William Regal Had Been Wrestling With A Broken Neck Since 1993
AEW's William Regal recently spoke with Talk Is Jericho in an emotional interview where he opened up about his health issues.
He recalled a time in 2018 when he was in the hospital for eight weeks. A year later, the former NXT General Manager was given just 24 hours to live.
"I went home two weeks before Christmas, the reason being which we might get to. The last time my family got together was in 2018 for Christmas. And I was in hospital for eight weeks," he said. "I was given, at one point, 24 hours to live. I had sepsis in my leg, they were going to cut my leg off. This was January 4th, 2019. So I insisted on going home for Christmas, because you know I've been through a lot. I had a hell of a year in 2018."
William Regal has been dealing with serious neck problems over the years. That's something that dates back to 1993, with the Englishman revealing he broke it back then. That's something that he was wrestling through during the rest of his career.
"I had bouts on and off," Regal said about his heart issues. "At the same time, now I know that I had been wrestling with a broken neck since 1993. From the first year I came to America, the first time I won the WCW Television Title, I was on with Ricky Steamboat. I'm 25-years-old, and you can actually watch this.
"The finish is me giving him a German suplex. And if you watch, you know I can fall into a bridge, I land, and you can see it clear as day, you see my neck. My head hits, and my neck goes to the side, and it went, 'crack.' All my arms went dead, and it was never right after that, it was never right. It sort of got better, it went away."
William Regal also revealed that he dealt with heart issues as well. This took place when he stopped wrestling and slowed down, but he continued to grit through the situation.
"Because I stopped wrestling, and because I had slowed down, this sack around my heart had locked down. Basically, the scarring had locked down, and it started to calcify inwards. Slowly and slowly, I was having more things with my heart going out of rhythm," he said. "And my legs swelling up, and it was just building up. I was going from doctor to doctor and getting all these different things, but I just got through it. I just kept going, and somehow managed to keep doing my training, what I could."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.