Wade Barrett. Is this time for real?

[Hakushi]

I really like Wade. His in-ring style is executed perfectly, very entertaining and believable. Although his "BNB" Character is my least favorite of his "Character tweaks" over the years, I was happy to see him get two strong matches in the IC Title Tournament. Was pleasantly surprised in his clean win over Sheamus and the crowds favorable reaction.
My question is: Is it for real this time? We have seen him in the beginning stages of pushes at least three times prior, all aborted. I know one had to do with a visa issue, but the others seemed like creative lost interest.

 

[IT Factor]

It is exactly the opposite with me. I hated his other gimmicks because he had zero personality at all. I always thought that Barrett had potential and worked well in the ring, though for his size he isn't strong enough. Admittedly, I hated Barrett until he debuted the Bad News gimmick which has kind of changed my mind on him. He gets hilarious, sarcastic, and witty one-liners and everything he does reinforces the whole "Bad News" thing. The mid-card is horrible and there are not many contenders in line for the WWE World Heavyweight title. So Barrett should be used at least in the mid-card or maybe even as a contender for the main titles.

 

[KitsuneDreamer]

Fist off, I missed the whole Nexus/Corre stuff and had no idea who Barrett was. The first I got to see of him was when he returned from injury and started calling his finisher the "Souvenir". But when I first saw him, I saw a future World Heavyweight Champion. Dude's got the tools, a commanding mic performance (brilliantly executed with his BNB quips at times), a great look, charisma, and is a believeable and certifiable badass.

His current BNB gimmick I feel has given him some longevity and a bit more hmm, I wouldn't say relatability, but his character is easier to gravitate to. I love this gimmick and always find myself saying "I've got some bad news".lol. I see the stars for the guy and hope he makes it.

Like the OP, I was pleasantly surprised by his victory over Sheamus, and now confident he will go all the way with the Intercontinental Championship.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

I really hope so. I've always been a fan and thought they never tried hard enough with him.

 

[JJ15776]

I really like Bad News Barrett. The "I'm afraid I've got some bad news" line is great, but I'm also a big fan of "Can I have some decorum please??" It's just a much cooler, more obnoxious version of Vickie's "excuse me!" And I love it.

But, honestly, I've been a big fan of him since the day he debuted as Jericho's rookie on NXT. He had the look, he had the charisma, and he could wrestle. He just had a presence, that "it" factor, right away. And I've been a fan of every character he's had since. Hopefully this is the one that sticks, like you said, the crowds always seem to lose interest. (I assume that's what you meant by creative, since creative just uses the people the crowds react to.) He just needs something to push him from solid midcarder to bonafide main eventer, and this just may be it.

 

[ajdb]

I thought Barrett had some potential during NXT, but really thought he'd get a good launch from being the Nexus leader for a while.

I got worried after that because he just seemed like everybody else.

However, this BNB thing is awesome. I'm really on board with this, have been even when he wasn't in the ring. He's good in the ring and Bad News Barrett is a timeless gimmick.

People live off of a catchphrase or two and make good careers.

I think Barrett will layeth the smackdown on RVD & Big E.'s candy @$$es to pick up some gold, and that's the bottom line...you get the picture.

 

[CyberPunk]

I sure hope so. I mean from the time I've seen him, he looks like he's meant for big things. I just think that he's been unlucky. Visa issues, injuries etc took a toll on his career. I don't think WWE lost faith in him, but everytime he returned, there was nothing for him.

It looks like WWE wants to bring some heat to IC title. This tournament has been perfectly executed thus far. I would just want some people to talk about how they want it more than anything else. And I really think Barrett is one of those who can use IC title to not only elevate himself, but the midcard.

I just hope that lady luck smiles upon him this time. He's got all the tools and its about time he got a relevant run in the midcard and upper midcard. If everything works out, I don't see why he can't be a main eventer in may be next 2 years.

 

[JWGunslinger]

It certainly seems as though he's set for a very solid push, he's had the talent all along but it seems creative has finally figured out their path for him. He's a hell of a talker and his ring work has gone from good to great since arriving on the scene with Nexus. I worried after the Corre days that he would fall completely to the wayside, it seemed like he had good support backstage but they simply didn't know what to do with him. During that time period I absolutely loved his feud with Orton on Smackdown, they had some of the more memorable matches in that time and told some great stories in the ring. Now after a pretty good amount of time having him just cut promos they've been getting him back in the spotlight with excellent showings in the ring, I'm a fan of Cesaro but I seriously hope him wins this Tournament. Even if he doesn't beat Big E this has just been great exposure for all the guys and either way I'm thinking/hoping it leads to him getting into the main event.

 

[lil steroid meat]

I hope so.

I always look forward to his promos, he is one of the few in the WWE with a true GIMMICK. And he is winning his way over with the fans.

I hope he wins the IC title and he definitely deserves to face Bryan for the WHC Title at a few of the B PPV's leading up to Summerslam.

 

[Headman]

One issue I'm concerned about is that it's his promos that got him over and ever since his in-ring return he's been doing fewer promos. He needs to start all of his matches on the scissor lift, deliver some "Bad news" then hit the ring. Without the cape preferably.

 

[whoopin' ass]

It is tough to say - it isn't like they haven't pushed him and then stopped before. Pretty much every time they tweak his gimmick we hear this is the start of something big and it fizzles quickly. I think the guy has tons of talent but I feel he may end up another victim of too many talents and not enough spots - could have been big if the timing was right but there is always someone newer(like Cesaro) who wwe can push instead and not have the baggage of a couple poor gimmicks.

 

[oldschool26]

Bout time they push him as a main eventer.
Would like to see Barrett win one of the brief cases
This year at M.I.B. with bray winning the other.

 

[BenChillin]

Dude got pyros for his entrance this week and beat Paul's Totino's Pizza Rolls spokesperson friend cleanly. He's going places. And I'm happy.

If Chris Hero can't rock the elbow to jaws then I'll let Barrett be my WWE guy and do it.

 

[BenChillin]

Bout time they push him as a main eventer.
Would like to see Barrett win one of the brief cases
This year at M.I.B. with bray winning the other.

Why would there be two briefcases?

And Jesus, Bray Wyatt with a briefcase? Come on man. That's so out of character and terrible to imagine.

 

[PingPongBundy]

I hope so too. Like most other people, and whoever denies it here is lying, I wasn't a fan of the BNB gimmick at first. Nobody was. I thought he was better than that. Also like everybody else, the gimmick has grown on me quite a bit. He just does it so well. Part of the reason is that you can tell he actually likes doing it. Anyway, I think he will come out on top. I originally thought Cesaro was a lock for the belt. After he lost, it became obvious that Barrett is going to win. I hope that he does.

 

[TheValeyard01]

I hope this is finally his big push. I've loved Barrett since he first arrived and I keep feeling that he could have done great things however with the 'BNB' gimmick I can really see it being the final one that works.

 

[deadman talking]

i have loved absolutely loved the guys look/bravado/promo skills since he first fronted the nexus. hated the rest of nexus though. the dude is gonna be a big star i believe, but things happen at times in wwe that you cant understand. should be a multi time world champ material for sure.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Imo, Barret should've been world champ by now. He literally has ALL the tools needed to succeed. He's good in the ring and has a nice repertoire. He's amazing on the mic and has a perfect manly voice ( slight homo ), he has the look, he has swagger. What more do you want.

But sadly after Cena was booked to bury him, literally and figuratively. Creative didn't find nothing for him and he has been irrelevant ever since. Let's not even begin to speak about "The Corre" and his infinite number of theme changes and w/e happened in between.

Even tho I praise him a lot, I must say overall, before the "Bad News Barret" gimmick, he was pretty stale, not as a person, cause he is very charismatic and such, but as a performer he had no gimmick or a defined personality. He was just "The irrelevant Nexus guy". This gimmick now is helping him showcase his charisma and mic skills once again.

Now, I'm very pleased that he will win the IC title, because its obvious RVD didnt, hence why Cesaro didn't win. But the IC title has been a curse for a lot of time now, so let's hope that now WWE having only 1 major title will encourage them to book the mid-card better.

My fingers crossed for mister Barret. I want this guy to be successful cause he has "it".

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I honestly have no idea. I'm actually a little reluctant to say one way or the other out of concern for jinxing the guy somehow. To be perfectly honest, I fully expected Cesaro to be the one facing Barrett next week in the finals of the tourney. I expected Cesaro to either go over Barrett or be cost the bout due to interference from Swagger. If it was the former, I'd expect Barrett to be in the mid-card picture for a bit continuing to rebuild his credibility while Cesaro became the new champ.

Now that is looks to be the latter, I see Cesaro ending things quickly with Swagger and maybe interfering in the finals next week that results in a fourway match for the title at Extreme Rules. I don't think Barrett will be winning the title, but I suspect that he, RVD, Cesaro & Big E will comprise the IC title picture for the next couple of months.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Why would there be two briefcases?

And Jesus, Bray Wyatt with a briefcase? Come on man. That's so out of character and terrible to imagine.

They had Sandow "make it his own", they could do the same w/ Wyatt. He could replace the briefcase with a small wicker basket with a pad lock on it that Rowan carries around.

Or he could cash it in the same night so he's not carrying it around for months (like Kane a few years back who would have looked equally absurd carrying around a briefcase)

 

[justinept]

But sadly after Cena was booked to bury him, literally and figuratively. Creative didn't find nothing for him and he has been irrelevant ever since. Let's not even begin to speak about "The Corre" and his infinite number of theme changes and w/e happened in between.

Anyone that thinks The Nexus should've gone over Cena in that program is being ridiculous. The Nexus, at that point, consisted of Barrett, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga and Darren Young with Michael McGuillicutty and Husky Harris joining near the end of it.

That's a pretty garbage group of wrestlers with only Barrett and Harris having any legitimate potential moving forward - and in the case of Harris, it took a complete makeover for that to be the case. The bottom line is that this group of rookies had no business being in the main event picture, and it would've been a complete joke for them to go over the face of the company at that point in time.

I can see why the WWE started this angle - why the Nexus immediately feuded with Cena. When the Nexus was formed, there were three guys with legitimate main event potential. Barrett and Skip Sheffield both had the look while Daniel Bryan seemingly had a strong enough following from his independent days to hold out hope that he could overcome the size disadvantage and get over. When that was the case, it made some sense for the group to go over Cena because he'd essentially be giving a 'rub' to three potential studs. Once Bryan was fired and Sheffield blew out his knee, it made a lot less sense. A top star can only give so many 'rubs' (hahahaha) before it stops meaning anything (see Jericho, Chris) so you have to use them carefully and cautiously. When the opportunity to put over three guys suddenly turned into an opportunity to just put over one guy, the potential reward wasn't nearly as great.

As for Barrett right now ... I'm skeptical. I love the gimmick, and I've always been a fan of his, but we've seen this dog and pony show before - the IC Title just doesn't mean anything. The hope is that an IC Title Tournament is the perfect recipe to bring some level of prestige back to the title. I've always been a believer that the contenders give the belt prestige as opposed to the champion. The more people vying to hold the belt, the more demand there is to be the champion, the move value the belt is perceived to have. In that regard, this tournament is adding prestige back to the belt ... but will it last?

If it does, then Barrett will succeed. If guys like Sheamus and Cesaro - two guys that could be in the WWE Title picture - start trying to take the belt off Barrett, then we could be in for a renaissance with the IC belt. But if we get the same garbage we've gotten over the past decade, if the IC Champion continues to work programs not centered around the title (see, Punk/Axel or Orton/Rhodes for recent examples), then the prestige of the belt will go back to zero.

 

[jaredsmith83]

I'm quickly becoming a fan of the Bad News Barrett run. He seems to be genuinely having fun with it. The only thing I have against him is trying to get people clapping while he's in the ring mouthing "Bad News' hahahahaha but as a whole, I hope this push will work out this time.

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

I'm quickly becoming a fan of the Bad News Barrett run. He seems to be genuinely having fun with it. The only thing I have against him is trying to get people clapping while he's in the ring mouthing "Bad News' hahahahaha but as a whole, I hope this push will work out this time.

The 'BAD NEWS' chants are amazing! How could you not like those?! In all seriousness though, totally agree, he looks like he enjoys the gimmick and its made him much more enjoyable to watch as a result. Always supported him as he is British but he was very stale for a good while before this gimmick change.

 

[kadroan]

I really like Wade. His in-ring style is executed perfectly, very entertaining and believable. Although his "BNB" Character is my least favorite of his "Character tweaks" over the years, I was happy to see him get two strong matches in the IC Title Tournament. Was pleasantly surprised in his clean win over Sheamus and the crowds favorable reaction.
My question is: Is it for real this time? We have seen him in the beginning stages of pushes at least three times prior, all aborted. I know one had to do with a visa issue, but the others seemed like creative lost interest.

I like Wade too. Unfortunately, I think he's heading to another standstill. He's about to tie Kofi in IC title reigns and we see how that went for Kofi.

Until somebody like Orton, Batista, Sheamus hold the IC title like Jericho and Rey did a few years ago, I doubt anything major will come out of the IC title division

 

[MCMG]

This is hopefully his time. He is a good wrestler and is a strong speaker. The Bad News segments are entertaining and he is great at conveying his message.

Barrett can be a main-event level superstar. I'm certain of that. He is fantastic at getting heat as a heel and he can be amongst the top names. Evolution are at the top and Bray is feuding with Cena. I'd say there is only one or two heels left that warrant a spot over Barrett in terms a World Title shot.

It seems he is getting more popular too. It may only be popularity like Ziggler but cheers are cheers and if that leads to merch sales and whatnot then the WWE can benefit. I don't think Barrett should win the IC title, it will take him nowhere. Barrett could easily be wrestling Bryan for the belt and I'm sure it would be a good match. Hell, they are coming to the UK in few weeks; that would be some Raw main-event.