Could Regal take Goldust's spot?

[Doctor Awesome]

It has been well established on these forums, and to my great pleasure, that Goldust has gotten a great deal of praise for his work in the last year +. He really got in the best shape he ever looked in, and got back the spark he once had, and took it to new levels w/the years of experience now under his belt. He went from ECW jobber to a nice spot on Raw and NXT with plenty of camera, mic and ring time. He was the workhorse poised to be an ignitor to the lower-midcard division; where so much young and budding talent currently lurks. Many people have gone as far as to say that Goldie could contend for World Titles. I am a real fan of his, but find that to be a bit unrealistic. US Title sure, and there is no shame in that. He is in the ladder stage of his career, and until his recent injury was doing a great job w/younger talent. As I mentioned, the injury, is likely to sideline him for 6 months or so, and with the way things ebb and flow in WWE, it may be hard for him to get back to where he was, and where he could have been headed.

He proved one thing for sure; that a Veteran w/mic skills and wrestling ability could work nice programs and draw reactions. After watching Regal vs. DB tonight it got me thinking about that now abandoned spot. Could William Regal slide into that spot and get to work some good programs and be relevant. It would be no shock to see this happen, and he can work heel or face; though I believe most prefer him as a heel. The rosters are really filling out, and the best way to find out what they are worth is to have them work guys like Regal and Goldie. The more you rebuild their relevance, the better it looks when these young wrestlers work programs with them. I have seen several people beg for Regal to get pushed in the midcard title picture; some even say World Title picture, but I would say the same to that as I would Goldust.

So, my question to you all is in two parts:
1. Do you believe that there is a spot to be filled in the absense of Goldust who was doing a great job w/his time, and 2. Do you think Regal could be the guy to fill it?

If you have any other thoughts, theories or suggestions; they are certainly invited...

 

[OmegaWWE]

Addressing the poster above me, no. Regal did not retire. During the overseas tour, he said that would be his last tour of Europe, as he would be retiring SOON.

As far as the original question, I do think that spot should be filled and definitely could be filled by Regal. You have a man who can pull off heel or face (even tweener), good on the mic, and excels in the ring. He's a veteran of some 10+ years, and is one of the best workers the company has ever seen. Should he be in the World Championship picture? Maybe. I don't necessarily see him WINNING the world title, but having him in contention against a lot of top talent would make for a fresh new storyline, as well as raise the prestige of the World Championships.

 

[Ultra Awesome]

To be fair, Goldust wasn't doing much either, so there's really no spot for Regal to fill for him. If I recall, last thing Goldust was on was in that feud with Ted Dibiase which in the long run, doesn't say much.

With that said, I guess it would be pretty good to see Regal in some kind of program where he can at least show some relevance. For example, earlier today, William Regal had a magnificent match with Daniel Bryan. As we all know, William Regal was the former trainer of Daniel and the two had great chemistry in the ring today. It'd be a great idea if this were to be made a feud and continued for some time. Not only would it give Regal a bit of relevance, but it could help Bryan by coming out on top and superior. It's the best of both worlds really.

William Regal's time is drawing near. I sincerely doubt that the guy will ever become a main-eventer or for that matter ever hold a world title. He blew the only chance he ever had back in 2008 when he had won King of the Ring and was warranted to a push. Though, due to unfortunate circumstances, this push never came to be. Sadly, that was his one and only chance. So really, if Regal's got nothing else, then I don't see why he shouldn't be put in feuds like the one he could have with Bryan. William Regal gets air time as he jobs to the opponent.

 

[HellBoundPower]

Personally I've always thought thought that Regal was vastly underrated and not used to his full potential by the WWE. He's one of the most solid workers in the history of the business in my opinion. His in ring abilities, mixed with his awesome, often hilarious mic skills have always impressed me. He could have easily been in the main event a couple years ago when they were building guys like Cena, Batista, and Orton. It was transitional period where people like Austin and Rock were leaving, and people like Cena and Batista were stepping in. I feel Regal could have easily stepped into the Main Event and been relevant, while helping build new talent. Unfortunately it never came to be.

Now, to answer you question, I think Regal could easily step into Goldust's role. He has, after all, been in that role for the past couple years anyway. He hasn't been seen as much lately, and rumors of his imminent retirement have been running rampant. I personally think that he could still go for a few more years, and help build stars while he's at it. If the world were just, he would be pushed into the main event and get a title reign before retirement. That's highly unlikely however. No matter what happens, I wish Regal luck, and think he's a helluva talent.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Hmmmm, I think Mr Awesome capped this one off. Sure Goldust was getting a bit of show time, but he wasn't doing really all that much that couldn't be done by someone else, which I guess gives your argument ammo. What it is, is that goldust was filling a small spot on the programming with his million dollar belt segments, and again on NXT with the entire aksana saga.

But obviously you cannot just interject regal into a story like this because it would make no sense, he wasn't involved from the get go. So you would have to generate a new story involving him and it would have to be beneficial to whichever younger guy he got paired up with. Unfortunately for regal, he is a good wrestler but goldust's height is what allows him to compete with younger guys and not look out of place, a wrestling feud wouldn't benefit anyone methinks.

So I'm going to diagnose him what we always diagnose people in the wrestlezone forums, when a guy reaches that special retirement age and has notoriously good mic skill.....MANAGER! Lets be honest, he could be really great for someone.. I'm thinking DH smith because he is going to have real trouble getting over if he comes out on the underside of this feud with tyson. If regal deserves any more T.V. time at the end of his fairly illustrious career, I'd have it be as a manager.

 

[Malenko316]

Comparing Regal to Goldie is ill advised. Regal has build a career (a much undervalued one at that) by being serious, one of best technical guys of the last decade and one screen deploring the nosense with which goldie sadly (but successfully) has always been associated. I'm not knocking goldust - he has made a unique character stay relevant for a long time (much longer than would have been expected - especially given the toning down for PG) and he has wider range of work in the sense that he is more adept and believable in brawls than Regal.

As Hardcore wrestling has been dead in WWE for half a dozen years (ECW in WWE has not hardcore so don't start) Regal could step in and be as useful a mid carder as Goldie. But the question remains: mid carder for what? I'm not sure the story with Aksana brought anything to NXT3 (albeit not much could have) and the fued with Ted Jr was very flat (although most of that has to lie with Ted's awful promo and wooden ring work).

Regal's match against Danielson was by far the highlight of another piss poor raw. It was just a shame they couldn't have scratched the Santino/Tamina vs Ted/Maryse farce and given the wrestling match more time. It still feels like the ghost of Russo and the idea of why would people want wrestling on a wrestling show pervades the void between VKM's ears. If creative are not going to continue to run a series between Danielson and Ziggler for the IC/US titles, and if Punk is seemingly going to be fed to Cena, then a skillful wrestling fued between Regal and Danielson would be superb. It would give Regal a fitting final fling with gold, one where he could show off his talents and give Danielson, by winning, the boost the carry him in the eyes of the WWE fans closer to the position he is in the eyes of real wrestling fans.

It could be the best technical fued since Benoit and Angle - it's a win for all concerned.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Sure, put them in a feud, just keep Regal on tv as long as you can. The same for Goldust though, keep him on tv too. The Bryan / Regal feud would be like a tip of the hat to fans... guaranteed great matches. Unlike this Bella thing, wherever that's going.

 

[chris7413]

Please do so. We all know regal is going to retire soon so why not give him a program with bryan. The matches would be great and regal would have some tv time. Last night is just a preview of what could happen; you have to figure they have a ton of spots, the two trained togeather. Regal's kick-up last night is just a glimpse of what could be.

 

[eromenation18]

Ok- First of all lets get something straight here. Regal had his chance at being a main event player in the WWE in 2008. He failed a drug test and was proven to be "un-reliable" at that point in WWE. Sorry but in my minds, thats the dumbest thing Regal ever did, he was getting the biggest push of his career and then all of sudden he makes one bad decision and its gone, sorry but I still don't feel bad for him til this day.

Secondly, we will NEVER see a Regal/Danielson feud EVER in the WWE. I get so tired of reading posts that say WWE needs to get rid of the santino/maryse/dibiase/tamina match and make the Regal/Danielson match longer....that will never happen. WWE is not a wrestling company, they are a Sports Entertainment company, putting on a 4-5 star match is not on their agendas every week, especially now with the talent coming in. Santino Marella is a character really on the rise right now and as long as he's funny and entertaining, notice how I said entertaining here, he will continue to get TV time and longer TV time then anybody like Danielson, Evan Bourne etc

Third, I don't think Regal will ever take the spot that Goldust was in, simply because their wasn't a spot to begin with. The only reason Goldust was getting TV time was because of his book coming out and I'm sure WWE will be receiving some profit from it.

Look guys I like actual technical wrestling, but like I always tell people, you will not see that on WWE TV Programming. If you want to see good quality wrestling, watch TNA of ROH because you won't be dissapointed. WWE stays away from the nerdiness of wrestling and markets towards famous people and big money, very smart. Notice how WWE at first wanted nothing to do with The Wrestler. Just saying.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

@eromenation18- I agree with much of what you say (eispecially pertaining to his push in '08) but there are some points I think you are missing on. The WWE is a Wrestling Entertainment Company. If Wrestling itself was an innocuous part of the scheme, they would try and eliminate it all together. I enjoy Santino far more than most and 100% appreciate that layer of the product. As a whole, I am more impressed with the direction the company has taken than I have been in a very long time. Goldust has been on TV because he has a tremendous workrate and has helped many "Sports Entertainers" develop and become all around players; just like Regal. So yes, there is a spot! Would you rather have a low/mid card storyline that proves to be entertaining or watch a main event guy already in 3 segments use that time to stage a sit-in in the ring? You do not have to go watch ROH or TNA(really dude? I don't even DVR and get around to it eventually, anymore!)...Have you been watching any WWE programming this year? The balance of promos to wrestling time has been restored a great deal on both shows, and the product is better for it. WWE did not acquire guys like Danielson, Kaval, Bourne or Tyler Black for their mass media appeal...They brought them in because they can wrestle...and w/the exception of Black (who is close to coming up) they have all proven to get reaction based on their ability. Goldust and Regal are guys whose workrate afforded them the opportunity to develop their personalities and characters over the years, and keep their jobs because you can use them many different ways. These are the kind of guys that you want working the green horns from NXT, not one of the same to the sound of crickets in the arena. I always enjoy hearing other peoples' opinions and see what elements of the industry they prefer, and it is absolutely your right...This is my opinion...just saying.

 

[LSN80]

Regal looked generally excited to be able to work a match with DBD last night on Raw. While it was a good little match, it was too short too amount to much of anything. Goldust wasn't doing much himself, as he was just feuding with Ted DiBiase, which isn't saying much.

It would be nice to see, but the fact of the matter remains that Regal has slowed down noticeably in the ring. Regal has always been a slow, methodical wrestler, so when its noticeable that he's slown done, thats saying alot. As having been the one who was partially responsible for training DBD, it would be excellent to see some sort of mentor/student feud, with Bryan coming out looking superior over his former mentor. It would further establish BRyan's dominance over the mid-card, but it would also serve as a vehicle for making Regal somewhat relevant. So it would be good for both men.


That being said, its fairly obvious that Regal doesn't have much left. As I said above, he looks noticeably slower in the ring, and for someone who works a methodical pace as is, that isn't a good sign. He seemed to be well on his way to a major push back in 2008 when he won the King of the Ring tournament, but he blew the push due to his wellness policy violation.

I really think last night was a one-off between the two, and the inevitable feud will be between DBD and Tyson Kidd. Both are excellent mat technicians with the ability to utilize high flying moves within their arsenal as well. As for Regal, his purpose this point is to serve as lower card enhancement talent. Bryan has elevated the US title to the point where feuding with someone whose been irrelevant for so long like a William Regal would almost be a step down.

 

[Arkham Noir]

This was a good year for Goldust, but it really wasn't all that succesful in the grand scheme of things. Just much better than usual for him.

Both Goldust and Regal are under-rated. Goldust has always been restricted with his gimmick, but I respect the living hell out of him for making it work. He puts in an honest effort everytime he goes in the ring an shows real enthusiasm in what he is doing. Considering what he has to do with his gimmick, that deserves respect.

Regal I always feel bad for. The guy was just starting to get his big push in 2008, but ended up getting suspended. He is a damn good wrestler and is entertaing as hell. Christian and him basically carried WWECW for its final year. His departure will be a major blow to the roster considering how many up and comers are, well, up and coming lol. His experience and knowledge could be quite the asset. Hopefully he stays with the company, even if he doesn't continue to be an in-ring performer.

In the end, I don't think there is much of a spot for Regal to take from Goldust, and even if there was, he won't be around long enough to do it.