Wade Barrett Falling Further And Further Into The Abyss

[closet_fan]

When Wade Barrett broke off from Nexxus/Corre, many thought he'd be the next big superstar.. He had a pretty good feud with Randy Orton on Smackdown. He missed some time due to that elbow injury, but came back with a whole new attitude, theme song, etc. Still, the crowd couldn't get into him.

Going into last night's match against RVD, I was sure there was no way they would have him lose. RVD should be brought in to help others get over. But sure enough, RVD beat him cleanly.

Wrestlers have ebbs and flows in their careers, but Wade has yet to be on any sort of streak. Should we believe Barrett is simply re-paying his dues and will eventually be brought back up again or did he reach his peak in his Orton feud?

 

[wrestler36]

Yeah, he'll get his shot. Most superstars go through these phases. When he was going through that feud with Orton, Randy was jobbing alot to other people fairly. He'll get on a hot streak soon. He's proven to be a well spoken leader and will be a top heel either by the end of the year or early next.

 

[chetdawg]

One of the big problems regarding Barrett for me, was his theme song prior to this one. It was so pathetically bad that there was just no way i could take him seriously. He is half decent in the ring, has a good look and really should be in the upper tier of wrestlers.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Does it really matter? People expect more from Barrett because he was headlining against Orton & Cena several months after his debut. But I've never seen anything from him that suggests he deserves a massive push. He's competent at most things, great at absolutely nothing.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's hard to say with Barrett. For me at least, it's difficult not to think that WWE officials just aren't as high on him as they once were. Had he not gotten injured and put on the shelf last year, the odds are highly favorable that he'd have won the World Heavyweight Championship due to being, reportedly, penciled in to win a planned MITB match at WrestleMania. Those plans were scrapped, obviously.

When he won the IC title very late last year, I was optimistic and things went well for about the first month before heading south. Beginning on the post Royal Rumble Raw, WWE proceeded to bury Wade Barrett and the IC title. He was frequently jobbed out to bigger stars like Orton or Sheamus while often losing non-title matches, including several to The Miz. Couple that with Barrett's 1st run and you're looking at someone who has possibly gotten the least career momentum in WWE history from being Intercontinental Champion.

It's too bad because, in my opinion, Barrett's got a lot of talent and I think still has a somewhat slight chance of recovering. However, I can't help but think that Barrett's ship may have sailed as he simply nowhere remotely close to getting a push.

 

[mikejrtaylor]

I don't really see a whole lot in Barrett quite honestly. I can think of a number of talents I'd prefer to see pushed into a top spot over him. He's certainly not terrible but I don't think he's particularly great either.

As for last night, I didn't see him beating RVD. RVD is just back and I imagine WWE will build him up a little with a few wins before using him to put over younger talent.

It doesn't seem WWE are as high on him as they once were that's for sure. I can't see him being pushed anytime soon.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Wade Barrett is sort of a weird situation. He started off hot with Nexus. But then Corre was a complete and total bust. Then he broke off on his own and wasn't doing bad, but got injured. When he came back his first promo, being "open for business," sounded intriguing. That storyline was dropped. Now he's one of the most consistent jobbers out there. The fact that you actually thought he was going to win against RVD is hilarious in its own right.

The issues with Wade Barrett have been both his fault and WWE's. First off, he's pretty generic. Nothing about him really stands out except his accent. He's got an OK look, but it could use a bit of improvement. I think the only more generic heel was Cody Rhodes, who's no longer a heel. He's pretty decent on the mic, but since he's jobbing now he doesn't get to use that anymore. Even when he was doing good he still came off pretty uncharismatic. He just rarely gave you a reason to care about him. In terms of in ring, he's just fine. No real issues except with his Wasteland finisher which has since been changed. However his Bullhammer Elbow isn't that great either. Would've been more fitting though if they kept his street fighter gimmick.

However, the WWE is clearly at fault here too. First off, he hasn't had a decent theme song since Nexus. I mean, they have all been awful. Not "oh I hate this heel" awful either. They're "I would change the radio station if this song came on" awful. That's one thing they just can't seem to get right with him. Secondly, they really screwed up by dropping his "open for business" storyline. My impression (because it ended after the first promo) is that he would be basically a mercenary for hire, used to take out people that he's paid to take out. That could've worked for someone like him, especially since they were playing the street fighter gimmick. Maybe it would've worked. Maybe not. But it at least would've been interesting for a little while and would've had a chance to get him over.

All in all, I won't call Wade Barrett a lost cause because he still has a lot of potential. But currently, he's right where he belongs. And it's going to be up to him to make them change his status.

 

[Miko]

Since Dagger so kindly deleted my original post; Wade Barrett is a poor man's Brutus Magnus because he is in not compelling or interesting. Whereas the mighty Magnus is both of those things, hence why one is in a faction called Main Event Mafia (get that? Main Event) and Wade Barrett isn't in a faction called Main Event Mafia.

 

[bioshock]

Barrett is going enough in ring, and on the mic, along with his look, that his time will come and he will be a top bill star. And its not all about what they are doing now. I mean look at Sheamus, hes a past WWE and World champion, plus after WM29 he was on a hot streak winning every match he was in, plus beat Henry in a strap match, and now hes been jobbing to Bryan and Del Rio. So it happens to the best of em. Barretts time will come, hes the kind of guy I wouldn't worry about.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He's been Swagger'd

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=255431&highlight=

I wonder what it's like for a poor guy/gal when it's explained to them that their promised push has either ended.....or is never going to materialize. Can you imagine how awful it must be to get called into the office and told these things? Or do they not talk to you at all, just letting you figure it out for yourself in the way you're now being booked?

I thought Wade was going to hit it big with his "Fight Club" persona. I figured he had the presence and style to be a world champion some time in the future.

Doesn't seem that way anymore, does it?

Hopefully, they'll someday find a gimmick that's perfect for him; something that vaults him to the top.

Until that day comes..........Swagger'd.

 

[newwaveknight]

Does it really matter? People expect more from Barrett because he was headlining against Orton & Cena several months after his debut.

See, this is the mistake that the WWE made with Barrett, and has made with superstars in the past. Wade Barrett caught on with the fans with the whole Nexus angle (he personally caught on with me when he made his "Winds of Change" promo on NXT, and I pulled a solid mark-out), but wasn't allowed time to slowly build. Instead, he was immediately main-eventing against guys like Orton and Cena, who were (at the time) some of the company's top two draws.

Should we believe Barrett is simply re-paying his dues and will eventually be brought back up again or did he reach his peak in his Orton feud?

Of course, we should believe it. That's what happens when you re-package someone. They're essentially trying to give this guy a clean slate after the Nexus angle fell flatter than Biz Markie's singing and the Corre angle that resulted in him being jobbed to guys like Asperger's Favorite Superstar (commonly known as Santino). They're trying to undo the bad booking that they initially did with him because they believe (and I believe) he can be a big deal in the WWE.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Barrett is yet another example of a star who suffered from being pushed WAY too hard, WAY too fast. He won NXT Season 1, and was immediately headlining Pay-Per-Views against guys like John Cena, Sheamus, and Randy Orton, and getting three consecutive WWE Championship matches. The crowd got sick of him, because he was a nobody who was inexplicably thrust into the main event picture for no reason. Really, Barrett never paid his dues, so he's paying them now. When he's done, I see Barrett getting another major push.

 

[JVel]

He's been Swagger'd

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=255431&highlight=

I wonder what it's like for a poor guy/gal when it's explained to them that their promised push has either ended.....or is never going to materialize. Can you imagine how awful it must be to get called into the office and told these things? Or do they not talk to you at all, just letting you figure it out for yourself in the way you're now being booked?

I thought Wade was going to hit it big with his "Fight Club" persona. I figured he had the presence and style to be a world champion some time in the future.

Doesn't seem that way anymore, does it?

Hopefully, they'll someday find a gimmick that's perfect for him; something that vaults him to the top.

Until that day comes..........Swagger'd.

Sad thing is, the fight club gimmick had a ton of potential. After his open for business promo, they could have used him with his new look, attitude, etc and had him work like a hired gun, especially for someone like say Del Rio.

But then they just...stopped doing much with him. He was just kind of there and never given a program to work with.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Barret's problem is of his own making - he made a comment in an interview for Dead Man Down about getting out at 40... he's 35 pushing 36...

So with a years build, WWE would according to his reckoning get a 3 year return on their investment, then a wind down phase...

Of course, it's probably out of context and he does had a pretty life changing injury he's had to deal with already, but that one comment added to that injury is the source of his ills trust me... They WERE sure ready last March to pull the trigger - he did the decent thing and saved Ziggler from basic death (his neck was going right into that barrier) and nearly lost his arm (meaningfully for wrestling) and defo lost MITB... Then they give him the IC, a new push and a part in a movie that did ok, and he says he wants out in less than 5 years? No way they're pushing him ahead of guys like Cody, Cesaro, Sandow who have longer than that in the E already or on the Indy's busting their ass to get there.

It's a slip, they'll forgive him but JR's recent jibe about "showing you want it" in his blog is quite important for Barrett - he has "IT", he knows it, Vince/Trips know it, but what does he want to do with it - be Razor Ramon or be the next CM Punk (he certainly has the mic skills)

To be honest, at this point I say make him face - If they're really not gonna bring Harry Smith back then make him the UK's "sweetheart" - if American fans hate him then they can rehash the Bret stuff - heel isn't working for him anymore, so let him tap into his nation's energy and will for a British champ (Sheamus don't count, he's Irish - but a perfect feud once he gets it)

 

[Kliq69]

You can only push so many people at one time. If you're pushing everyone to the top of the card all the time, who exactly is the undercard?

The top of the card is bloated already.

Locks: Cena, Punk, any big name part timers (taker, hhh, lesnar, rock, etc)
One step down: Orton, Sheamus, ADR
On the way: Bryan, Ziggler, Ryback
Getting there: Rhodes, Sandow
Vets: Kane, Show, RVD, Jericho, Henry
Fallen stars: Miz (beat Cena, as a heel, in the main event at Mania, that alone trumps most accomplishments).

Where does Barrett fit in? Is he as talented as Bryan or Ziggler? Absolutely not. Does he have the freak size/strength of Ryback? Does he have the multiple world title runs to point to like Orton, ADR, or Sheamus?

Barrett is bland. He has no real character outside of being a heel foreigner. His promos don't have direction, he seems to have no intensity in his delivery. His finisher is weak. His matches are above average at best (and with the recent string of good matches lately from other guys looks average or worse in comparison). Without the Nexus, he's not really been interesting. He tried to play a tough street fighter from the UK, does the mean streets of london sound anywhere near as intimidating as brooklyn? I think Dan Henderson showed just how tough fighters from the UK are when he made Bisping his bitch.

As far as what to do with him... Who knows. Pairing him up with Coulter might give him a chance to succeed. Especially if they had a couple more foreign heels to add in. Really though, I'm not concerned with him.

Bryan, Cesaro, and several guys in NXT are much better than him in the ring, a lot of guys are better on the mic. Barrett had his chance to cement himself as a upper tier guy and for one reason or another didn't get the job done.

In the attitude era, you had Austin, Taker, Rock, Foley, and HHH feuding over the title, throw in Jericho, Show, and Angle in the latter part. You had Eddie and Benoit when they jumped ship as just below world title contenders and the rest of the roster were below them. Sure you had Kane for a little while as well, but that didn't last.

Top guys are top guys for a reason, generally there is only so much room at the top. You can't have an entire roster filled with main eventers as not every position on the card is a main event. Why is Barrett above the US or IC title? Why is he above being an enhancement talent? Is he really that special?

 

[Da Solo]

First thing is: this Barrett sucks. Let's forget about what it seemed like or what it could have been and focus on what it is. Bare Knuckle Barrett with the beard and the roughness is not up to par with Cesarean Barrett leading rookies into battle. He had charisma as the Nexus/Corre leader and seemed like a natural leader. Hell, he helped Otunga look like a legitimate competitor, and that says a lot considering the Otunga we see now is actually an improvement on what was once much shittier. The only improvement he made was the advent of the Bull-Hammer, which isn't enough.

Second, his booking sucks, which isn't his fault, per se. He got injured on the road to an MiTB victory, yet he comes back to fight jobbers. Getting into the IC title scene was a setback as well; it was in the middle of one of Kofi's pushes as champion, and even when he won the title he still seemed background to the former champion for a good while. Then he did nothing with the title whatsoever, then he did the switch with Miz, which I didn't mind but was so thrown together, then he gets beat by Kofi again which might have seemed like just another champion v champion match but it clearly put the IC title background to the US for Dean Ambrose's push, and then he fades into the background. Totally misused.

Third, he is VERY inconsistent. He has God-given talent, no doubt, and when he harnesses that it's a beautiful thing, but you can tell when he's phoning it in, which seems to be whenever he does his round of jobbing (which EVERYONE gets at some point, don't get it twisted). That's unacceptable, you have to be on point at all times, prove you deserve better, and he isn't doing that.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

The only thing I can say about Wade Barrett is that all of his charisma that he has shown as the Nexus leader has seemingly vanished with his "End of Days" theme song. This bare-knuckle fighter gimmick just isn't cutting it for him. He's too serious and it's hard to get behind him. Now, that might not be as bad if he were beating top guys, but since that's not the case, he's got nothing working in his favour. While his bullhammer finisher does look like it could legitimately knock out opponents upon impact, I was a fan of his Wasteland finisher and thought he came into his own with that. I also hate this theme song of his. I find it silly with the b-b-b-b-b-b-oom crap. I just don't see this gimmick taking him anywhere. He reminds me of Drew McIntyre in a way. Similar fates. Perhaps the enhancement talent role is better suited for him as it is for Drew. Unless these guys decide to step out of their comfort zones and say enough is enough and vastly improve their in-ring work ethics, I don't see and expect "winds of change."

 

[cm ben]

Much like poster New Wave Knight, I've been rooting for Barrett ever since that awesome "Winds of Change" promo on the first season of NXT. To recap: NXT was often cringe-worthy, as you watched aspiring pro-wrestlers drown on their way to reach their dreams. Barrett managed to largely avoid that throughout the show and ended up looking really cool.

I don't think that the "pushed too fast" argument is necessarily true. Recently, I think Sheamus, Alberto del Rio, and Jack Swagger had really boring title reigns that weren't given an appropriate amount of build. However, I think if the Nexus angle had been booked differently--if they had taken some more risks with the various stipulations, and allowed Barrett to find a few more chinks in Cena's armor--things could be a lot better for Barrett. Among those changes, I actually would have had him become WWE Champ during the Nexus days [I think he should have won the match against Orton, where Cena was guest ref].

Why? Well, first of all, to show the dominance of Nexus. Second of all, I think Barrett deserved it--he "took the ball and ran with it." Also, he'd be an ex-champion now, which always makes you at least somewhat of a threat in the WWE. To tie into this thread, I don't think that he would be stuck in low/mid-card hell now. He'd be solidly placed in the upper mid-card, even after losing the title (sort of like where Sheamus is now, I guess). Barrett's run would have been pretty much guaranteed to be interesting, too, because the Nexus angle was so damn good. That is, he would not have had to carry the belt alone--he had a backing cast of his NXT cronies, the tortured protagonist Cena, and wildcards in Orton and returning Daniel Bryan.

Sorry for rambling, but I think they dropped the ball with Barrett and Nexus in general, even more than they've dropped the ball with other things that they've dropped the ball on.

 

[chicagokmc]

It's too late now because we already have too many stables, but I would go outside of the box and put Barrett, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre together as a "UK" faction, maybe even managed by Regal. All of those guys, even Sheamus, are sort of spinning around right now. Barrett/McIntyre would be the tag team guys and Sheamus the one going for a World title. But with the Heyman guys, the Shield, the Wyatts, the real Americans and 3MB, just too many heel groups now.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I think it's safe to say Barrett's done. Lots of guys fade away into obscurity, and well, Barrett has become one of those guys. WWE really tried to push the "Bare Knuckle Brawler" side of his character with the video promos, when he came back from the injury, but it never caught on with the fans.

Barrett's competent on the mic, but as character? He's very dull and boring. I just think back to Punk's promo the other night, Bryan in the ring with Maddox and Cena, and well, I've never seen that one promo that really stood out from Barrett. So I think we're starting to reach the point, where we have to accept Barrett just isn't that good, because if Barrett was going to show a sign or flash of good or great things to come, we would've seen it by now.

The last time I can remember Barrett having any momentum is when he beat Cena at the HIAC pay per view a few years ago. But Nexus was still hot back then, and when Punk took over, Barrett's downward spiral started. They tried to resurrect some of that momentum with The Corre, but The Corre was just a hollow, pitiful shell of what Nexus used to be.

Barrett will probably bounce around the mid card. Hell, he might land a spot in one of the MITB matches next year, but he's not getting anywhere near the WWE title or WHC anytime soon.

 

[blindman]

The thing with Barrett is it feels like he has 3 conflicting characters, for his songs they been changed so much you don't know what to think. His moves and attire look like he is still doing the Barrett Barrage, yet he has this Bare knuckles fighter gimmick and the look for it too.

Maybe if he does more hooks and jabs the gimmick catch on more, they also should have him keep a theme song so people get used to it. He Also was injured so that kinda started this fall from grace.

I liked Barrett pre-gimmick change more, still he could be up there with Del Rio just a tweak and some faith from creative.

 

[TempestH]

I don't think the problem is with Barrett so much as it is WWE as a whole. WWE has neglected the midcard so badly that they've created the mindset that midcarder = jobber. So the only way a Superstar can look strong is if they're shoved into the main event or into programs with main event talent. A guy gets pushed to the moon, has a big time feud with a top level guy, and then once that's over, they just flounder around. And once a guy has been in the main event, or competed for a World Title, it looks like a big step down when they're not. That's what's happened to Barrett. WWE just has too many "main eventers" (guys who are supposed to be top contenders in kayfabe) on the roster.

Instead of trying to get people over on all levels of the card, WWE will try to put anyone they're high on into the upper tier, leading to a bloated main event scene and a shitty midcard. And the REAL midcarders end up looking like jobbers because they have to lose a lot just to maintain the pretense that guys like Barrett are still "big deals".

 

[MattRhys20]

I have said this time and time again to my friends, my articles that I write and my podcast that I do, but Barrett is being WASTED by WWE.

For reasons that I don't know, but Americans always perceive the British as 'the bad guy' (if you want a bad guy in Hollywood, you call Alan Rickman etc). Tell me ONE WWE superstar that does the heel role better than Wade Barrett in terms of his mannerisms. Did you hear him on Raw Monday night when the crowd was chanting 'RVD, RVD, RVD'? Wade was there shouting at them 'WHO, WHO, SHUTUP'. Del Rio doesn't do that, Sandow kinda does it with his 'SILENCE!!!', but other than that nobody does the bad guy better than him.

When he was IC Champion, his phrases in the ring were superb. AFter beating Kofi Kingston one week, he shouted at one of the ringside guys 'Give me my bloody title, WAKE UP YOU MORON'.

Is he the top heel in WWE? No, that honour goes to Del Rio because of the way he's booked. But who is the BEST heel in WWE? Preston's own WADE BARRETT.

WWE have a great talent here, but they are just simply too scared to use him

 

[MCMG]

Wade Barrett is solid in the ring; good on the mic and has a decent gimmick. I don't see why he doesn't deserve a push. You don't need to be a mix of HBK, The Rock and The Undertaker to be given a push to the top of the card.

He is a bad-guy and when Del Rio is the WWE's top heel, I think it is fairly obvious that they should be looking elsewhere. I'm sure that in a few months they will be shoving the just-turned heel Big Show down our throats even though Wade Barrett is capable of being in feuds at the top of the card.

He has the talent to be the number one heel on the roster, I am sure of that.

 

[Starkist]

Wade has the look but that's about it. He isn't very appealing to to many people. He is big with already having over five theme songs. Clearly his character direction always ends up on the floor to be swept under the rug where it is to be totally forgotten about.

Wade is decent on the mic, great in the ring but he has the Alberto Del Rio syndrome. He just cannot get fully over. He should be over, that is what everyone here thinks. Fact is, he is not. He is just there lost in the shuffle. It sucks, the Barrett Barrage gimmick had tons of potential until it shattered into a million piece. It makes me wonder if Wade has broken a mirror recently. He sure has not had good luck this past year and a half.

If Wade was ever to go to TNA, he should team with Jay Bradley. Those two have almost the same style. It could work well as Bradley reminds me of Barrett.