William Regal on WWE Recruiting, NXT Favorite, and Bayley

British newspaper Metro held a recent interview with William Regal discussing WWE’s recruiting process, former NXT star he’s the most proud of, and Bayley’s importance to the WWE.

On the topic of WWE’s recruiting system, Regal dispelled the notion of certain wrestlers being excused or allowed to slack off for tryouts because they have a favorable body type or are known names on the indies. He revealed the WWE focuses the most attention towards those showing the most effort during tryouts when considering deals for prospects.

“There are only so many wrestlers that can actually look and act the part, and do whatever they have to do in WWE, and that’s a lesson to be learnt for a lot of wrestlers, you need to look the part. If you don’t, there is very little chance of you making it here. It doesn’t matter how big you are, if you think you can act like an idiot and just not go to the gym or do anything, it’s probably not going to work out for you. People will say certain guys never did this or that, but Kevin Owens did a tryout, Sami Zayn did a tryout. If you go to Japan, you have to do a tryout. There is always some form of something you have to do to get into a company. There is nobody above doing it.”

On the topic of who from developmental impressed him the most, Regal revealed it was Sasha Banks. Stated he has been following her career from the very start and was the first name he recommended when he took the job as NXT’s main recruiter. Said he ended up being very proud at how far she grew and developed as a star while in NXT.

“I don’t really like singling anyone out, but Sasha Banks. I’ve known her since she was 18, and the previous people that were doing what I’m doing now wouldn’t even give her the time of day. When I was asked by Triple H to be part of that team, of which there is nobody still here who was in the team at the time, I kept asking to bring her in, to which people replied ‘Oh no, there is nothing in her, she’s useless.’ Sasha was the first person I went to bat for, and her development is a great thing to see.”

Later in the interview, Regal revealed Bayley’s importance to the WWE and why she was a perfect fit to be the role model for a new audience for the WWE. Regal stated the WWE had a big gap when it came to marketable stars since they had an abundance for boys but none for girls. Bayley arrived at just the right moment when Regal started looking for a future star and with Dusty Rhodes, helped create the ideal star the WWE needed as their role model for girls.

“I saw there was an open market because everything was pushed towards young boys, but we had nothing for young girls. That was a role that could be filled, and finding Bayley helped. That was one of the first tryouts we did in LA. Seeing her and going ‘She’s the perfect person for that role’. It’s not an act with her, it’s real. We just had to make it right. She created the character along with Dusty Rhodes, but I had the idea for her. I always told her to be herself, and sell the way she looked, and that was the role.”