofc WWE has a 40 years advantage on AEW

20:26 You hear that Luchasaurus?

Regal is a god amongst men.

As soon as they put NXT on tv that's when things were falling apart

Man I really miss William Regal being the Gm of NXT

I'm completely lost. She asked him a question about the new NXT and he started talking about when he wrestled in England lol.

@jamiejury7780

2 жыл бұрын

😆 was rather difficult to understand him . Rambling off on different topics he was asked still a good interest tho

Renee looks like she didn’t agree with a lot of what regal was saying lol

The leader of the Blackpool Combat Club!

The black and gold brand of NXT may have become stale . But it hasn't come as lackluster as what nxt 2.0 is currently . Granted its had it odd few good ppvs but its just not as enticing as what the black and gold brand produced the matches and ppvs were mostly all 11/10 with the heighten drama and action

@khesipresents1885

2 жыл бұрын

nxt black and gold was indy,vince doesnt like indy..

Fans need to realize everyone is in the same business

Great interview 1st time watchingy glad you changed the name 🙏

Doesn't that last part agree with what fka Ember Moon was talking about? How there are people at the PC who don't care in the slightest about wrestling, they're just there earning a paycheck.

I think NXT was doing fine I didnt think it needed to change at all

@hiphopdagame

2 жыл бұрын

business-wise, it didn't even generate good money for WWE PLUS Vince thinks that the NXT-Promotions has been a bust(not knowing that it's due to him and his cronies fault).

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

@@hiphopdagame the goal of nxt never was to generate money so this is not an argument sorry

This year's "In Your House" kind of sucked in comparison to what it was. More gimmicky, less great wrestling. It was great before but at the same time I'm still watching

It's interesting that Regal and others thought NXT needed to change pre-pandemic.

Wow someone that didn't call him HUnter like that's his actual name

NXT forever..

Just as someone said it's fine if you wanna change but the change was done in such a terrible way and basically pushed half the NXT og wrestlers out...and the cost is that NXT even has much worse ratings now...look it up...you can't just become a reject college athlete company and run all the experienced wrestlers out

@cainekass

2 жыл бұрын

NXT ratings aren't worst and it's doing what it's supposed to be. Giving experience to upcoming stars in the system and not being a WWE version of PWG/ROH. Regal even said he was on board with the change. I guess you know more than Regal. You should go get a job there and show them what's up.

@cainekass

2 жыл бұрын

All of Escobars group are indy guys. Grimes, Hayes, Solo, Indi, Gigi, Strong and more are indy guys. Not to mention the guys in the back running. Brookside, Bloom, Corino it's fine.. It's like you don't know what's going on.

@Ahmed-og2jm

2 жыл бұрын

@@cainekass Go look at any ratings site and they'll show you wtf are u talking about

@Ahmed-og2jm

2 жыл бұрын

@@cainekass I like the part where you ignored me saying I'm fine with the change but it was done in a bad manner and of course people behind the scenes are indy guy's because they need to teach these guy's how to wrestle clown THE OLD NXT HAD PEOPLE WITH NO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE AS WELL!

@cainekass

2 жыл бұрын

@@Ahmed-og2jm and you ignored the part where you think I care about your opinion lol

Vince has a fundamentally different view of what the business is. The business is WWE, thats what sports entertainment is. WWE. Nothin else is WWE. So when he says AEW is not competition he means it. Because AEW is not sports entertainment. when Vince was scouring the indies, he was scouring the indies for sports entertainers. He grabbed them. Before NXT. He grabbed them. Now he sees a shift in the landscape. People want to be pro wrestlers. They want to be AEW, NJPW, Joshi. Thats not WWE. So Vince is looking to were the next sports entertainers will come from: the NFL, Tiktok, NBA, etc. And AEW. Make no mistake, Vince is happy to let AEW be the old NXT. He is happy to buy the toys he wants and not have to build them. Thats always been Vinces MO. None of it is crazy if you look at how Vince has always operated.

I was an avid NXT fan for about 8 years...but I stopped watching WWE (main roster) in 2019 after WrestleMania after 21 years of being a loyal fan. But I told myself I still have NXT. NXT was one of the best things to ever happen to this company. But I stopped watching NXT as well after Takeover 30 in 2020. When we got to Takeover: In Your House 1 I knew something was different, I felt it. It was the first time we had a subpar Takeover and a lot of people were like "it's just the pandemic", but I knew better...the shows from then to Takeover 30 had a main roster stink on them...they had Vince's finger prints all over them....so as much as I loved NXT I got out of there before that show started to make me feel the horrible way I felt with the main roster. And we see how it turned out. I'm happy with AEW now...happy that Regal is there doing his thing.

So putting on 36 universally loved shows, building stars in a valuable way, and offering a great option to proven indie talent... That ran its course and wasn't good anymore, why? I'm still pretty confused listening to him explain this. And about his firing in relation to that explanation.

@spsawyer22

2 жыл бұрын

Because WWE wants "larger than life stars" and as much I love watching guys like Adam Cole et al wrestle they don't fit that bill

@jamesmiller5331

2 жыл бұрын

The idea was that this was supposed to take over with the territories used to do, producing a ton of new Talent. People were not coming over from NXT and getting over on the man roster. Just wasn't happening. You can blame McMahon or whoever is running the main shows but there comes a point where it's like... fuck ya, get over. For whatever reason, it wasn't happening. Now these guys know that every 6 months or maybe less there are going to be Cuts made and if you are not getting over for showing progress oh, you better go talk to Tony Khan or something because you're out of here. Does that mean they needed to rename the show and make all of those cosmetic changes? I don't know. But they needed to create a sense of urgency and as usual I look at it and think I would have done it differently but I do understand making the leap

@Kr4ShSkeL

2 жыл бұрын

@@spsawyer22 Keith Lee was not a larger than life star ? Aleister Black ?

@spsawyer22

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kr4ShSkeL I was unaware both guys are driving ticket sales and ratings in AEW

@spsawyer22

2 жыл бұрын

@@jamesmiller5331 very well put

NXT Black + Gold would have worn out its welcome, would have become very VERY predictable and would have lost more and more of its meaning and identity over time. That's the point Regal is trying to make here. Yes, I liked NXT Black + Gold as much as the next, but it needed to change. For me, it was getting stale by 2018. Just like I thought OG ECW was getting stale by 1999: TNN National TV Deal or not, it was becoming very predictable. Heyman knew it, most of the guys knew it too. It's they the Dudleys and Taz left. Think that WASN'T gonna happen with NXT Black + Gold? It kinda did.

Everyone knows Regal's best friend is really Tajiri :D

Sorry I disagree nxt did not need to change. Black and gold was fine the way it was it didn't need those Tutti Frutti colors

@deniscore8270

2 жыл бұрын

But they didn't found many people Vince was looking for, from a fan perspective you're absolutely right.

@CalebJacobs762

2 жыл бұрын

You only are seeing it from a fans point of view. But the business side it did need to change.

@mohsindalvi87

2 жыл бұрын

@@CalebJacobs762 how r the two different? Doesn't business sense derive from fans' sense?

@Ahmed-og2jm

2 жыл бұрын

@@CalebJacobs762 could've introduced all those new guy's without changing everything and losing the core audience

@CalebJacobs762

2 жыл бұрын

@@mohsindalvi87 Not always no. If something doesn't evolve it dies.

I get why they changed. NXT Black and Gold became less of a developmental and more of an Alternative to WWE with Triple H booking it like a Super Indie of sorts to appeal to the hardcore wrestling fan. It was all good until AEW came around. Now there's a major promotion with bigger budget and money to spend on talent that was looking to be that alternative to WWE and NXT simply could not compete and it became second class to AEW. So now what do you do, do you make a second class show to the competition or pivot into something different. NXT 2.0 went back to being a developmental and did a 180 on it's look and feel with HBK booking it more similar to 96-97 WWF because that is what he likes in terms of product or at least it's what he thinks Vince's lile. Problem is that unlike 96-97 WWF which had a TON of experienced talent in their roster NXT 2.0 Roster is mostly Greener than goose shit rookies and a couple, and I mean a couple of Indie guys and Main Roster midcarders.

Black and gold don't need to change Kevin owen,sami zayn, seth rollins, Roman reigns, sasha, becky, baley, Charlotte, bige, xavier wood, matt roddle, corbin, priest to name a few

Im calling BS on that story about South African promoters chasing each other with machetes. People really think we swing from tree to tree and take rides on lions.

@brycehigglesfather5791

Жыл бұрын

We can call BS and whatnot as much as we want, but until something comes out that tells us otherwise, we just have to take his word on it. Not to target any nationality but South Africa back in the 80s-90s were "different" shall we say in terms of day to day. The reason I moved back to the UK from SA was because of constant killings near to where I was staying at that particular time. As far fetched as the story sounds, in my opinion I wouldn't put it past the truth.

I didn’t mind 2.0 giving new talent the spotlight but changing the entire look, feel and the way the stories were told bothered the hell out of me. I go back at least once a month and check out 2.0 to see if it’s gotten any better. So far it still sucks IMO. The stories and gimmicks feel like shitty main roster junk

@ryanterrero951

2 жыл бұрын

That color change made it disgusting for me. I don’t even attempt to watch it. I removed from my dvr list

They didn’t change it, they killed it with fire!

NXT 2.0 is just so dang unwatchable. I'm glad Regal moved on, even if it wasn't his choice. He deserved better.

I honestly don't think it needed to change because then it was a alternative to Raw and Smackdown... Than AEW happened i guess it started to become a really bad product when wrestlers were getting released. As soon as NXT went live against AEW is when it really stopped being a good wrestling company.