Former WWE Superstar Wade Barrett was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated, where he discussed his departure from WWE.
The ‘Bare Knuckle Brawler’ asked for his release from WWE which was granted on May 6th, 2016. His contract was supposed to expire the next month but both parties decided to part ways early.
Barrett cited that he had started to lose his passion for wrestling during his days as ‘King Barrett’ and this forced him to make the decision of leaving WWE.
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The former Intercontinental Champion mentioned that he enjoyed the fact that his gimmick received an amazing response from the audience. Barrett commented that his attitude and personality while portraying ‘Bad News Barrett’ made the fans excited for the character rather than his in-ring skills.
He was quoted as saying:
“You can even go back to the Nexus era when I was cutting promos every single night.
People were really hanging on my every word, and I was really dictating a lot of the shows that we were doing, I’ve always had that confidence in my performance ability and my ability to speak in character.”
Barrett went on to reveal that he had a lot of influence over his character during his run as the leader of Nexus and BNB. But that advantage was taken away from him after he became the winner of King of the Ring 2015.
“I was told, ‘This is your outfit, and here is your promo that you have to say word-for-word.’”
According to Barrett, WWE creatives turned a deaf ear to his requests for making changes in the ‘King Barrett’ character. Barrett says that over time, he lost interest in the character as “it wasn’t me” and gradually, his passion for the role of a WWE superstar began to fade away.
Also read: Five instances when WWE missed using Wade Barrett's potential
Barrett decided to not re-sign with the company in August 2015, he claims that he knew “nothing was going to change.” Barrett says that he had two choices at that point, either to continue working under a gimmick which he didn't enjoy, or walk away and get involved in something else. He chose the latter.
Barrett then went on to speak about his financial situation and said:
“I’ve always been smart with my money, and I saved a lot during my time with WWE. I’m not in a position where I’m living paycheck-to-paycheck, and I can afford to explore other avenues.”
After leaving WWE in May, Barrett is currently focused on his acting career, with several rumours connecting him to independent wrestling promotions.
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