The Internet will have you believing there’s a “war” going on between promotions, when in reality many of the performers on screen see each other as peers, friends, and mentors. Another example of this came up on December 28, when William Regal spoke openly about his relationship with injuries, specifically neck injuries. Several performers across the spectrum of wrestling responded to show support, offer insight, and co-sign on his words calling for more wrestlers to take care while they can.
William Regal posted a lengthy post on Twitter on December 28, where he talked about his two neck injuries and the fallout he’s had to live with since them.
“I broke my neck twice, [19]93 in ring and a car wreck in [19]97 and stupidly never told anyone,” Regal posted. “I’m 57 and become less relevant every day but fame has never been my thing so most of you doing this STUPID stuff are not going to listen to me but hopefully a few do. Stop it now if you want a decent quality of life after wrestling because that part of your life will be over before you know it and wrestling done right is hard enough but broken necks or death are not something you should think is tough or cool.”
I stay off here but was alerted to something to day that has alarmed me. I don’t read any comments so don’t waste your time trying to argue or justify your very wrong opinions on this. I broke my neck twice,9/93 in ring and a car wreck in ‘97 and stupidly never told anyone. And I… pic.twitter.com/BHxtPm6rjM
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) December 28, 2025
That comes from a performer who has 30 years of experience on his resume, and performed for the most important companies during that time. Regal is considered one of the greatest minds in the business today, and has played a key role in talent development for both WWE and All Elite Wrestling.
Regal’s words come after at a time when some avenues of professional wrestling continue to push the envelope. The use of blood, assorted weapons, and matches have created online discussions that performers are getting more dangerous for fans’ entertainment and expectations. It also creates discussions around the perception of match quality and if these actions are necessary for a match to be “well-received.” Regardless of where one falls on that equation, many performers from around wrestling posted online to show public support for Regal’s words.
As of this writing, his post has had more than 2.5 million impressions on the social media platform. Performers like Ivar, who recently dealt with career-threatening neck injuries shared more about what they went through. Piper Niven, Matt Hardy, Gabe Sapolsky, Kenny Omega, Gail Kim and more all weighed in with their thoughts.
“THe truth is the truth,” Hardy wrote. “Well said. This is solid advice that every pro wrestler from every promotion should read, digest, and bank.”
As professional wrestling and sports entertainment head into 2026, this is a conversation that will not go away at any point. Performers are doing more dangerous moves in the ring, and sometimes mistakes happen with even the safest of moves. This is why the caution of “don’t try this at home” remains so important.