With Jeff Hardy scarcely back after a 60-day suspension for a second violation of the WWE drug policy, yet another superstar will be on the bench for 60 days for banned substances, this time none other than RAW General Manager Lord William Regal. Darren Matthews, AKA Lord William Regal of Fayetteville, Ga., (Yes, he was born in England but has moved to this country) has been announced as the most recent violator of the WWE Wellness policy, this marking his second violation meaning he will be on the shelf for two months. He was among nine others associated with the Signature Pharmacies scandal last year, something which brewed up in the midst of the Chris Benoit murder/suicide which brought congressional oversight of the sports entertainment industry. His punishment came swiftly Monday night when he was placed in a ‘loser is fired match’ against Ken Kennedy, who coincidentally was suspended himself for 30 days last year in the midst of his major push to the top after being implicated in the Signature Pharmacies mess. Kennedy won the match leading to Regal’s termination and the end of what was being built as a major feud between Regal and Kennedy, something I believe was going to be in the image of Stone Cold Steve Austin bucking the authority Vince McMahon back in the old days. And no, I didn’t realize Regal has been suspended at the time I tuned into RAW Monday night so it came as a complete surprise to me although I wondered aloud why he and Kennedy did not do something to further their feud at Judgment Day the evening before. The incident is especially troubling when you consider the 40-year-old grappler, who began his career wrestling grown men at carnivals in Blackpool, England when he was just 15, had basically been given new life in the industry. His career, which included a prior run as RAW General Manager in 2001 after coming over from the sinking of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), had basically languished away in the midcard for years as he’d be pulled out to job for up-and-coming wrestlers or more recently, serve in King Booker’s court. However, just in the past month Regal had been given the honor of winning King of the Ring, even beating Mr. Money in the Bank C.M. Punk by submission, and seemed on the brink of having his career pushed to an all-time high with his character of a psychotic general manager taking off. Then boom, the mistake which could finish the career of one of the best technical wrestlers, and in my opinion, one of the best heels in the game. Sure, Jeff Hardy was returned like the Prodigal Son last week when they put him over Umaga in his homecoming after his 60-day suspension and then put him over MVP at Judgment Day in a card he wasn’t even scheduled to appear on. However, Hardy’s transgression is not as bad in the sight of WWE as is Regal’s. In Hardy’s case, the drug in question is marijuana, a drug which is on the banned substance list but isn’t on the short list of drugs which worries McMahon. In the case of Regal, the drug is likely some form of human growth hormone or steroids, something WWE can have no part of given the continuing Benoit stir. And, to tell you the truth, Regal being involved in use of performance enhancing drugs doesn’t surprise me. Why? Anyone who has followed wrestling for the past decade or so can tell you that Regal, who just turned 40 last week, looks far younger and in far better shape than he did 10 years ago. This despite health issues such as heart and reoccurring nose bleeds which hampered his career just a few years back. Sure, he could be using a better training routine and some of his new look likely had something to do with his hair transplant surgery, but it just seemed like he did an entire body reversal in a quick amount of time. While the exact type of drug has not been revealed, my money is on HGH, a favorite of the older athletes as it promotes quicker healing. Will this be it for Regal? Probably not as he is respected by McMahon. However, this could be it for any major push of his character, something which is too bad since I wanted to see his feud with Kennedy play out
