Tony Khan Says He Was Shocked WWE Released William Regal, Comments On Possible ‘Dream Matches’ For Swerve Strickland

Wrestling Inc reports that during a media scrum following last night’s AEW Revolution PPV, AEW President Tony Khan spoke about signing William Regal and Shane ‘Swerve’ Strickland. He noted that he was shocked by the WWE releasing Regal in the first place. Here are highlights:

On William Regal getting released from WWE: “Well, I was very surprised to see he had been released and was going to be available. I have tons of respect for his mind. And I think he’s going to be a very valuable person here in AEW. Honestly, I think people who followed his career closely know that he has a very long-established connection with Bryan Danielson. And was instrumental in shaping the pro wrestler that Bryan Danielson has become,” he added. “Who I think is one of the greatest pro wrestlers today, and I also think he’s one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time, I really do. I think Lord Regal had a big contribution to that. So I think when he was released I was first of all very surprised. But also eager to bring him here. I think he can contribute on-screen in a major way to both Bryan Danielson, and also he has a history with Jon Moxley. I think some of the last matches we saw Lord Regal wrestle were against Jon Moxley. They had a great rivalry also, so he’s very familiar with both men. They both have a ton of respect for him, and I think we saw after the violence and the way that they bled together tonight, they have built a lot of mutual respect now with each other. So, I think that’s very exciting. Also, behind the scenes, I am really excited to have him here. I think Lord Regal can teach all of us, everyone, here a lot. It’s going to be great having him here, and I am very excited on-screen and off-screen. It came together very recently. It fits very well I think with what we are doing here in AEW all around.”

On the possible role for Shane Strickland: “Well, I think I have a lot of ideas coming out of the PPV you always have to look at where the injury toll is. I am going to check. It was a very hard-hitting PPV so I don’t want to speak for anybody until I get their medical status. But there’s a lot of great opponents in AEW for him and a lot of them went through crazy matches tonight. We will see who is available on the roster,” he said. “But I know that there’s big matches and dream matches involving Swerve. And I am very excited that he made his first appearance in AEW tonight at Revolution. I thought that I wanted to have, in addition to Lord Regal coming after the Danielson – Moxley match, I wanted to debut a star who I think will be great for us for the future. That’s Swerve. Again, somebody else that I was very surprised would be released because he had done very well I think in the matches and segments I had seen. He was someone that I had really liked, so I was looking to snap him up, and I thought Revolution was such a great night of great matches wold be a great stage for him to come out and I think it was a very high profile debut. Again, he’s a great wrestler and now we have that many more dream matches here in AEW.”