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. 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. Regal and Garvin lost the tag title to Curt Hennig and Scott Hall four months later. 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. He vacated the title in December 1981 due to an injury.
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. Regal's stay in the NWA ended abruptly; he soon vacated the title and headed for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
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, 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, 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.
Read more about this topic: Steve Regal
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