Steve Regal

This article is about the American wrestler who retired in 1996. For the English wrestler formerly known as Steve Regal, see William Regal.
Steve Regal
Born (1951-08-25) August 25, 1951
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Family Wilbur Snyder (father-in-law)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Steve Regal
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight 222 lb (101 kg)
Trained by Rene Goulet
Bobby Heenan
Wilbur Snyder
Debut 1977
Retired 1996

Steve Regal (born August 25, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association.

Professional wrestling career

Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Regal started wrestling in 1977 and later achieved his biggest success in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) during the mid-1980s. During his tenure there, Regal defeated Buck Zumhofe for the AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1984.[1] In 1985, the AWA began teaming him with "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and, with the help of the Fabulous Freebirds, surprisingly defeated The Road Warriors to win the tag title.[2][3] Regal and Garvin lost the tag title to Curt Hennig and Scott Hall four months later.[2] Regal also made appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling during this time period, challenging Brian Adias for the Texas Heavyweight Title.

The pair then signed to wrestle with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where he held the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship twice.[4] He vacated the title in December 1981 due to an injury.[4]

In 1986, he joined Jim Crockett Promotions, where Regal feuded with Denny Brown and defeated him for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship shortly after his arrival.[5] Regal's stay in the NWA ended abruptly; he soon vacated the title and headed for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[6]

While with the AWA and NWA, Regal's career appeared to be on the rise, but by 1985, the WWF roster was full of larger athletes and the primary focus was on brawling over science. Despite his talent, Regal essentially became a preliminary wrestler or jobber,[6] the fate of many wrestlers at the time who could not catch on in the WWF without a colorful gimmick. After a short stay, he left the WWF,[6] never again wrestling for a major US promotion. Regal then toured the independent circuit for the next decade, primarily focusing on the Chicago area, until he retired in 1996.

Personal life

Regal is the son-in-law of legendary wrestler Wilbur Snyder. Currently he is an executive with General Motors in their vehicle remarketing division.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 "A.W.A. World Light Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  2. 1 2 3 "A.W.A. World Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  3. 1 2 Mike Rickard (15 December 2010). Wrestling's Greatest Moments. ECW Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-55490-331-3.
  4. 1 2 3 Duncan, R. & Will, G. (2006). "Oregon: Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. 1 2 "N.W.A. World Junior Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  6. 1 2 3 Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 1: WWF 1963 - 1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1492825972.
  7. ↑ "N.W.A. Central States Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  8. ↑ "N.W.A. (Mid-America)/A.W.A. Southern Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  9. ↑ "N.W.A. Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  10. ↑ "P.W.A. Light Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  11. ↑ "W.W.A. World Tag Team Title (Indiana)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.