William Regal is leaving All Elite Wrestling at the end of 2022. Tony Khan has confirmed that the wrestling legend will be returning to WWE in a coaching capacity in an effort to be closer to his son, Charlie Dempsey.
William Regal debuted in AEW at Revolution 2022 and throughout the year, Regal was an on-screen character managing the likes of Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, and more. Following Full Gear where William Regal betrayed Jon Moxley, he would be attacked by Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF, on Wednesday, November 30. Regal would be carted out on a stretcher and then reports surfaced that William Regal is going back to WWE.
Tony Khan Confirms William Regal’s Impending Departure
While William Regal is still a member of the AEW roster, Tony Khan confirmed, on the media scrum before ROH Final Battle, that Regal will be leaving the company at the end of 2022 and Khan has stated that he will be going back to WWE with the caveat that he can only participate in a backstage capacity.
Tony further stated that Regal wants to go back to WWE to be closer to his son, NXT superstar Charlie Dempsey.
“I got a phone call and it was saying that William Regal had approached Megha (Parekh)and said that, and it was all very legitimate valid stuff, basically, he’s got a son who works in another wrestling promotion,” Khan said. “He really wanted us at the end of the year, when we had the option to renew his contract, he was asking that we would not.
“Nothing bad, we’re having a great time working together, but this is an opportunity for him to go back and work in these really golden years of his career with his son and do things he likes to do, coaching, and he’s got friends that he’d like to go back and work with. It’s a very complex situation for AEW because he’s a huge part of what we’re doing on-screen and we really value him, and there’s multiple storylines that he’s involved in at this point.”
Tony says that William Regal will continue to be referenced on AEW programming until his departure. Furthermore, Regal is not allowed to appear as an on-screen character for another year following his AEW release.