WWE veteran William Regal has shared his concerns about modern professional wrestling, arguing that the execution of pinfalls and kickouts has declined over the past two decades.
Regal, who has spent 42 years in the wrestling industry, took to X (formerly Twitter) to offer advice to performers across all promotions, stressing the importance of making matches appear believable. “I work for WWE but watch a lot of wrestling worldwide. This goes for all wrestlers in all companies. I have worked in wrestling for 42 years, and here’s an observation,” Regal wrote. “We are portraying trained pro fighters with instincts, even in comedy bouts. If you don’t win, you would make less money in the story we’re telling. Every TV bout, if there’s a pin, the cameras focus in. Please pin and kick out like your life and career depend on it. In the story, they do.”
Regal explained that his observations were partly inspired by revisiting an early 2000s match between AJ Styles and Amazing Red, noting how their performances influenced subsequent generations of wrestlers.
“I’ve also been a part of knowing most talent since the 2000s in many companies. As time goes by, younger talent copy their favorites from film. I recently watched AJ Styles vs. Amazing Red from the early 2000s. I see how many people copied them.” However, Regal believes an important aspect of their work has been overlooked by wrestlers who followed in their footsteps. “What I saw was that every pin was aggressively applied, with the shoulders covered and stacked. Every kickout was done like their life depended on it. Something has been lost in the last 20-plus years.”
The longtime wrestling veteran went on to emphasize that audiences deserve convincing performances, comparing professional wrestling to fight scenes in movies. “Let’s not insult the intelligence of our audience, who are giving us their precious time. In a fight scene in a movie, which is what wrestling is, we know the punches don’t really hit, but if we saw that, we would eventually stop watching it.”
Regal concluded with a pointed message to wrestlers who are unwilling to endure the physical discomfort involved in making pinfalls look realistic. “Your audience and fans deserve better. If you can’t be uncomfortable for a few seconds being stacked up in a pin, maybe this isn’t for you.”
Regal’s comments highlight his belief that even small details, such as the intensity of a pinfall attempt or the urgency of a kickout, are essential to maintaining the credibility of professional wrestling.
I work for WWE but watch a lot of wrestling worldwide. This goes for all wrestlers in all companies. I have worked in Wrestling for 42 years. An observation. We are portraying trained pro fighters with instincts ( even comedy bouts). If you don’t win you would make less money in the story we’re telling. Every TV bout , if there’s a pin, the cameras focus in. Please pin and kick out like your life and career depend on it. In story, it does. I’ve also been a part of knowing most talent since the 2000’s in many companies. As time goes by younger talent copy their favourite of film. I recently watch AJ Styles v Amazing Red from the early 2000’s. I see how many people copied them. What I saw was every pin was aggressively applied and shoulders covered and stacked. Every kick out they kicked out like their life depended on it. Something has been lost in the last 20 + years. Let’s not insult the intelligence of our audience who are giving us their precious time. In a fight scene in a movie ( which is what wrestling is) we know the punches don’t really hit but if we saw that we would eventually stop watching it. Your audience and fans deserve better. If you can’t be uncomfortable for a few seconds being stacked up in a pin, maybe this isn’t for you.
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) October 16, 2026
