WEBVTT - A Deep Dive on Lord William Regal 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:07.560 M M. What's up, everybody. Welcome back to another episode 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:09.959 of Wrestling with Freddy, and I'm so glad to have 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:12.760 you here on another Wednesday or whatever day you got 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:14.800 to listen to this on. If you're in your car, 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:17.240 if you're at work, I won't tell your boss. If 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:19.200 you're in your car, I hope the traffic is not 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:23.919 too too horribly awful. If you're watching old wrestling matches 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:26.360 while you're listening to this, shout out to YouTube. And 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:27.960 if you're just tuning in for the first time, you 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.639 can catch all our previous episodes at the same spot 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.280 you're listening to this one right now. And uh, come 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.080 with us on the journey. Welcome to the Federation, and 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:40.320 welcome Wrestling with Freddy. Now stuffing up to the mic, 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:48.320 the host of Wrestling with Freddy, Freddie Prince tune. All right, 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:50.640 you guys, we're gonna do another deep dive. I really 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.680 enjoyed the Dolf Ziggler deep dive. I like going in 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.680 and re examining the careers of people I was lucky 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:00.760 enough to work with while I was there and see 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:04.440 them grow despite speed bumps, or see them grow even 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.920 with the greatest push of all time. It's just it's 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:09.080 fun to dive into that. So we're doing it again, 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:12.160 only this time we're doing it with an old school 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:16.640 legend Ziggler and old school he just old. Oh. Anyway, 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:21.520 today's episode, I'm gonna deep dive on someone who affected 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:25.360 me deeply while I worked there. And if you're familiar 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.600 with this show, we've talked about him a little bit 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.679 in some of the acting classes. Today's episode is all 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:36.759 about Mr William Regal. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we're 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.080 going British today. We're going to be very proper. There 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:41.639 will be no cursing on this episode, although the Brits 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.000 can curse. Boy, But this was a guy I learned 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:47.880 a lot more from than he realized when I was there. 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:50.040 I think he's heard since then because I've I've told 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:53.600 enough people. But I love this guy and I want 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:55.320 to share a couple Well, first I want to share 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:58.240 the reasons why, and then as a kid, and then 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:01.080 why I learned to respect him as a rational. Oh 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:04.080 but we're side questing right away before we get into 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.040 any of this, so check this out. You guys know 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:08.679 that I love wrestling very much and I'm and I'm 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.240 not sensitive about it, but I'm very protective about it. 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:13.239 When I first took the job at w w E, 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.920 I said, look, I'm not trying to to change the business. 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:18.680 I'm not trying to do anything like that. This was 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.000 the second time I went there. I said, let me 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.000 just help build a wall and and help protect it. 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:28.919 So I get very protective of wrestling sometimes, and when 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.400 I see people aren't taking it seriously, it's bothersome to me. 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:34.560 I've been asked on social media, Hey, would you go 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.120 back and write for w w E, And the answer 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:39.760 is always no. But the reasoning and this is the 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:43.320 most honest I I can possibly be. It's a job 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:47.040 that requires one hundred percent and if you're not well, 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:48.959 and this is my opinion, this is what worked for 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:52.800 me when I was able to give ad and not 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:57.440 focus on family or friends or anything else. I was 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:01.120 really really good when I When I wasn't able to 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:05.720 do that, it just wasn't where it deserved to be. 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:10.000 There are other people. They're depending on your ideas and 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:12.600 your words sometimes if they're not able to come up 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:16.320 with their own. And if you're half assent, how we 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:19.919 already cursed you, shouldn't you shouldn't be working with them. 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:24.160 So it's I those are the things I get protective about. 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:29.080 And so I got this weird email from the friendly 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.880 people at Twitch. And for those who don't know what twitches, 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.840 it's a streaming service that started with I think it 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:38.600 was called justin TV, and it was kids playing video 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.520 games and you could watch them while they were playing 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.280 a game. And people like to watch for various reasons. 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.960 Maybe the person is just sick at the game and 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.600 getting headshots on everybody and never dined. They're getting like 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.400 forty kills and two deaths or sometimes even no deaths, 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.040 and if you're a kid or grown up that's into 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.560 video games, that might be exciting for you to watch. 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:02.480 Sometimes they were just great storytellers or trash talkers. They 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.800 would they're they're The way they would express themselves when 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:08.720 they would die or get kills really got them a 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:13.360 lot of popularity. Sometimes people just thought they look cool 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.440 or thought they were hot, and we're like, yeo, I'm 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:17.520 just gonna follow this first. I don't like video games, 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:19.520 but they're talking to me, so that's cool. I get 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:21.919 to interact, and that was a big thing. There was 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:25.120 an interaction there between the audience. You could read their chat, 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:27.560 and when it first came out, it blew people away. 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.760 So I attempted to work with which a long long 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.680 time ago, and we started a game channel there where 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.440 I would play video games and talk to to fans 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:40.120 and and uh and tell stories kind of like what 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.839 we're doing now. And it transitioned into what really my 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.000 love was, which was tabletop stuff. And I pitched him 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.480 a bunch of like tabletop stuff, video game stuff, all 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:53.640 kinds of things, and one of them was a wrestling podcast, 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:56.240 so to speak, a wrestling show. I think I called it. 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:57.680 I don't. I don't even think I knew what a 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.560 podcast was then. So I hit them with all these ideas. 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:06.320 They rejected everything categorically and then let me know that 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.560 I was not the talent that they were looking to 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:13.000 work with at Twitch. I guess I was too old, right, 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:15.600 I guess, or I don't know what it was. They 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:17.560 didn't give me a reason, but they let me know 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:22.080 that that, uh, I wouldn't be receiving the support that 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.120 that I was looking for. So I was like, all right, 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:26.039 I'm not the kind of guy who's gonna ask the 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:28.920 same girl out twice if she said no, So I 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.880 left started my own thing. Did my own thing well. 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:36.479 Twitch emailed me and get this, not only did did 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:39.440 they ask if I would be interested in doing a 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:43.040 podcast for them, as they called it, which clearly they 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:45.400 didn't know I was already doing one. But the offer 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:50.120 was hysterical. They're they're so not committed to the wrestling business. 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.480 They said, we would love to offer you affod to 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:57.440 eight or eight to ten weeks trial run of a 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:02.080 wrestling podcast, payment based off your numbers. Right, And I'm 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:04.039 sitting there reading this, I'm like, this is like a 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.880 record deal in two thousand five, where record companies forgot 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:10.240 how to build stars and or didn't have employees that 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:12.040 could build them anymore. So you had to have your 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:15.359 own following on social media and that was the only 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.080 way you could get signed, whether you were good or not. 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.560 So I emailed this this nice guy back and he 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.160 for sure did not work there when I was there, 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:28.680 and I started the message with that. I said, hey, man, um, 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.000 I'm definitely not the right guy for this. I said, 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.840 I already have a podcast and we're doing quite well. 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:35.839 Thank you very much to all of you who are 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.200 who listen and give us that love. That also made 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.480 it feel extra special, and that's because of you guys, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.560 not me. Um, But I wrote, I said, I'm definitely 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:45.599 not the right guy for this. You know I tried 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:48.400 this once before with with you guys, and uh, I 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:51.760 didn't have much success. And to put in the offer 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:53.960 you're only gonna give it eight to ten weeks, let's 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.599 me know that you guys aren't committed, and for you 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:59.000 not to be fully committed and me to be as 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:02.120 committed as I if you guys suddenly don't like the 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:05.320 show because of expectations that you didn't inform me of 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.320 weren't met, or because you're simply not as big a fan, 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.800 which you clearly aren't. If it's eight to ten weeks 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:13.880 of wrestling as I am, then all of a sudden, 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:15.840 the show has gone. I can't take it with me, 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.040 and then you damage me in my brand. And then 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.280 I followed it, and I thought this was important, and 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:23.760 I know I'm putting them on blast, but this is 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.680 just called constructive criticism. This isn't hating on anyone. I said, 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.320 I'm sure, and I'm sure I don't know any of them, 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:32.920 but I'm sure they're out there. I wrote, I'm sure, 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:37.600 you have dozens of streamers right now for Twitch that 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:40.200 do this exact thing that you're looking for, and if 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.679 you just gave them a little bit of direction, because 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:45.800 all shows need a little direction, or we can get 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:49.760 carried away with ourselves like my side quists. They need 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.400 a little direction, a little support, and some financing. And 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:55.280 I think you guys could get a great show with 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.680 great numbers. But you should look internally before you start 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.840 looking externally for talent. That's just a cool way to 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:03.680 run a company. I said. I know you're not in 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.320 charge of the business model and the business structure over there, 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:09.600 but always look internally first. Otherwise the person that comes 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.880 in is gonna be hated by all the people that 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:15.160 already exist there, and they'll start campaigning to for you 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:17.480 not to listen to that show. That's not the way 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.080 you want to do things when your business depends on 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:31.680 the artist. It was awesome to get to tell them no. 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:33.920 The reason I get to tell them no is because 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:36.560 of y'all listening. So this is more just an ode 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.800 to to the federation. I appreciate you guys very much. 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:42.600 You guys and gals, thank you for tuning in each week. 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.600 So I'm working at w w E, I'm writing, and 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.920 I meet William Regal, and I'm so impressed to meet 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:52.040 this man, because when I was a kid, I was 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:55.440 not the Goldberg guy. I did not like Goldberg. I 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.400 didn't like the fact that he was running through everybody. 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.079 I didn't like the fact that legends, and not maybe 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:05.160 not legends, but people who I grew up loving to watch, 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.560 we're just getting mowed down. And it just seemed like 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:11.800 everything they had done in the past didn't matter. And 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.680 for those of you who don't know, Goldberg was like 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.200 an x NFL guy who came in and got the 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.600 single greatest push of all time. He literally, I think 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:23.640 it was like a hundred and thirty seven and oh 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.719 or a hundred thirty two, some crazy number of victories, 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.400 and no matter who it was, you just knew they 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.920 were getting smashed. So the matches to me, weren't exciting, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:34.840 and a lot of guys that I felt were better 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:39.920 wrestlers and who deserved a good run and opportunity, we're 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:44.880 just getting owned and smashed. Enter William Regal. Behind the scenes, 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:46.800 there were a lot of wrestlers who did not like 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:51.480 the way Bill Goldberg were protecting his partner in there 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.240 was not always his first priority, and I believe it 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:58.319 was simply because he was new and didn't necessarily know how. 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:01.680 It wasn't like I don't leave. I've never heard anyway 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.120 that he was maliciously trying to hurt people. It's just 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:08.800 he didn't have a lot of experience, and he wrestled stiff, 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:11.319 which is the term they use, which means harder than 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:15.720 you should, although some guys prefer that nowadays, especially in Japan. 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.600 William Regal supposed to come in and he's supposed to 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:23.760 lose to this man. For whatever reason, he decides not today. 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.319 Not today. I'm gonna I'm gonna do the work I'm 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:30.319 supposed to do, and the person who's supposed to win 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.760 this match is going to win the match. But there 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:36.960 will be a lesson before I go down for a 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:41.800 one to three, and damn was there. I would like 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.840 all of you go on to YouTube and type William Regal, 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:48.360 although it might have been Steven Regal back then, but 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:53.679 either way, William Regal versus Goldberg w c W and 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:58.079 you will see what I saw when it actually happened. 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.680 And my mind is just getting blown because not only 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.880 is he giving this man a lesson? He is winning 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:10.880 the match. He is he is working Goldberg all around 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.640 the ring, tossing him, throwing him, swinging him, walking and 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.880 running him, just schooling this man until the time is up. 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:21.640 I don't know. Maybe the ref was like, what are 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.920 you doing? Bro? Are you crazy? What the you gotta 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.240 take the fall? I don't know what happened. Again. I 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.320 would love to have him on and hear this story, 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.960 if he could break it down. It's it's it's long 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:36.120 enough now that I feel like it's okay to talk about. Eventually, 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:39.200 he does the work he's supposed to do, and Bill 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:43.440 Goldberg goes over one to three and all my friends 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:47.840 get together that night at Dion's Pizza in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:50.600 and it's all we're talking about. And my friends that 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:52.760 were hip to the internet were like, Oh, you don't 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.080 even know, dude. Oh my gosh. People are freaking out. 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:57.840 People are tripping out of there. William, he might get fired. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.920 What's gonna Everybody was like, you know, speculating and gossiping 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.400 the way little old ladies at the grocery store or 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.760 at the beauty salon in the eighties would right it was. 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:11.280 It was this magical moment for all of us. So 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:15.400 here I am getting to meet him and he knows 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.640 I'm a writer there and he's wanting to talk to 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:22.640 me about story, something that we could get him on 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:29.400 on TV. And he was so self aware, humble and 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:34.439 confident all at the same time. And I remember him saying, 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:37.960 I'm not looking for a for a you know, a 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:41.480 massive investment of time on television. But I believe there's 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:43.480 some young men that I can help and we can 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.960 put a story behind it and make the match means 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:48.840 something as opposed to just a match where I lose 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:53.720 that doesn't help me or him. And no one had 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.520 said that to me before, no one, no no one 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.880 in the in the brass had said it. No one. 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:02.440 And I don't just mean about Regal, I just meant 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.880 the way he broke this down. And so I worked hard. 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:09.960 It was it was inspiring to me, and I I 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:13.920 remember I was writing stories and this was when like 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.360 n X t IF, it was like a show on 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:22.000 sci Fi and they had mentors and and such, and 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.920 we were trying to work stories into there. And I 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.360 just kept hitting brick wall after brick wall, and I 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:30.440 and I didn't know. I didn't know why. I still 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:32.520 don't know to this day. And I would talk to 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.080 him and said, hey, man, my story didn't make TV 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.200 for you. I'm sorry. Can we you know, can we 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.920 talk about something else next week? And so every three 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.960 weeks or so we I would listen to his ideas. 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:46.520 I would try to process some stuff, put some stuff 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:48.880 on the table, and I could never add. Like most writers, 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.680 this wasn't just with with Regal. This was with most talent, 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:55.160 and with most writers, it was very difficult not to 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.120 write a long term story to get one on TV, 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.880 and then to maintain it less it was a top 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:04.720 dog right. It was easy to write edge Dolf stuff 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:08.120 because that was over the World Heavyweight Championship. It was 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:12.280 much more difficult to write a low key storyline, even 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:14.439 one n x T and oh my gosh, I was there. 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:17.480 Here's another side quest. I was there when Loki one. 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.880 I went back because I wanted to write specifically for him, 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:25.320 and they knew that, and then they debted his whole story, 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.120 his whole storyline. It was a storyline that I wrote 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.240 and changed it to him challenging instead of for the 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:33.760 world title for the Inner Continental, which made no sense. 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.960 If you have a golden ticket to cash in for 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:40.200 any title you choose, why would why wouldn't you choose 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.920 the main one? To quote the late great Scott Hall, 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.400 nobody gets in that business to aim for the middle. 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.000 And that literally was the reason I walked away the 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.840 second time, because I thought that storyline was so ridiculous. 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:55.120 But back on track, it was difficult to maintain consistency 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:59.480 and even to get the lesser characters if there wasn't 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.520 a title in both. It was just so so difficult. 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:07.440 It was so so difficult. So as sort of a 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:12.560 way for him to meet me halfway, he started putting 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:15.800 over my promo class that the acting class that we've 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:19.960 talked about a bunch and I mentioned in I mentioned 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:21.960 in there in in one episode and if you haven't 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.040 heard it, please go back and jump in. He had 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:29.320 this promo where we did repetition back and forth. You're 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.880 locked into the dialogue that one other person says. And 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:35.720 Fred Rosser was there, who was wrestling either in Japan 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:39.240 or on the indies somewhere right now, and he's he's 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.520 an openly gay wrestler, and William Regal is explaining to 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:46.840 him why he doesn't belong in the w w E. 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:53.640 And I remember this so specifically now doing this podcast. 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:56.560 It's so this part is so ingrained in my brain. 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:02.560 Rosser at the end of of William Regals promo, which 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:06.680 was challenging Fred, which he was supposed to do. Fred 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:13.240 explodes and I mean explodes, and he screams out I 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:18.920 belong and there's tears in his eyes. And I remember 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.680 looking at this dude and being like, where is that 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.560 coming from. This is a guy, I mean looks like 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:27.800 black John Cena. He's a good looking I mean, we 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:30.200 joked that he was the black John Cena. John even 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.160 cracked a joke on Raw that his dad might have 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.080 stepped out because this dude looks so much like him. 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:37.760 He was a good looking dude, he had the body, 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:41.080 he could he could work at least to the to 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.520 the to the lame person's eye. So I'm sitting there 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.520 in that like what what where is that? Because it 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:51.960 was not active, something came out, something came out, and 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.400 that was the real moment that he came out. He 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:00.280 just didn't say the words. I've worked in Hollywood long enough, 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:04.119 I've seen enough people who are afraid to come out 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:08.640 because they're afraid men won't believe them as a leading 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:11.920 man in a movie anymore, and they fear more the 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:16.520 studios won't believe that, so they keep their stuff private. 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.800 And it's only in certain moments where that insecurity, that 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.920 fear comes out. Because we can't just live a lie 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:25.800 our whole life, right like, it has to escape sometimes. 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.720 That's why I always say, just get it all out there. 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:30.439 My mom used to say, people are gonna find a 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:32.920 reason reason to hate you for something, whether it's your 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.359 fault or not. So just like what you like and 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:47.439 don't worry about all that other stuff. So I'm seeing 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.320 this huge moment, and I don't even think Regal knows 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.800 that he's partially responsible for that, that sort of release 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:58.119 of pain and fear. And I remember Fred held his 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.480 head so high in his check was out, and he 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.880 just looked so proud, you know, like say one more, 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.359 say I don't belong here, sad, I wish you would, 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:10.320 And Rigo just looked at him and smiled and nodded. 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:14.280 He said, well, perhaps I'm wrong, and everyone just it 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:19.159 was dead silent, and they just erupted, erupted right, and 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:21.600 I went up and I thanked him afterwards, and I 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:25.080 just remember being like, man, that was like the most honesty, 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.680 the most truth that anybody's thrown out there since his 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:33.040 since his class started. And he asked me, this is 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:35.399 so crazy. He didn't have to ask. He's William Regal. 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.000 Would you mind? Would you mind? He has this great 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.440 British accent? Would you mind terribly if if next week 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.240 I came in and Pops did a monologue from Shakespeare? 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:49.800 And I'm like, wait, what you know? You know Shakespeare? 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.960 You're you're supposed to be the villain, like you punch 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.920 guys when they're not looking you. What do you mean 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.399 you know? Shaky? He's like, oh yeah, and he starts 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:02.240 talking to me about various monologues from Shakespeare. When I 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.080 was in acting class and auditioning to get agents, you know, 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:09.119 we would pick monologues and I didn't know anything about 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:13.840 Broadway or off Broadway or anything. I knew zero theater, 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.920 so I thought all the monologues just came from Shakespeare. Right. 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:21.119 So that's all I worked on from age eighteen to 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:23.800 like nineteen and a half, and I had a good 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:27.280 six or seven of them on the lock. Right. So 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:31.399 this dude comes in the very next week and I 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:36.320 haven't said anything. There's probably eighteen to twenty young wrestlers 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:40.280 in there. Natty nine Heart's in there, Um, Harry Smith, 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:44.160 that's a bulldogs boy, the whole t J was there, 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:48.680 Eve Torres, Gracie was there, Molina was there, Beth Phoenix, 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:51.639 like we we were squad squad deep at that point. 0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:55.200 He comes in there and he kind of looks at 0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:57.359 me and I said, hey, RIEGO wants to go up. 0:19:57.359 --> 0:19:59.920 He's gonna he's gonna cut of promo and my man 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:03.000 and stands up there and he's dressed night. You know, 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.040 he's dressed well. And he looks out at everyone and 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:11.240 before he even speaks, he just takes in the room 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:15.920 and he gives eye contact to every single wrestler in there, 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:19.760 and it's just he's taking his time and he's showing 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.199 them like when you're in the ring. Take it in. 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:28.600 Allow your confidence to make silence a comfortable place that something. 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:32.240 Actors here a lot right silence, Allow that to be 0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:35.840 comfortable with silence, or like Uma Thurman says in Pulp Fiction, 0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:39.400 I'll cuss, but you know what she said. Everybody's seen 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:42.480 the movie. So he takes it all in and he's 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:45.359 like smiling at them, right, so it's a pleasant moment. 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.679 And then he hits him and he says, this is 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.720 from I think the Tempest. He hits him with you fools, 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:56.680 I and my fellows are ministers of fate. The elements 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.639 of whom your swords are tempered may as well wound 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:04.040 the ould winds or with bemock that stabs kill, the 0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:09.840 still closing waters as diminished one down. That's in my plume, 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:14.639 and it's this ill he doesn't better than me. I'm 0:21:14.680 --> 0:21:18.520 not kid of the Brander, but yeah, that's Arials. That's 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:21.280 Arials monologue from the Tempest. And he's talking smack to 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:25.160 these guys that come at him right and basically saying, like, yo, 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:28.960 those swords that are that you have are are are 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:32.280 built from the things I control. You can't. You can't 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:35.600 touch me. Like swinging that is like swinging your sword 0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:39.080 in water. It'll hurt the water long before it takes 0:21:39.119 --> 0:21:43.200 one feather off my hat is like the American translation basically, 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:45.200 and it goes on and on and on. I don't 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:47.760 remember the whole thing I got. I got the first 0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:52.520 deadlines of every monologue. That's it, and everyone is I 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:58.959 mean Stone sober as a judge, dead silent. It's like 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:03.000 listening to the greatest closing argument in a courtroom ever. 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:08.359 He has captivated me and every single man and woman 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:12.199 in that room. Nobody's breathing. And then he stops and 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:14.280 he nods us in and he says thank you very much, 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:19.040 so quietly and humbly, and he sits down. He sits 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:22.879 down like a student. Then in amongst the other students 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:26.439 and everybody's like, no, screw that, and they all stand 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:28.560 up there clapping and they're like, oh my god. And 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:31.720