8 Things Fans Forgot About William Regal's Time As WWE Commissioner

Many fans view William Regal as the best WWE authority figure for his entertaining stint as the Commissioner in the early 2000s. Regal getting the role came out of nowhere since he was relatively new to WWE as a mid-card act. However, WWE wanted to shake things up by having an active wrestler with heel heat in that position.RELATED: 10 Things Fans Forgot About Shawn Michaels' Time As WWE CommissionerRegal worked with most of the top names running the show and putting them in matches. The Invasion storyline saw Regal playing a major role in multiple stories before his on-screen firing. Regal would return to authority figure situations in the future due to his success in this first run. The following memories will remind any fan how interesting Regal’s run as Commissioner was.

8 Became Commissioner By Defeating Al Snow

The storyline in which William Regal became WWE Commissioner is one few that fans remember. WWE placed Regal in a short-term program against lower mid-card face Al Snow. Both men would have a chance to become Commissioner as the stipulation in a television match.

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Regal winning made him the most powerful wrestler in kayfabe, now only answering to Vince McMahon. Snow wasn’t a credible choice for the role, and it became obvious Regal would win when the stipulation was added to the match.

7 Chris Jericho Impersonated Doink To Attack Him

The most memorable feud from William Regal’s time as Commissioner featured him becoming an enemy of Chris Jericho. WrestleMania 17 featured their first big match after weeks of Jericho trying to get revenge on Regal.

Everyone remembers the moment of Jericho peeing in Regal’s tea, but he did other outlandish things. The history of Doink the Clown appearing saw Jericho under the wig and paint to trick Regal. Jericho impersonated Doink to attack Regal before revealing it was him.

6 Duchess of Queensbury Rules Match

WWE booked the WrestleMania 17 rematch between Chris Jericho and William Regal for Backlash 2001 with a unique stipulation. Regal used his power as the Commissioner to come up with the Duchess of Queensbury Rules match.

The Duchess sat ringside in a ridiculous outfit and restarted the match every time Jericho had it won by naming new stipulations and loopholes. Regal eventually won through the cheap tactics to pick up a lot of heel heat.

5 Joined The Alliance By Costing Kurt Angle The WCW Title

The face turn of William Regal in 2001 didn’t feel right, but every WWE star was taking the face role in the Invasion feud against WCW and ECW. WWE decided that Regal would be better off on the heel side of things by betraying WWE.

Regal coming to ringside to cost Kurt Angle a WCW Championship match played out the story and had him jumping ship. Fans already hated Regal from his previous months of heel work, so it didn’t take much to get him that heat back.

4 Linda McMahon Fired Him

The end of William Regal’s time as WWE Commissioner came right after he jumped ship to join The Alliance. WWE had Linda McMahon on television more to play a face character representing WWE since Vince McMahon was coming off a huge heel run.

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Linda was the one to make the announcement firing Regal from his role and removing him from the WWE side. However, Shane McMahon named Regal as the WCW Commissioner right after to give him a similar role playing the heel character again.

3 Betraying Tajiri

William Regal betraying WWE saw one wrestler specifically targeted by his decision. Tajiri and Regal formed an odd couple bond when the former ECW star joined WWE as an assistant of Regal. The backstage segments helped get Tajiri over for his personality.

Regal turning heel and joining The Alliance saw him attacking Tajiri on multiple occasions. Even Torrie Wilson was targeted by Regal as the love interest and manager of Tajiri. WWE reunited Regal and Tajiri years later as a face team since the chemistry was so strong.

2 Helped Triple H Win Intercontinental Championship

The feud between Chris Jericho and William Regal for the Intercontinental Championship saw Triple H getting involved. WWE booking Triple H and Steve Austin as the Two-Man Power Trip saw them wanting the two heels to hold all the gold.

Triple H won the Intercontinental Championship from Jericho when Regal interfered to both help an ally and hurt his enemy. WWE continued the Jericho vs Regal feud while Triple H and Austin took over the main event scene with all the titles.

1 Interfering In Trish Stratus Vs Stephanie McMahon

William Regal having power as the WWE Commissioner saw him also doing the bidding of Vince McMahon as a glorified lackey. Vince was put in the middle of the feud between his mistress Trish Stratus and daughter Stephanie McMahon, which put Regal in the middle of them as well.

The No Way Out 2001 match saw Regal told to “do the right thing” by Vince without flat out informing him on who to help. Regal attacked Stratus during the match to help Stephanie steal the win. The following night showed that Vince wanted this all along prioritizing his daughter over his lover.