Darren Matthews
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Darren Matthews  |
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Steve Regal Lord Steven Regal Steven Regal William Regal Sir William Regal |
| Billed height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Billed weight | 111 kg (245 lb) |
| Born | May 10, 1968 Codsall Wood, Staffordshire |
| Billed from | Blackpool, England |
| Trained by | Marty Jones |
| Debut | 1983 |
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born May 10, 1968) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name William Regal. He is currently wrestling on the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and in Deep South Wrestling.
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[edit] Wrestling career
[edit] Early career
The left-handed Matthews made his ring debut wrestling in carnivals on the piers of Blackpool at the age of fifteen. He wrestled professionally all over England, where he regularly teamed with Robbie Brookside, before going to the United States in 1992. He wrestled his first few matches under the name Roy Regal before settling on the name Steve Regal, a name he saw in an American wrestling magazine (in use by "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal).
[edit] World Championship Wrestling
Matthews started in WCW as Steve Regal, beginning as a face. He was turned into the heel Lord Steven Regal in 1993, claiming descent from William the Conqueror. At times charmingly arrogant in this persona, one of his memorable statements to a post-match interviewer was, "Do you know what my New Year's resolution is going to be? To wake up a half an hour earlier so I can hate you more," he smirked.
He was given a manager, Sir William and he won the Television Title four times. He teamed up with fellow aristocrat Jean-Paul Levesque, later known as Triple H, but after Levesque left WCW, he was replaced by Alabama-born Bobby Eaton. Regal formed the team The Blue Bloods and had some hilarious vignettes where he tried to teach Eaton the finer points of dining and the proper usage of the Queen's English. He renamed him "Earl Robert Eaton" and soon added "Squire" David Taylor, as well. They came close to winning the WCW Tag Team Titles, but never did. Among his feuds in WCW were Ricky Steamboat, Johnny B. Badd, Ultimo Dragon, The Belfast Bruiser and the team of Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck. Regal also had a match with Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship during his stint in WCW. It was widely rumored that he was fired from WCW after no-selling Goldberg's offense and for using chain wrestling moves that showed Goldberg's limited knowledge of such holds. However, in his book, he states that was not true.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation
Regal's initial appearance in the WWF was on the June 29, 1998 edition of RAW is WAR, in which he defeated Droz via submission with the Regal Stretch. Regal had no particular gimmick in this showing, and he would not be seen on WWF television again until he returned that fall with a "Real Man's Man" builder/lumberjack style looking gimmick that was based on the image of The Brawny Man. Vignettes for the character showed him doing "manly" things like chopping wood, shaving with a plain razor, and squeezing his own orange juice. He debuted in October 1998 and entered a feud with X-Pac. The two faced off in the opening round of the tournament for the vacant WWF Championship at the 1998 Survivor Series. The match ended in a double countout, eliminating both men from the tournament. The feud, and Regal's gimmick, failed to capture the audience's imagination, though today the "Man's Man" persona is well remembered and the source of much good-natured fun from many fans.
[edit] Return to WCW
Regal checked into rehab in January 1999 and was released from the WWF in April. After checking out of rehab, Regal was invited back into the wrestling world, making a somewhat brief return to WCW. While there, he gained exceptional status compared to the final months of his original tenure with the company.
Similar to his former run, much of Regal's performance took place in tag team bouts. He continued his role as a rulebreaking heel and had small feuds with teams such as the Filthy Animals. However, as WCW continued to lose the ratings war with WWF, Regal was again released in February 2000.
[edit] Return to WWF / World Wrestling Entertainment
Regal was once again hired by the WWF and sent to Memphis Championship Wrestling for a short time. After a memorable bout with Chris Benoit at the Third Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show, he was promoted to the full roster and re-debuted on the September 18, 2000 episode of Raw is War as Steven William Regal (soon shortened to William Regal), a stereotypical British snob. As a heel, Regal had much more success, winning the WWF European Championship. He later became the (on-screen) commissioner and self-proclaimed "Goodwill Ambassador" of the WWF and was given a comedy sidekick/man-servant in Tajiri.
In an interview, Regal expressed affectionate feelings toward the WWF, citing the organization's support and patience during his time in and out of rehab, which had helped lead to the current reunion and pleasant relationship.
During the WCW/ECW Alliance storyline, Regal turned heel on his fellow WWF wrestlers by costing Kurt Angle (then a babyface) the WWF Title and joining the WCW Alliance. He was fired as commissioner by Linda McMahon, but Shane McMahon, who was the then heel owner of WCW, hired him as the Alliance Commissioner. After the Alliance was defeated at the Survivor Series, Regal was forced to kiss Vince McMahon's ass (literally) so he could keep his job. He became the first member of the Mr. McMahon "Kiss My Ass" club.
2002 was an eventful year for Regal. After an absence due to surgery on his nose, Regal returned and feuded with Edge, winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship in the process. Regal would go on to lose the Intercontinental Title to Rob Van Dam, win the European Title for a third time, and briefly hold the WWE Hardcore Championship.
[edit] RAW
In mid-2002 the World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, and the roster was divided into two "brands". During this time he was drafted to the RAW brand by Ric Flair. There, he began using a set of brass knuckles to win matches and formed an alliance with Molly Holly before joining The Un-Americans, an anti-American heel stable consisting of Canadian wrestlers Lance Storm, Christian and Test.
On the September 30, 2002 episode of RAW, every member of The Un-Americans lost their matches, causing the group to separate later in the night and splinter into separate groups. Regal began teaming with Lance Storm, Christian formed a team with Chris Jericho, and Test branched off into single competition. Storm and Regal would go on to win the World Tag Team Championship but Regal would later have to give up his title due to a heart condition (initially thought to be a stomach virus contracted on a recent WWE tour of India).
Upon Regal's return, Eugene (the "mentally challenged" nephew of RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff) was placed in the care of Regal during his return to WWE. He became friends with Eugene, turning him face in the process. Regal was ordered by Bischoff to make Eugene lose so that he'd leave the WWE, but Regal's friendship with Eugene caused him to try only half-heartedly to cost Eugene his match with Rob Conway. Despite this, Bischoff put Regal back on the active roster. Regal would then team with Eugene and they would go on to win the World Tag Team Championship from La Résistance on the November 15, 2004 edition of RAW. Later, Eugene injured himself at New Year's Revolution after botching a dropkick.
This would ultimately cost them the World Tag Team Championship, as Regal unsuccessfully attempted to defend the titles with announcer Jonathan Coachman as his tag team partner. The pair wrestled against La Résistance and went on to lose the match at a RAW brand house show, crowning La Résistance with their third reign.
On February 4, 2005, Regal and old ally Tajiri defeated La Résistance to win the World Tag Team Championship on an episode of RAW, broadcast live from Tajiri's home country of Japan. La Résistance repeatedly attempted to regain the gold (mainly on Sunday Night Heat) from Regal and Tajiri in many different matches, but just fell short during each one. During the "last shot" for Regal and Tajiri's gold, La Résistance thought they had won back the titles, only to have the decision reversed by referee Mike Chioda due to La Résistance not pinning the legal man. After winning this match Regal issued an open challenge to any tag team in the world to come after their belts. On the following episode of RAW, Regal and Tajiri successfully defended the belts against the debuting Romeo and Antonio, known collectively as "The Heart Throbs."
On May 1, 2005, at Backlash, Regal & Tajiri participated in a "Tag Team Turmoil" match in which four teams competed for the World tag team titles. Regal & Tajiri were eliminated by La Résistance who, in turn, were eliminated by Hurricane and Rosey, who became the new champions.
Shortly before the ECW One Night Stand 2005 PPV, Regal announced that he was joining Eric Bischoff's anti-ECW faction to invade the PPV, and told Tajiri he had to make a choice-- to join with Regal or join with ECW. Tajiri responded by chanting, "EC-Dub! EC-Dub!" Regal did indeed invade the ECW PPV, along with many other WWE performers.
[edit] SmackDown!
On June 30, 2005, Regal was sent to SmackDown! in an 11-person trade as part of the draft, leaving his tag team partner Eugene behind.
Regal's first match on SmackDown! was scheduled for July 7, 2005 against Matt Morgan, in what was to be Morgan's final WWE match. It was interrupted before Regal was even able to enter the ring by The Mexicools. His first actual match as part of the SmackDown! roster was a loss to Chris Benoit in a lengthy chain wrestling match on the July 16, 2005 episode of WWE Velocity. He managed to trap Benoit in the Regal Stretch but Benoit got to the ropes. Regal eventually submitted to the Crippler Crossface. His autobiography Walking a Golden Mile came out in July 2005.
On August 4, 2005, Regal was supposed to go one on one with Scotty 2 Hotty, but the Mexicools came in and attacked both men. Two weeks later Regal and Scotty 2 Hotty teamed up on SmackDown! in a tag team match against Psicosis and Super Crazy with Juventud in their corner. In the middle of the match Regal turned heel once more by betraying Scotty by refusing to tag him plus walking out of the ring with a smirk on his face, allowing the Mexicools to pick up the win. On Velocity, Regal cut a promo telling the crowd that he had returned to his former self, referring to himself as a "scoundrel" and a "rogue", this promo ended when Scotty ran to the ring and attacked Regal.
On the episode of WWE Velocity which aired on August 27, 2005, a match between William Regal and Scotty 2 Hotty was cut short when another Englishman, the debuting Paul Burchill, interrupted the match to aid his countryman in attacking Scotty. Regal went on to take Burchill under his wing and tag with him on the hunt for the WWE Tag Team Championship but the teams biggest exposure was a loss in a handicap match against Bobby Lashley at Armageddon.
On the February 3 edition of SmackDown!, Regal and Burchill told SmackDown! "network representative" Palmer Canon that they no longer wanted to be a tag team so they could go their separate ways. During this discussion Burchill informed Canon that his family heritage traces back to the pirate Blackbeard, and that he wanted to do a pirate gimmick on SmackDown!.
Burchill with his babyface persona would start a rivalry with former team mate Regal who would weekly try to convince Burchill to return to his ruthless ways. William Regal would face Burchill (having his first match as a pirate) on the March 10th edition of SmackDown!, during his entrance Burchill would stand on a platform located at the far end of the entrance way and then swing down to the entrance floor on a rope. As he made his way down to the ring he threw beads to the crowd and pulled out his sword as William Regal looked on in disbelief. Burchill defeated William Regal using his Walking the Plank move.
Burchill would once again defeat William Regal in a singles match on the April 7, 2006 Friday Night SmackDown!. However, this match saw a stipulation that would see Regal have to dress like a "buxom wench" if he lost the match. Lady Regal, as SmackDown! announcers would jokingly refer to him, would have no choice but to dress up like a woman until Burchill lost a match. This stipulation would soon end after Burchill abandoned Regal (who had since been made to wear various outfits) in a tag match that saw Regal (and Burchill) be defeated by the Gymini tag team.
Regal would continue to wrestle in a lower mid-card status, the highlight of which saw Regal turn face for one night only as he faced the then-reigning United States Champion, JBL in a losing effort while in his home country of England, which JBL was happily bashing. Immediately after Booker T became King Booker, Regal joined King Booker's Court, playing the role of a town crier to the 2006 King of the Ring. As a member of King Booker's Court, Regal would help Booker in his feud against Bobby Lashley, and would occasionally team up with fellow Court member Finlay in tag team matches. However, during this time, Regal would also feud with Finlay often over Finlay's WWE United States Championship. Regal was knighted by King Booker, and changed his ring name to Sir William Regal.
At No Mercy 2006, Regal lost to a returning Chris Benoit in a match. Afterwards, Regal turned his back on the King's Court when he leveled King Booker with a left hand to the face after Booker slapped him and called him useless. During this show, Regal was involved in a backstage segment with Vito in which he accidentally exposed his penis for a brief second. WWE.com would issue an apology for the incident after the show. [1]
On the October 20 episode of Friday Night Smackdown!, Regal stated that while he had once been one of the world's greatest wrestlers, he had become a doormat for other Smackdown superstars, mentioning his being dressed as a buxom wench for a pirate, the afformentioned locker room incident with Vito, and being knighted by a false king as examples. After announcing he was finished being a whipping boy, he introduced his old tag team partner Dave Taylor, and the two went on to easily defeat the team of Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki. Though the pair reformed their previous tag team, Regal and Taylor would not reuse the Blue Bloods gimmick instead portraying themselves as sadistic fighters. However, the team was quickly put into jeopardy in their second match together when Taylor suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee leaving him injured. Taylor took a more relaxed role for a couple of weeks as a corner man for Regal and only wrestled a few short house shows matches.
However, Dave Taylor would quickly heal from his injury and the pair went on to feud with WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick. After defeating London and Kendrick on several occasions, at Armageddon 2006, they would go into a Tag Team match which would turn out as 4-way ladder match adding Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury and the Hardy Boyz, with London and Kendrick coming out on top.
On April 2 2007, Regal and Taylor would try for the World Tag Team Championship in a 20 man 10 team over the top battle royal in which the team was eliminated by Tommy Dreamer and Sandman.
[edit] Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
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- Regal Stretch (Arm trap cross leg STF)
- Union Jack Neckbreaker / Regal Cutter (Arm trap neckbreaker)
- Power of the Punch (Left hand punch with brass knuckles)
- Regal Knee Strike (High knee strike)
- Regal Roll (Rolling fireman's carry slam)
- Regal Bomb (Double underhook powerbomb)
- Double underhook suplex
- Double knee lift
- European uppercut
- Exploder suplex
- Half nelson suplex
- Managers
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- Sir William
- Jeeves
- Lady Ophelia
- Wrestlers managed by William Regal
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
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- PWI ranked him # 196 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- Windy City Pro Wrestling
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- WCPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
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- WWF/E European Championship (4 times)
- WWF Hardcore Championship (5 times)
- WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
- World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Lance Storm (2), Eugene (1), and Tajiri (1)
[edit] Personal life
- Matthews married Christina in 1986 and has three sons: Daniel, Dane and Bailey.
- His pets include two snakes, eight lizards, a tortoise, three cats, and two dogs . He claimed in an interview the reason he owns so many pets is because "Humans disgust me. Vile creatures."
- He attended Codsall Community high school until he was 15 when he moved to Blackpool to start his wrestling career
- His actual accent is very different than the one he uses on television. His on-air voice is, according to Regal, more upper-crust and easy to dislike.
- Has a tattoo of his wife's name in cursive lettering and a rose on his left forearm.
- Also has a tattoo on his left leg which says "Made In England".
- Matthews has sleep apnea.[citation needed]
- Matthews makes regular trips back to England, to visit his parents who live on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
- In WCW, he was arrested during a flight from Japan back to the US when he got drunk on the flight and urinated on a stewardess. By Regal's account in his book, he claims that he was so drunk that he couldn't remember the incident and woke up in a cell in Anchorage, Alaska.
- Regal's matches with Dave Finlay are well known for their stiffness and brutality. In one of his more famous matches with Finlay, Regal received a broken eye socket when Finlay punched him in the side of the head after Regal poked his head through the ropes to trash talk at him.
[edit] Books
- Matthews, Darren and Chandler, Neil (2005) Walking a Golden Mile, Pocket Books (ISBN 0-7434-7634-4)
[edit] References
- ^ WWE Apologizes. WWE (2006-10-09). Retrieved on October 9, 2006.
[edit] External links
Categories: Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | Articles lacking sources from November 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | English professional wrestlers | Professional wrestling executives | World Championship Wrestling alumni | English memoirists | People from Codsall | 1968 births | Living people
