William Regal, the former WCW and WWE star, went to Twitter on Sunday with an x-ray of his neck and a warning – that time in the ring ends, but the pain stays, a lesson he’s tried teaching for two decades
Pictures are worth a thousand words, and a Twitter post by William Regal on Sunday, which included a black and white x-ray photo of his fused neck, seemed to be inspired by thousands of emotions held by the veteran trainer and former wrestler.
His post was a plea, based on regret, pain, and a long-lived life in a business with a history of putting the next match ahead of health or injury.
A rare poster on social media, Regal said the fusion in his x-ray, which included four screws into the back vertebrae, was the result of the two times he had broken his neck – once after a German suplex in 1993 and again in 1997 after a car accident and how he, “stupidly never told anyone.”
Fans weren’t sure whether Regal saw something during the All-Elite Wrestling pay-per-view the night before, or maybe it was something he’s been seeing during his work at WWE, he gave a caustic and vehement warning about what these moves can do to you, even if you’re trained and seasoned pro.
Whether he was aiming it at AEW or WWE, most importantly he was right.
Regal’s impassioned plea was simple – don’t take bumps on your neck and head.
“After (Mitsuharu) Misawa-san passed, from his neck problems, I thought it would stop this nonsense, but it’s gotten worse,” Regal wrote.
I stay off here but was alerted to something to day that has alarmed me. I don’t read any comments so don’t waste your time trying to argue or justify your very wrong opinions on this. I broke my neck twice: 9/93 in the ring and a car wreck in ‘97 and stupidly never told anyone. And I… pic.twitter.com/BHxtPm6rjM
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) December 28, 2025
He brought up Bryan Danielson’s current health issues, which forced him into retirement after his AEW World title run last year.
This isn’t the first time Regal has pleaded for wrestlers to take their health more seriously. In 2000, Regal was out of a job. He had what was essentially a try-out match for World Wrestling Entertainment at the 2000 Brian Pillman Memorial Show against Chris Benoit, a match that was among the best in the world that year and the best match I’ve seen in person.
While doing interviews during and after his appearance, Regal spoke at length about his issues with addiction to pain medication while battling the numerous injuries he suffered.
Regal, while being interviewed by Shawn Stidham of The Wrestling Guys the week after the show, warned wrestlers that many of the prescription “non-addictive pain-killers” weren’t non-addictive, and specifically called out OxyContin. This wasn’t a regular occurrence on the radio or on TV in 2000, even as the fever of the opioid crisis was already spreading across the Midwest and other areas and pharmaceutical companies continued to market it as safe.
In other words: Regal is intelligent, eloquent with a rare level of introspection and obvservation. He knows what he’s talking about – he did in 2000; he did on Sunday.
Some AEW fans went after Regal as a hypocrite after his tweet, some ridiculously citing neck injuries suffered while doing other styles of moves. This was bad faith and stupid, especially in a post about safety which every fan should easily agree on. Especially from someone like Regal who has close friends and people he’s mentored in both companies.
Maybe they felt he was going after AEW, and there would be reason for that. AEW’s style is more high-risk and involves more head-drop moves than WWE. WWE has slowly worked back to a more physical style in recent years in response, but AEW’s style is closer to New Japan, the WCW cruiserweight style and the more physical indie styles of the 2000s and 2010s.
The fan response was bad, but much worse was reading how far the mob is from understanding the physicality of the sport.
Fans don’t understand the training and discipline needed to compete at even the lower levels. Nor do they understand the commitment, training and athletic ability needed to wrestle in a contemporary style on a regular basis. To borrow a line from the internet- go touch grass – or better yet, go run on it and do some pushups.
Both companies are doing more now for wrestler safety in the past, but they could do better. Neck fusion surgeries aren’t nearly as common as they were in the 2000s, but they haven’t gone away. AEW is without Will Ospreay and WWE is without Kevin Owens – two of the biggest stars in the business.
And it’s not just the protection, but the addition. Using more head-drop moves as setup or transition moves adds more risk. Yes, the finisher of yesterday always turns into the setup move of tomorrow, but the numbers game is as big of risk as the dreaded ‘one move gone wrong.’ CTE isn’t caused by concussions or even a serious concussion, it’s caused by repeated blows to the head.
Some wrestlers have adjusted, adjusting how they land or how moves are performed so they aren’t dropped directly on their head or neck. This has been more visible the last few years, especially in neck-exposed suplex moves.
And while wrestlers and fans can do better, fans are a major problem. They want to see the spectacle of the next crazy move. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. I loved the WCW Cruiserweight style growing up. It led me to watch All Japan, New Japan and lucha, but only a few years into it, my favorites were lining up for neck fusion surgeries and battling concussions, multiple blown knees and long-term physical problems. Some of these wrestlers would become my friends. I thrilled at hearing the stories behind those matches, and got nauseous hearing how many beers it took to get to sleep later that night, if they remembered the match at all.
All styles have their risks. I believe it was Jack Evans who said on social media he stayed healthier wrestling a more contemporary, aerial style than locking up. There isn’t a perfect answer, and anything demanding physical, athletic performance is always going to be dangerous.
But minimizing those risks – like eliminating neck bumps – is something that should have been embedded in wrestling culture years ago. People wonder just how much Kenny Omega or Kazuchika Okada have left, but seem to forget the top rope dragon suplex in their first meeting. Omega re-posted Regal’s tweet in support.
In the end, the wrestlers are the ones who have to decide what they’re willing to risk. To Regal, he’s preaching himself as a cautionary tale, that the pop you get after a 20 minute match doesn’t mean much 20 years later when your quality of life is shot. But like any other athlete, whether it’s football, basketball, UFC or pro wrestling, there’s a drive to go out and do the best you can do. It’s competitive nature.
It isn’t bookers and executive who drive the business, but wrestlers. And that drive is what makes the business great. Every athletic activity and every sport will leave its mark on you. Talk to any high school football player. But Regal’s words should be heeded.
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