Having entered the wrestling business way back in 1983, Blackpool native William Regal has experienced plenty of ups and downs.

He’s a former European and Tag Team Champion but has battled through a host of medical problems just to get in the ring. The grappler looked to be standing tall as General Manager (GM) of Raw and the latest King of the Ring winner.

But his world came tumbling town when he was handed a 60 day suspension on May 20 for his second violation of WWE’s Wellness Program. Will he get another push when he returns?

Regal seemed to have come from nowhere. He languished in the background a little as a GM and seemingly only featured on television in a minimum role - until recently.

On the April 21 edition of Raw, Regal saw off Hornswoggle, Finlay and perhaps most notably, Money in the Bank winner CM Punk, to be declared King of the Ring. The week after, he abused his GM power by pulling the audio and video on the night’s Triple H v Randy Orton main event.

Then, on the May 5 episode of Raw, he turned the lights out during the Triple H and Mr Kennedy vs. ECW handicap battle. In just three weeks Regal showed he can shine as a big player on the Monday night stage. It seemed like the sky was the limit for the veteran.

But the suspension may just have halted his chances of being a major wrestling player on Raw.

Regal was ‘fired’ as a result of a loss to Ken Kennedy, whom Regal may well have had a long and entertaining feud with, to cement the basis for his absence.

The man known as Darren Matthews will have disappointed bosses, fans and peers with the suspension. He had expressed regret for his medical problems in his biography ‘Walking a Golden Mile’.

Regal had his fair share of critics ahead of the two month absence. He is the wrong side of 40 having been born in 1965. The suspension could add to people’s reasons for objecting to his presence in WWE.

For these reasons, Regal may well just lurk in the background again when he returns. He had been successful in the GM role. If WWE finds a replacement for Regal’s old position in the next few weeks, he may be forced to adapt to life solely in the ring if he is to remain a WWE mainstay. That wouldn’t be a bad thing at all, but there are those who feel Regal’s best talents come through on the microphone. If Regal is relegated to the lower reaches of WWE programming, he may not get much opportunity to speak. His vocal ability definitely adds to his character as a whole.

But grapplers have been given second chances before. Jeff Hardy, the man who ironically replaced Regal on a recent tour as a result of the Brit’s time away, just returned from his own 60 day suspension.

He’s defeated MVP at Judgment Day and lines up against Umaga, who he saw off on Raw in fine style upon his return, at the One Night Stand pay per view in just a couple of weeks. Regal can take solace from the fact Hardy and others have pretty much picked up from where they left off after letting the company down. There’s no reason Regal can’t be the same. WWE would be wasting what they have if Regal is only given a minimum role.

His suspension is a shame. His wrestling capability cannot be denied. This is a man who has gone toe to toe in fantastic matches with the likes of Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Finlay and a host of others. There are few in WWE who can claim to have as much grappling experience as the former Lord Steven Regal. He was getting the chance to show what he’s made of ahead of the suspension.

It’s not just wrestling that Regal excels at. He has that rare quality of being a solid character: playing both a heel and a baby face successfully. He’s proved time and again he can play any type of bad guy with finesse, whether he’s required to be cowardly, greedy or deliver any other emotion.

He brought the words ‘barbarian’, ‘toe rag’ and the like back in to common English language and shined in hilarious confrontations with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and many others. He also formed a remarkable alliance with the ‘mentally challenged’ Eugene in a tag team which quickly won the support of fans.

I had the pleasure of watching him compete in a classy encounter with Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Raw’s Liverpool Echo Arena house show on April 11. In the back of your mind you knew there was only one winner with the title on the line but the back and forth nature of the bout had you always wondering whether Regal could do the unthinkable. He lost but sent the fans home happy with a solid wrestling performance.

I believe Regal has done enough to show he can offer a lot to Raw. His facial expressions are priceless and his wrestling talents stand out. Surely WWE cannot afford to let such a talent slip away.