Has Wade Barrett's Window of Opportunity Closed?

[OYDK]

Wade Barrett was the first ever winner of the NXT Challenge and debuted as the villainous leader of the Nexus. He had everything you could want in a WWE Superstar; charisma, mic skills, the ring psychology of a veteran, toughness, and a great look. From the beginning of his career, the fans placed him on a pedestal. Barrett seemed destined to be WWE Champion before long, even headlining multiple PPV matches against the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton within the first six months of his career. The Nexus was the biggest angle in wrestling in a long time, and Barrett was poised to be the next golden boy... or at least that's how it seemed.

Almost randomly, Barrett was moved from Raw to Smackdown and given a much lesser role than he previously had. Forming The Corre, essentially a jobber group knockoff of The Nexus, Barrett would win the IC title from Kofi Kingston before jobbing to everybody under the sun including Santino Marella, and losing the strap to Ezekiel Jackson. This would lead to the "re-building" of Barrett and our introduction to the Barrett Barrage. It seemed that Barrett was back on track after a long winning streak and a good feud against Randy Orton. However, an injury would derail his momentum at the wrong time. Barrett would be pushed again, but it was obvious that WWE had lost some confidence in him. He would go on another winning streak, except this time against the likes of Trent Barretta and Tyson Kidd instead of Sheamus and Orton. He'd win the title for a 2nd and 3rd time in rather lackluster feuds against The Miz, Kingston, and Bo Dallas (yes, Bo Dallas).

Than Bad News Barrett arrived; a fresh, very over re-incarnation of Wade Barrett. He was back on track. He quickly ran through the roster to win his 4th IC Championship in his best run to date (at least in my opinion) before once again injuring himself and losing all of his momentum. After his return, the hype on BNB kind of wore off despite winning his 5th IC title. Last night he lost clean to a rookie Adrian Neville, which shows you where Barrett is on WWE's list right now... not very high.

So after that brief synopsis... do you think Wade Barrett's window of opportunity has finally closed? Will he be remembered as wasted potential or do you think he can still rise to the top?

Random Note: I'm shocked at how much the first NXT class has shaped current WWE. From that group alone rose the likes of Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Curtis Axel, and Wade Barrett... haven't really thought of it before.

 

[ASKane]

On the point of your note at the bottom Wyatt and Axel werent original members of the first season of NXT or the Nexus, I think they were second season who were added when the group was running out of steam.

Onto the point of Barrett, the issue is that WWE has never allowed him to get the big win, it didnt happen in Nexus, it didnt happen in the bit of a push he got after and then he fell down the card and took a few injuries. I think his injury proneness will hold him back like it has Ziggler with WWE not wanting to put him in the big spot so unless they split the World Title again and he can hold the B title the opportunity for him to be anything other than a midcarder has passed.

Unless he comes together with Sheamus, Neville and Balor and forms a UK and Ireland stable but even then he would probably be the number 4 guy as Balor and Neville are the future guys WWE will want to build and Sheamus is ahead of Barrett on the card as it stands

 

[DCLXVI]

The timing for his last injury really sucked... I remember being genuinely bummed out for the guy after he got hurt during that hot streak. I've always been a Barrett fan personally. Great moveset, all around good worker, can talk - has just had a tough break with injuries and timing. This time around I don't think he was booked very well for his return, and more recently has been overshadowed by Sheamus's Heel turn. Sheamus and Barrett both have physical styles and a lot of signature moves.

As far as last night, that just shows that WWE is high on Neville right now and he was a substitution for Daniel Bryan, who was clearly going to win anyway. Let's not forget they recently had Neville out on one of his first appearances to have a pretty competitive match with the WWE Champion... so he is not exactly being booked as a jobber.

Now once again timing seems to have been unfortunate for Barrett, as Bryan is out so their program won't be going anywhere and Ziggler is tied up with Sheamus. I think he is still salvageable, but they have not done any favors with him as far as his return. He needs to be booked as a threat, take some guys out, play up his gimmick more and get involved in a feud that will garner him some heat - or attempt to turn Face which is an idea I'm not crazy about. For right now he has a safe place as a Midcard Heel but no good pairing to get legitimate heat.

 

[Prince Vee]

Wade Barrett was the first ever winner of the NXT Challenge and debuted as the villainous leader of the Nexus. He had everything you could want in a WWE Superstar; charisma, mic skills, the ring psychology of a veteran, toughness, and a great look. From the beginning of his career, the fans placed him on a pedestal. Barrett seemed destined to be WWE Champion before long, even headlining multiple PPV matches against the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton within the first six months of his career. The Nexus was the biggest angle in wrestling in a long time, and Barrett was poised to be the next golden boy... or at least that's how it seemed.

Almost randomly, Barrett was moved from Raw to Smackdown and given a much lesser role than he previously had. Forming The Corre, essentially a jobber group knockoff of The Nexus, Barrett would win the IC title from Kofi Kingston before jobbing to everybody under the sun including Santino Marella, and losing the strap to Ezekiel Jackson. This would lead to the "re-building" of Barrett and our introduction to the Barrett Barrage. It seemed that Barrett was back on track after a long winning streak and a good feud against Randy Orton. However, an injury would derail his momentum at the wrong time. Barrett would be pushed again, but it was obvious that WWE had lost some confidence in him. He would go on another winning streak, except this time against the likes of Trent Barretta and Tyson Kidd instead of Sheamus and Orton. He'd win the title for a 2nd and 3rd time in rather lackluster feuds against The Miz, Kingston, and Bo Dallas (yes, Bo Dallas).

Than Bad News Barrett arrived; a fresh, very over re-incarnation of Wade Barrett. He was back on track. He quickly ran through the roster to win his 4th IC Championship in his best run to date (at least in my opinion) before once again injuring himself and losing all of his momentum. After his return, the hype on BNB kind of wore off despite winning his 5th IC title. Last night he lost clean to a rookie Adrian Neville, which shows you where Barrett is on WWE's list right now... not very high.

So after that brief synopsis... do you think Wade Barrett's window of opportunity has finally closed? Will he be remembered as wasted potential or do you think he can still rise to the top?

Random Note: I'm shocked at how much the first NXT class has shaped current WWE. From that group alone rose the likes of Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Curtis Axel, and Wade Barrett... haven't really thought of it before.

If there's a guy who feel bad for Wade Barrett I'll be the first among them! He's really a tough competitor! WWE just keeps on pushing him down the ladder.. I just don't get why they're doing this to a guy who can give them anything they want! His Bad News gimmick was gold and everyone get behind his Bad News Promos!

WWE just cut him off from using his Bad News Promos. I've never seen anything the crowd would cheer for than the Bad News next to the Yes Chant!

When he went on to face John Cena's team it was solely Cena's decision to win that match against Barrett eliminating him finally by making him Tap to STF!

Then again when he was penned to beat Cena for the WWE title, John Cena was adamant not to lose his title and no ones been there to lobby the poor Barrett!

As a part of Nexus, he helped Kane to bury alive The Undertaker just because the Creative wanted him to face the Undertaker at Wrestlemania!! But unfortunately the returning Triple H wanted tat opportunity, so obviously I'm gonna just use the common IWC Quote "Triple H buried him" apparently just for that moment!

Last year he was penned to win the MITB! Injury let him off that opportunity as well!

He should probably change his gimmick to BAD LUCK BARRETT!!!

 

[Soulblazed]

I don't think Barrett's window of opportunity is closing on him..To the contrary-His window's open wide now that he's in the bracket for the 2015 KOTR. The King Of Bad News has a damn good ring to it, now that I think of it...Imagine Barrett's shit-talking after he becomes The King Of The Ring and then re-christens himself The King Of Bad News? He'll be even more entertaining in promos than he is now.

Plus, with him winning the KOTR, he could then stake a right to challenge Rollins for the WWE Title in order to shake things up..Lesnar won't be returning til Summerslam, which in turns gives Barrett and Rollins something to do, not to mention that when Lesnar returns at Summerslam, the WWE Title match could be a Triple Threat Elimination Match between Rollins, Lesnar and Barrett..That's something I'd like to see, personally.

 

[Boxhead333]

I really like Barret. During his original Nexus run, he had "top heel" written all over him. He reminded me a lot of Triple H. He was the cerebral mastermind villian, but he could back it up in the ring, he had everything you could ask for. But I think he never recovered from the awful booking of his original run. I'm not a Cena hater, but I was livid when he didn't put him over during that feud. The WWE made the classic mistake of not striking while the iron was hot. They should have pulled the trigger on Barret and had him win the title. And after that, his injury prone nature must have made management sour on him. He never recovered from that first run in the Nexus. And now, as with many promising young stars (Ziggler, Ryback) I think he has been pigeon holed as a mid carder for life. I think his constant losses have hurt his credibility. It's a shame, he really could have been something special, as a fellow Englishman I would have loved him to become the first English WWE champion. But idiotic booking and bad luck have pretty much made it so that he will never take his rightful place in the main event IMHO

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Guy was hot in 2010, but he apparently had backstage problems with Cena and I've read at least two interviews where he openly says that he and Cena don't like each other in real life. Wasn't he supposed to win a MitB, but got injured? Then he got injured again.

I think the company doesn't regard him as reliable anymore. He'll likely remain a mid-card guy, nabbing the occasional main event spot and possibly getting one world title reign before it's all done.

 

[thekooljt]

When my friend and I have these discussions, one point that comes up a lot in many of our conversations is the fact that the WWE was never really prepared for how popular a heel Wade Barrett would quickly become when he was the leader of the Nexus. And even after Nexus, you have an individual who can wrestle and promo his ass off. Some of you guys stated earlier that injury played a major role in his progression or regression in WWE. That maybe so but what some of you may not know (which was mentioned earlier in this thread) is that John Cena, when he was WWE champion during the Nexus era, allegedly REFUSED YES REFUSED to drop the title to Wade during thier many title matches. I'm glad he was a multi time IC champion but I really believe he can still become the WWE WHChampion at the right moment with the right push. But for now I really don't think its over for Wade. He and Sheamus can form a tag team and take the tag titles, or he can win his 7th IC championship but make no mistake about it WADE BARRETT IS STILL NECESSARY!

 

[MartialHorror]

Yes and No.

The thing is, you never know what can happen. I'm pretty sure Sandow thought he was screwed when he was getting squashed on a nightly basis, but fans embraced him so heartily he was able to repair his image...although WWE still doesn't seem to have a lot of faith in him.

My issue with Barrett right now isn't that he keeps losing, although that is a major problem, but that despite having the IC belt- the wrestlemania feud involving said belt surrounded Ziggler and Bryan. Even when he cashed in his rematch clause for Extreme Rules, WWE didn't treat his feud with Bryan as anything important. They barely interacted. To me, when the champion is not the focus in some capacity in a championship match, that's almost like it's own kind of burial.

 

[LBGetBack]

I think he'd be a great King of the Ring winner. I'm rooting for him.

I don't think Neville beating him spells doom for him. WWE is clearly very high on Neville and pushing him strongly. And if Bryan is out for significant time, I bet they ramp up Neville's push even more.

Barrett just needs to stay healthy IMO. It's not too late for him yet, he's still young enough and a very solid performer.

 

[CaptainObvious]

As far as becoming WWEWHC? I'm afraid so. I mean unless he gets massively over (like Daniel Bryan over) and the WWE decides to give him a huge push. I would love to see this guy in the main event. I really enjoyed him, as everyone else did, as leader of the Nexus. He's just been the victim of bad booking, and bad luck. I'm hoping he wins this KOTR tournament and it jumpstarts his career, just as long as he can stay healthy.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Unfortunately, due to all the injuries he's suffered....I think it has.

WWE knows Wade Barrett is extremely talented, and would make a geat heel WWE Champion, but with his seemingly constant injury worries, he's someone they can't look at getting behind in the long-term, because after all the effort they'd put into pushing him, he'd likely get injured again meaning they'd have to take the title off him, making all that push worthless.

It's a shame, because Wade is very talented and deserves his shot at the main event- I still think they should have put the strap on him during te Nexus angle when he was red hot- but I think bad luck has set him back time and time again,and there are other, younger stars who WWE will try and make main-eventers out of, rather than going back to Barrett. He MAY end up getting a short-term title run at some point, you can never rule that out totally, but he'll never beone of THE guys.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

He's not gonna win KOTR folks... if anything this seems to have been brought back to elevate Neville... remember we all thought "huh?" when they dropped Adrian? Put King in front and it makes sense... Those are your final two either way as Dolph will take out Sheamus...

As for Barrett, no way his window has closed but I think the Briefcase might be more what they go for with him. It fits his gimmick that he can tease cash ins with the "Bad News" and he's the kind of opportunist that could nick a win.

Roster wise he is in the Razor/Scott Hall position of 2005, a safe pair of hands for that mid card IC division, who could move up but probably won't. He'll be making good money, is over with the fans and the brass rate him enough to keep him there. Does he NEED to step up? Probably not, he seems to get it...that 10 years plus in the mid card is worth more than 2 on top like your Lashley types... He got his "big run" early, got to change the world slightly and pioneer the new era of talents, they can give him 3 more IC titles and have him feud with Jericho over who gets to 10 and it'd be a "big run".

To be honest, Neville seems more likely now to be that elusive "first World Champion from England" but Barrett is the kind of guy who could cause a stun upset on a UK tour somewhere, only to lose it back in the US... he was never "the guy to hang the company on" long term, but with a Sting like run from the 1990's where he has it a week or two, he'd still have been a champion and reached that potential.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Tough to figure, isn't it? Watching Wade surprisingly defeat Dolph Ziggler last night, one hopes BNB will finally be on his way. After all, the last match I remember him winning was the night he won the IC title for the last time.

Okay, so after Dolph prevailed in his match at the PPV, you figure he's sure to advance in KOTR. Go figure. Instead, Wade wins and there are fans hoping he might take the crown.

History suggests it won't happen. Barrett falls short every time he's getting close to something big.....whether it be by loss of an important contest....or injury. Before his last injury time-out, he had been going great guns and I'll never forget the look of frustration on his face after he had his shoulder smashed against the retaining wall outside the ring, as if knowing it was all happening to him again.

I don't know why the company had him win his last IC title, just to lose every match while he reigned; it made no sense if they truly see potential in BNB. Due to this, it would surprise me if they have big plans for him in the future. Once they've painted someone as a loser, I can't remember the company turning the guy's fortunes around and making him a star.

If Barrett can make it happen, all the power to him. Problem is, it's not up to just him.

 

[kadroan]

I'm a huge BNB fan and I think so. He's been injured so much, I can't see how the company can trust him to be their guy. He might could break Jericho's IC title win record but other than that I don't see him doing anything significant.

 

[Chauncy Talon]

I really want to say that it closed ever since the day John Cena refused to job to him during the 7 vs. 7.

Barrett will win the King of the Ring but it's over with. We all seen it a mile away. Barrett is great but it's too late for the man. His time is done unless it for the strap

 

[BenChillin]

He's about to win the King Of The Ring by winning his rematch against Neville in the finals. Then you'll see gimmicks like the Royal Bullhammer.

He's fine.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I really like Barret. During his original Nexus run, he had "top heel" written all over him. He reminded me a lot of Triple H. He was the cerebral mastermind villian, but he could back it up in the ring, he had everything you could ask for. But I think he never recovered from the awful booking of his original run. I'm not a Cena hater, but I was livid when he didn't put him over during that feud. The WWE made the classic mistake of not striking while the iron was hot. They should have pulled the trigger on Barret and had him win the title. And after that, his injury prone nature must have made management sour on him. He never recovered from that first run in the Nexus. And now, as with many promising young stars (Ziggler, Ryback) I think he has been pigeon holed as a mid carder for life. I think his constant losses have hurt his credibility. It's a shame, he really could have been something special, as a fellow Englishman I would have loved him to become the first English WWE champion. But idiotic booking and bad luck have pretty much made it so that he will never take his rightful place in the main event IMHO

But if Barrett had won the title in his first six months, the IWC would say that he isn't ready and hasn't paid his dues, much like they do now with Roman Reigns.

Don't forget, Daniel Bryan was part of the Nexus when Barrett was, and many would be too busy jerking off to D-Bry and wanted him to be the star. Hell, a fired Daniel Bryan was more over than any of the other Nexus.

I agree that Barrett should be a main-eventer and would like him to have a WWE Title run. He could even be a ringleader in a faction called the "United Kingdom" which could include himself, Sheamus, Adam Rose, Neville & Paige.

 

[Navi]

Now that he's King of the Ring, I think it takes him out of the running for the MITB, which I was hoping either he or Ambrose would win. Just can't see them giving him both.

He can still go far if he stays injury free, but the last two injuries he suffered have had to put doubts in the minds of WWE management. I think he'll coast along on the verge of the main event scene, but unless something happens to most of the guys already up there, he won't manage to break through.

Seriously wish the King of the Ring had come with a shot at the title, but they way they did it was kind of lame. It seemed like more of an afterthought than anything else.

 

[SoulTrain4]

KOTR may be the shot in the arm his career needs. It's not a title he can lose, it's like winning the MITB or Royal Rumble or even the Andre The Giant Battle Royal, it's a cool little thing not many on the roster will get. For that reason, if nothing else, it makes him different and it's good.

I don't want them to play up the King stuff too much. I'm not even sure I want him to even continue using the "Bad News" moniker, he should really just start doing a totally different character with a different finisher and attitude.

 

[Kris Benwa]

You guys are a bunch of liars and I hate how you try to subtly include your anti Cena propaganda in your posts. Now how in the hell did Cena refuse to drop the WWE championship to Barrett when THEY NEVER WRESTLED FOR IT? Cena wasn't champion that entire time. THE FEUD ACTUALLY STARTED WITH THEM COSTING HIM THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT FATAL 4 WAY. HE WOULDN'T HOLD IT FOR ALMOST A YEAR AFTERWARDS. STOP LYING! You also twist words and distort things to fit your anti Cena perspectives. I accidentally listen to TIJ and not just read the dirtsheets that tell you what you want to hear. No where during the conversation between Edge and Jericho was it said that the plan was for Barrett to win and Cena vetoed it nor was it implied. All they said was that Cena was adamant about taking the ddt on the floor and they didn't think that was a good idea.

And let's not act like Barrett hasn't had multiple oppurtunites to succeed in the past 5 years. He's had more than a lot of people but every time you turn around he's hurt. To answer the question IMO is I guess no if KOTR still means anything but I don't believe it does yet and there's plenty of other guys (Rollins, Reigns, Orton, Authority Wyatt, Rusev, Cena when he drops the title, Lesnar when he's around) who I would assume would get a shot at the title before him as of now.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about Barrett not winning KOTR. I guess it goes to show that just because he was losing every IC title defense, a performer is only truly buried when he stops appearing on our TV screens.

Barrett was there, week in & week out. What Creative was trying to prove by making him a constant loser is beyond me.....but now he's King of the Ring, with all the goodies that come along with it.....and it can't be taken away until next year, whether he wins or loses his subsequent matches.

There's no business like show business.

 

[Soulblazed]

KOTR may be the shot in the arm his career needs. It's not a title he can lose, it's like winning the MITB or Royal Rumble or even the Andre The Giant Battle Royal, it's a cool little thing not many on the roster will get. For that reason, if nothing else, it makes him different and it's good.

I don't want them to play up the King stuff too much. I'm not even sure I want him to even continue using the "Bad News" moniker, he should really just start doing a totally different character with a different finisher and attitude.

Why shouldn't Barrett continue to deliver Bad News? In my post earlier, he can simply call himself The King Of Bad News. Simple, direct and it fits him..As for another finisher, being that he's a former bare-knuckle fighter, a left hook or straight right would be great new finishers for Barrett.

Also, WWE playing up Barrett being The King Of The Ring suits him to a T.. He's English, a great heel, etc hence why NOT play up the fact that he's not only the 2015 King Of The Ring but also, self-proclaimed "The King Of Bad News"? This is what could really elevate Barrett to the next level, here..Think about it.

 

[SoulTrain4]

"The King Of Bad News"

Sounds stupid. A Brit playing a royal gimmick is pretty much a stereotype. If he is KOTR like William Regal was, okay if he looks like Sheamus did when he won he will look ridiculous.

The King stuff was funny when Booker T did it because Booker is hilarious first of all, secondly it was funny because he changed everything about himself from his theme music to how he talked. He went overboard AND he was one of only two KOTRs who had a queen (the other being Randy Savage with Sherri).

There are a lot of guys that never played up the King stuff: Shamrock, Gunn, Edge, Lesnar, Regal, Steve Austin, HHH...

He doesn't need to wear a crown everywhere. He could just replace his shoulder thing with his royal robe and that's fine with me.

Very few people can pull off the King gimmick without looking stupid as shit.

 

[Soulblazed]

"The King Of Bad News"

Sounds stupid. A Brit playing a royal gimmick is pretty much a stereotype. If he is KOTR like William Regal was, okay if he looks like Sheamus did when he won he will look ridiculous.

The King stuff was funny when Booker T did it because Booker is hilarious first of all, secondly it was funny because he changed everything about himself from his theme music to how he talked. He went overboard AND he was one of only two KOTRs who had a queen (the other being Randy Savage with Sherri).

There are a lot of guys that never played up the King stuff: Shamrock, Gunn, Edge, Lesnar, Regal, Steve Austin, HHH...

He doesn't need to wear a crown everywhere. He could just replace his shoulder thing with his royal robe and that's fine with me.

Very few people can pull off the King gimmick without looking stupid as shit.

See, I'm talking about Barrett just amping it up in promos about being The King Of Bad News..Yea, obviously that name sounds stupid because it's meant to be stupid..This is wrestling, after all..I'm not saying that Barrett should dress up like a king everywhere he goes, etc

All I'm saying is that he could use that moniker to get more heat from the fans during his promos, NOT to make him a walking stereotype just because he's English. I agree with you about Barrett replacing the shoulder thing with the robe, by the way. I also agree that Barrett shouldn't look like Sheamus did after Sheamus won the King Of The Ring.