Wade Barrett: Lost potential or Practical solution?

[Mustang Sally]

As fans, we don't spend time & money pushing wrestlers and most of us probably don't have a sense of WWE's frustration and wasted effort when a performer in the middle of a push gets injured or leaves the company and causes the momentum of the program to falter.

Such is the problem with Wade Barrett. As has been documented, every time he seems well on the way to a company-generated boost to his career, the guy gets badly hurt and is on the sidelines for an extended period of time, thereby wasting all the creative effort put forth on his behalf.

The man has ability and a presence that makes you pay attention to him, yet I wonder if a major title eludes him because of his tendency to get hurt. By now, the company seems afraid to build anything important around Wade. Instead, Creative sticks him with the King of the Ring nonsense, which always struck me as a way to feature a guy that is a talented wrestler with a penchant for comedy. (What? We aren't supposed to find a grown man parading around with a robe and scepter funny?)

In Wade's case, I find KOTR a way to give a talented performer a gimmick while putting him in a position in which another injury wouldn't damage any creative plans. After all, if he goes to the sidelines again with injury, nothing is hurt. As well, if he loses a match, what is he really losing? He's still KOTR, isn't he? He's going nowhere, yet looking flashy while doing it which, imo, doesn't befit a man of Barrett's ability.

Personally, I think it's a shame for Wade's career path......yet understandable on WWE's part. Being injury-prone sucks.

Does anyone agree? Or is Wade less talented than some think? Or is there some other reason for making him King of the Ring that I'm not seeing?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Yeah, I have to agree. I do think that Barrett's career has been sidelined by unfortunate injuries that've resulted in management being wary of really giving him a strong, significantly solidified push. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call the guy injury prone, though his injuries have been certainly ill timed and have resulted in him being out for long enough that others have been pushed in his stead; the show must go on after all and Barrett, while talented and over, hasn't been over to the level that enough fans have raged that he hasn't gotten the big sustained push they feel he deserves.

KOTR always did strike me as a means of getting someone on television and keeping them there in something of a flashy way without assigning too much relevance to it. It's been used to propel wrestlers higher up the card but in almost all of those cases, those wrestlers won the tourney but were never really saddled with the "King" gimmick. One of the few exceptions was when Randy Savage became the "Macho King"; even though he never looked more ridiculous, the gimmick propelled him further up the ladder and he did win the WWF Championship roughly half a year later.

Guys like Don Muraco, Harley Race, Tito Santana, Ken Shamrock, Billy Gunn, William Regal and a few others never really got anything out of it, so KOTR has never really been this consistent level of success.

 

[Aquaman6686]

In my opinion, what killed Wade Barrett was the Nexus. The Nexus pushed Barrett, an untested and unready rookie, into main event spots he was nowhere NEAR ready for. He headlined PPV after PPV after PPV, and challenged for the WWE Championship over and over again, despite being nowhere near a big enough star for that push. It also gave Barrett an impossible standard to live up to, since he started right off feuding against main event talents. Barrett was never able to recapture the interest of many casual fans, since he started as a main eventer and was then dropped down the card.

I'm a big fan of Barrett, but I don't think he's a main event talent performer. He's a great upper midcard guy and that's where he belongs.

 

[Prince Vee]

I've posted about Wade Barrett over and over again. You can just see how much I love him from my Signature. But personally, I don't think it's not just his injuries that eludes his opportunity from him to become a Top star. The gimmick Bad News Barrett was the top notch of how career but for unknown reasons WWE scripts it off completely.

He must've grudged some of the backstage officials or some creative team or who knows even might've messed with the boss. They're obviously screwing him over and over again since the time he returned. Multiple losses to the jobber for life R-Truth? Seriously!?

Its really a shame where his career is going right now. He's the guy with all the potential one can ask. But not the guy for WWE it seems.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He must've grudged some of the backstage officials or some creative team or who knows even might've messed with the boss. They're obviously screwing him over and over again since the time he returned. Multiple losses to the jobber for life R-Truth? Seriously!?

I agree with the R-Truth stuff, yet if Wade angered people backstage, why feature him at all? Since he returned, he won & lost the Intercontinental Title and won the King of the Ring tournament......which doesn't sound like someone being de-pushed, but rather someone of ability whom they're afraid to invest heavily for fear he'll leave them in the lurch again, through no fault of his own.

 

[Kamala316]

Wade Barrett, like Dolph Ziggler, has been injury prone throughout his career. And we know that WWE won't (fully) push anyone that can't stay healthy. Barrett's great on the mic, has gotten himself in phenomenal shape (how many abs do you really need?), and has improved his in-ring work (work in progress). Like many of you, I also don't understand how he's gone from winning King of the Ring to jobbing. Hopefully, Barrett can prove he can stay healthy and earn the push to the top of the card.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Wade Barrett, like Dolph Ziggler, has been injury prone throughout his career. And we know that WWE won't (fully) push anyone that can't stay healthy. Barrett's great on the mic, has gotten himself in phenomenal shape (how many abs do you really need?), and has improved his in-ring work (work in progress). Like many of you, I also don't understand how he's gone from winning King of the Ring to jobbing. Hopefully, Barrett can prove he can stay healthy and earn the push to the top of the card.

Great, another guy drinking Vince's "Dolph Ziggler is injury-prone!" Kool-Aid. Ziggler has been on the main roster since 2008 (2006 if you count the Spirit Squad) and has missed literally about a month of that time due to injury. You say WWE won't (fully) push anyone that can't stay healthy? Roman Reigns has already missed more time in three years than Ziggler has in seven. Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, Undertaker, Kane, Batista...virtually every top star in WWE history has missed big chunks of time due to injury, with Chris Jericho being a rare exception. If anything, Dolph Ziggler is one of the LEAST injury-prone guys on the roster. It's a bull$h!t excuse and you know it.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

I'm completely and utterly confused honestly. Yeah, I know he's had injuries, but Wade Barrett is one of the BEST Talents on the Roster. He can wrestle big guys, little guys, and medium sized-guys w/o changing his style and he's phenomenal on the Mic. His moveset is among the best in WWE as well. I think this King gimmick is really over the top and that they should have stuck w/the King of Bad News schick. Barrett was never more over than when he had the BNB gimmick. Why they didn't adapt the King gimmick along w/the Bad News gimmick makes absolutely no sense. BAD CREATIVE as far as I'm concerned. Barrett has the LOOK of a World Champion. Not to mention the guy is a bareknuckle brawler. He's one of the few you can book to go toe-to-toe w/Brock Lesnar and he's booked like a chump. I hope he and Stardust win at SummerSlam because they are 2 of the most underutilized talents on the roster.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think this King gimmick is really over the top and that they should have stuck w/the King of Bad News schick.

Agreed, but that's really the point of this thread; whether Wade is KOTR or Bad News....and whether he wins or loses his matches in either identity......WWE's creative direction isn't influenced if he suffers another injury.....because that's how they're now booking him. The company is afraid to build around Barrett because he keeps getting knocked out of action just when he's building steam.

Yes, it might not seem fair, but all sports teams have the same problem. A guy/gal might be a great player, but what good are they doing the team if constantly sitting out with injury?

Presumably, if Wade can stay injury-free for a while, WWE will give him another shot at big-time success......but if the same thing happens, we shouldn't be shocked if he doesn't keep his job.

Sorry to say.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's partially the injury prone side - but remember this is the guy who about 3 years ago flat out said he was "done in 5 years" and out the company... he may have realised he wants it more since then, but his own words may have damned him as it's not logical to push someone who isn't giving you 5-7 years ON TOP after the push which takes 1-2 years...

With his injuries, Barrett may be out sooner than that (yes through no fault of his own) but as he had planned to be out anyway - midcard is where he stays. Not a waste if used right, but like a Barry Windham, Scott Hall, Jake Roberts or Roddy Piper, the full potential was never used.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Personally I think the whole injury prone thing is a bit overplayed. Like I'm sure most of you remembers the big name stars of the attitude era (like the ones named in Aquaman's post) that have been out for many months yet came back to their top spots soon after their return. Even Cena has missed more time than Barrett ever had yet he's still the #1 guy in the company. So why is it ok that they stay forever known as the famous main eventers of a era while Barrett should stay in the midcard despite missing much less time?

It's a dangerous business and everyone has a risk of injury so WWE's taking a chance with everyone they push. Sure they can/do try to take precautions but injuries will happen no matter what so it's not like they can push absolutely nobody. Besides what's more important than anything else is talent and the ability to make money, and Barrett has plenty of both if used right. The only times injury should be a major issue is if someone gets injured so often they shouldn't be wrestling anymore(like Corey Graves sadly) or they are so reckless that they're causing injury to themselves and/or to others, and since Barrett doesn't fall in either category he's clearly lost potential imo.

Also Woot 500th post.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

You really can't blame his blown pushes to injury...plenty of WWE's Superstars have had storylines pick right back up after coming back from injury or even seem stronger than ever or improved after coming back from IR.

Wade Barrett's career has been a rollercoaster of pushes and false pushes. If he is to be taken seriously again, bring back Bad News Barrett and let the guy have some HIGH profile matches on a PPV. How many PPV's in a row has this poor man had to fight in the pre-show ? He's a 100 times better than the pre-show. If they are so scared of putting a title around his waste then at least let the guy have some serious feuds with the upper card at least....create the illusion that he's a threat to a belt or a family-union -authority.... .

Give him the European Championship.

 

[kadroan]

As fans, we don't spend time & money pushing wrestlers and most of us probably don't have a sense of WWE's frustration and wasted effort when a performer in the middle of a push gets injured or leaves the company and causes the momentum of the program to falter.

Such is the problem with Wade Barrett. As has been documented, every time he seems well on the way to a company-generated boost to his career, the guy gets badly hurt and is on the sidelines for an extended period of time, thereby wasting all the creative effort put forth on his behalf.

The man has ability and a presence that makes you pay attention to him, yet I wonder if a major title eludes him because of his tendency to get hurt. By now, the company seems afraid to build anything important around Wade. Instead, Creative sticks him with the King of the Ring nonsense, which always struck me as a way to feature a guy that is a talented wrestler with a penchant for comedy. (What? We aren't supposed to find a grown man parading around with a robe and scepter funny?)

In Wade's case, I find KOTR a way to give a talented performer a gimmick while putting him in a position in which another injury wouldn't damage any creative plans. After all, if he goes to the sidelines again with injury, nothing is hurt. As well, if he loses a match, what is he really losing? He's still KOTR, isn't he? He's going nowhere, yet looking flashy while doing it which, imo, doesn't befit a man of Barrett's ability.

Personally, I think it's a shame for Wade's career path......yet understandable on WWE's part. Being injury-prone sucks.

Does anyone agree? Or is Wade less talented than some think? Or is there some other reason for making him King of the Ring that I'm not seeing?

I'm a Barrett fan. It's unfortunate how they book them but I don't blame them. I guess Barrett just have to prove them wrong that he can stay healthy for a long time. I'm sure they'll give him another IC title reign. Sooner or later he's going to break Jericho's record but I couldn't put him in the argument of being greatest IC champion of all-time.

 

[Navi]

I love Barrett and think it kind of sucks that he takes one step forward and two steps back.

Don't think it's the injury thing either. If that was the case why is Sheamus the MITB holder. He's been out just as much if not more than Barrett has. I just think they don't really know what to do with Barrett. Maybe he needs a face turn, because that's really the only thing he hasn't done yet.

I could see a face Barrett having some epic matches with a heel Sheamus. But instead they handed him that stupid KOTR gimmick, which has done nothing for him at all.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I love Barrett and think it kind of sucks that he takes one step forward and two steps back.

Don't think it's the injury thing either. If that was the case why is Sheamus the MITB holder. He's been out just as much if not more than Barrett has. I just think they don't really know what to do with Barrett. Maybe he needs a face turn, because that's really the only thing he hasn't done yet.

I could see a face Barrett having some epic matches with a heel Sheamus. But instead they handed him that stupid KOTR gimmick, which has done nothing for him at all.

...and the mysterious part is, they advertised this new KOTR event for a special Network show and Wade Barrett won the tournament and was crowned the KOTR. Since then he's done nothing but fight in the lowest of low cards ...pre show matches...had a dumb feud with R-Truth were he lost multiple matches to the guy. What is the point of winning the KOTR ?

The KOTR used to be kind of important...it launched Stone Cold Steve Austin right into the attitude era and endless Austin 3:16 T-Shirts by coining a famous phrase towards Jake the Snake Roberts. It started out important as well during Harley Race's time with it...the crown was - WON - and passed around like it was The Intercontinental Championship.

If they want to make it serious again ..the KOTR winner should get an automatic World Title Shot at The Royal Rumble. Make the KOTR PPV important again and eliminate the lame TLC PPV that comes before The Royal Rumble.

P.S - Also eliminate Hell in a Cell PPV and replace it with Halloween Havoc !

 

[L@RISANO]

Ideally he could be a Top Heel in the company and probably should be the one holding the Money in the Bank briefcase and getting ready to be the new Authority poster boy when Seth Rollins has his face turn.


However, as has been mentioned, his penchant for being unlucky with injuries more than anything, means that perhaps WWE has lost some patience with him and has now decided to move onto pushing the newer guys in town such as Reigns, Rollins, Wyatt, Ambrose and Owens, amongst a few others.
It sucks for him, and given his build and abilities, I can't help but think how great he would have been as part of the Authority in Kane's role, for instance, and such a role would have been entertaining and worth it without a doubt.


As it stands, I can't quite see a big push(as a Heel preferably) on the horizon for him and whilst I'd love to see one happen within the next year, I really think Barrett is a case of time passing him by. Cruel, but that's just the way it is, I'm afraid...

 

[BrutalBarrett]

He's not injury prone in the sense of injuring himself while pulling off his move set or selling someone else's moves.

He's unfortunate that his injuries are due to other superstars sloppiness that could of been avoided if they performed the moves/stunt correctly in the first place.

I hope WWE haven't gave up on a big upper card or main event push due to others carelessness.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

In my opinion, what killed Wade Barrett was the Nexus. The Nexus pushed Barrett, an untested and unready rookie, into main event spots he was nowhere NEAR ready for. He headlined PPV after PPV after PPV, and challenged for the WWE Championship over and over again, despite being nowhere near a big enough star for that push. .

I disagree I think Nexus and Barrett were a perfect fit. Sure Barrett alone would have not made him a main event guy but having him backed up by a stable of 7 or 8 other guys would have helped create an angle in which he would have made a great heel champion.

I think if Nexus just got over Summerslam and stayed as a stable for a year or two, it would have been enough time for Barrett (and the other Nexus members for that matter) to really start to shine on their own.

Alas Summerslam and the months after really made Nexus and Barrett look weak especially the impact they had when they first invaded RAW.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think Nexus and Barrett were a perfect fit.

Agreed. Especially for a guy so new to the main roster, Wade showed the commanding presence that good leadership demands. On one hand, he didn't try to do everything himself by pushing his guys out of the way and taking the glory......he delegated well, often stepping to the side and watching his team do the damage. I thought WWE Creative depicted his role in a realistic fashion.....and Wade was the perfect choice of the seven men to be the main guy.

Then again, I figured his 'top dog' presence would lead to immediate success upon setting out as a single. I really felt the whole 'Fight Club' routine was going to do it for him.....but it didn't, and neither has anything else despite a few gimmick changes.

Hard to figure why. Yes, the injuries are a factor, but it's probably more than just that.