It came as no surprise when WWE announced the release of Wade Barrett, this Friday. There had been rumors for quite some time that Barrett had planned to not to renew his contract when it expired in June. And to be honest, you can’t even blame him.
Throughout Barrett’s career, WWE had dropped the ball on the British native time and time again. From the time he was in Nexus until his exit from the League of Nations, Barrett was the victim of lazy and thoughtless booking. Barrett was a promising star and was en route to becoming the first British born WWE Champion. But that never came to fruition, and that’s tragic.
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However, Barrett did hold the Intercontinental Championship five times. That alone is impressive. But we all know he was destined for greater things.
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Barrett had the look, the size and the skills to be a top heel for the company. Fans hated him, but respected him. Fans were also behind Barrett, it was just a shame WWE never seemed to be. It also didn’t help that injuries plagued Barrett at the worst times.
Let’s take a look on what WWE could’ve capitalized on.
5. King of the Ring
King of the Ring used to be a big deal in WWF before it became WWE. Winning the prestigious tournament meant that the Superstar was en route to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship picture, and in turn into superstardom. Superstars such as Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin benefited tremendously from the tournament.
While not all of the Superstars who won the tournament find the same kind of success as Austin or Bret, fans had hoped that finally WWE would invest in Barrett. Sadly, it was evident that WWE had just brought it back as a nostalgia factor to gave fans false hope once again.
4. League of Nations
The League of Nations was a great concept that was executed poorly. You had four men, who had a common denominator in terms of being non-American, in need of a story. All men were impact players and the stable had potential to be a super threatening stable. On paper, they were a credible threat with Sheamus being the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and Alberto Del Rio being the United States Champion.
That eventually fell apart when both men lost the titles and the group was dismantled by Roman Reigns. The group was endorsed by the Authority eventually and it played a part in dethroning Reigns as a Champion at the Royal Rumble later on. The League of Nations then took part in a feud with The New Day leading into WrestleMania. Despite the success, the stable fell apart shortly later when they exiled Barrett from the group.
3. Bad News Barrett
“Can we have some decorum, please?” The pounding of the hammer that went on a bit too long, just to annoy fans, to deliver bad news more than once a night was just fun. Barrett’s new persona allowed him to gain back the heel heat that he had lost upon being kicked out of the Nexus. This was a great way to keep Barrett on TV while he recovered from injury.
Once he recovered from injury, Barrett went on to capture the Intercontinental Championship for a fifth time from Dolph Ziggler. A rather fun twist leading to WrestleMania 31 with several Superstars stealing his title was perhaps the most memorable thing he was involved in after returning to the ring. WWE had stopped Barrett from delivering bad news, as it started to get him over as a babyface. It was fun while it lasted, though.
2. The Corre
The Corre was created when CM Punk took leadership over the Nexus back in 2011. Punk kicked Barrett out of the Nexus, interfering in Barrett’s match and attacking him. Stablemates Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and Ezekiel Jackson followed suit, siding with Barrett after the turn.
This had all the makings of a feud. Barrett had a reason to go after Punk, and fans wanted to see a New Nexus vs. The Corre matchup. That never happened though, and fans only got a couple of brawls between the two groups as CM Punk feuded with Randy Orton. The Corre ultimately dissolved within three months, but not before Barrett captured his first WWE Intercontinental Championship.
1. The Nexus
WWE hit The Nexus storyline out of the ballpark in June 2010. The first season of NXT saw Barrett winning the competition, only for him and the seven other competitors to close RAW in remarkable fashion by taking the company over by storm the next week. That was one of the most shocking endings to RAW in years, and made all eight men Superstars overnight.
As Barrett won the competition, he had not only gained a contract, but an automatic Championship match of his choosing. He cashed that opportunity at Night of Champions in a losing effort. Many believe that Barrett was primed to take the WWE World Heavyweight Championship during his time with the Nexus, solidifying him as a top Superstar, the top heel and closing the chapter in what was an outstanding WWE debut.
For some reason, that didn’t happen. However, to not be deterred, Barrett’s feud with John Cena reached its peak when Cena had to become a member of The Nexus due to a match stipulation with Barrett. After Cena won the feud, The Nexus lost its steam.
