William Regal has pretty much seen it all and done it all in the world of professional wrestling, and although his days of lacing up the boots and stepping into the ring are behind him, he now imparts his wisdom as one of the top authority figures at NXT, both in front of and behind the camera. Regal currently travels the world scouting potential talent for NXT and the WWE Performance Center, whereas he once traveled the world going toe-to-toe with basically everyone you could think of in wrestling history.
Case in point: back in 1994, during his Lord Steven Regal days in WCW, he had a one-off match with one of the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling, Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki. Inoki is pretty much the biggest Japanese star in wrestling history, essentially invented MMA in his fight with Muhammad Ali … hell, you know who Antonio Inoki is.
Anyway, Regal’s Clash of the Champions match against Inoki ended with him getting legit choked the hell out in the middle of the ring. You can actually watch the clip for yourself, thanks to WWE’s always-helpful YouTube page:
Yep, out like a light. During a recent appearance on X-Pac 1-2-360, Regal remembered the match, and the moment in question.
“That was the finish, and I knew he wanted me to tap … I wasn’t going to tap. I knew it would just be better if I didn’t. I’d been put out before …and I knew it be over really quick, and it was. He put it on and I didn’t tap and I was out before I knew it. I was very fortunate that they picked me … I was the last of the British style [wrestling] that was a big thing in Japan. I was the only one around doing it at the time. I was very happy and honored. At the end of the day, who at my age can say that they fought somebody that fought Muhammad Ali?”
I think I speak for all of us when I say I’m very glad Regal’s choked-unconscious-by-Inoki days are behind him. You can listen to his full interview with X-Pac below.
